Probably NOT the right Place to ask this but... - Vasculitis UK

Vasculitis UK

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Probably NOT the right Place to ask this but........

AndrewT profile image
30 Replies

Does anyone have a Sensible Definition of 'WOKE' please. I have looked On Line, without much success, one Place- I forget where now- offered me one ONLY if I Subscribed to Something,

I Gather, from it's use in Articles, that it associated with Discrimination- or maybe Awareness- in some respect. What I need to know is 'Is this Something I need to Learn about or 'Be aware Of', in my Day to Day Living....... or is it, without being Disingenuous, a bit of a Fad.

Please be aware that I intend absolutely NO OFFENCE, in asking this question, I am just seeking to improve/ expand my knowledge, Can I finish by wishing everyone a

Very Merry Christmas

AndrewT

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AndrewT
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30 Replies
Nadine99 profile image
Nadine99

Woke = PITA (Pain in the A**e

PMRpro profile image
PMRpro

merriam-webster.com/diction...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke

dictionary.com/browse/woke

Whether you need to be aware is a matter of context I suspect. There are a lot of people being visibly very "woke" because it is the thing to be. There are certainly some people who have tried to cause trouble on the forums claiming to be woke about a term that is used colloquially without being racist that they have decided IS racist and shouldn't be used, Sometimes it is a desire to change history ...

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLady in reply toPMRpro

“Sometimes it is a desire to change history ...”

I had similar discussions with son yesterday as we drive past our local MP’s estate ( funded on Caribbean sugar plantations) …

Our conclusion…you cannot change history, nor ignore it, but you can take actions to make sure certain actions aren’t repeated. And our MP could sell off part of his estate and donate the funds to appropriate community projects….

Don’t see much chance of that though😳

PMRpro profile image
PMRpro in reply toDorsetLady

Noooo - likely not!

123-go profile image
123-go in reply toDorsetLady

We drive past that never ending wall on the way to visit a friend 🤐.

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLady in reply to123-go

…and undoubtedly there’s a hole in it….but there wasn’t yesterday🤣😂…and we passed it twice…

Didn’t get lost - home near D (Casterbridge if you know your Thomas Hardy) to W (market town with minster) to see late hubby/dad at woodland burial ground, then back to Jurassic coast to check on something, then north to almost Somerset border ( S with an Abbey!)……

Glad I wasn’t driving…

123-go profile image
123-go in reply toDorsetLady

Ooh! Curiouser and curiouser!

Lovely part of the world. I’m a teeny bit envious 😏.

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLady in reply to123-go

It is lovely - at all times in my mind - but we didn’t move here until after 20 plus years when hubby was in HMF. .although home county is only next four.

It’s quite mañana at times-my son moved away when he went to Uni 30 odd years ago -and has worked in many places overseas as well as UK -but he always said he would come back so his kids could grow up in such a great place -and he has -about 4 years ago with his family -but I thinks he finds it charming and frustrating in equal measure at times!

123-go profile image
123-go in reply toDorsetLady

The ties that bind…..😊. Your son obviously had a happy childhood.

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLady in reply to123-go

Yes he did -there were odd glitches along the way as there always is. But I think in his career he’s met many others who had a more privileged upbringing than him, but who are not as happy or loved as he and his sister are -and is now old enough with children of his own to appreciate that.

123-go profile image
123-go in reply toDorsetLady

Your offspring are the privileged. When ours were young we didn’t have a lot to spare but they were happy and knew right from wrong (unless there are things they’ve not told us 🤔). Happy days!

piglette profile image
piglette

I understood that WOKE was a word created in 1930s America to be aware of discrimination. Which I think was a good thing. More recently it has been extended to cover anything that might upset someone, so we get to the point where we cannot have Christmas parties and if we do have an office party and go out we can’t have alcohol as there may be one person who does not drink so we must think of their feelings. This happened in UK this year with the civil service.

AndrewT profile image
AndrewT in reply topiglette

And the 'Idea' that Carol Doesn't Drink and Chris is Driving, Whilst Brian Is 'On Tablets'? I don't recall this Ever 'Causing A Problem', Certainly NOT in any of 'my' circles. I myself have to Limit my Alcohol intake but am NEVER Bothered by 'Others' having it.... notwithstanding Someone 'Causing Trouble' that is! All a bit 'Bazar' to me.

Well, at least I now have 'An Idea' of What Is Involved though, how Relevant To My 'Everyday' Life This is, remains to be Seen. Thank you, for taking the Time, to Enlighten me Piglette, much appreciated. Please have a very

Merry Christmas

AndrewT

piglette profile image
piglette in reply toAndrewT

Merry Christmas is OUT it may upset someone, Merry Holiday it seems is IN!!

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLady in reply topiglette

Don’t think they “do” merry! 😳

piglette profile image
piglette in reply toDorsetLady

That is true. Although the guy on the phone to me from Citibank yesterday said Happy Holiday having threatened with dire consequences on my dollar account activities!

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLady in reply topiglette

🤦🏻‍♀️

piglette profile image
piglette in reply toDorsetLady

I was chatting with friends yesterday and we have decided we have now to follow a totally new vocabulary and we are not allowed to use certain words, it is becoming so confusing. You can have a white board but not a black board. You can chest feed but not breast feed……

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLady in reply topiglette

It is getting farcical - my son who is only just in his 50s has been warning about the trend over the last few years…..in his previous jobs he gave a lot of presentations to staff….and he’s said, “I can’t be me anymore, no levity ….I have to factor in everything and anything that anyone in the audience could be offended by….and you end up talking like a meaningless robot”

Sad world….

piglette profile image
piglette in reply toDorsetLady

Just read this in the papers “DRINKERS should avoid saying “pub crawl” and “happy hour” to be inclusive, the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), said as they try to end “lad culture”. Members should instead refer to a “pub tour” where they will “savour a pint”. Phrases such as “join the lads for a few after work” also came under fire as they risk putting off women.

Boss302Fan profile image
Boss302Fan in reply toDorsetLady

Some get stupid with it. I don’t change pronouns, nor adjectives. The problem with our country is people cannot mind their own business. I could care less if someone is LGBTQIA+ not any of my business. If it’s a trans female I use she, if trans male I’d use he. If they don’t like it - tough. Don’t care if one believes in a god, gods, whether christian or other form of religion or an atheist. Not my business. Don’t care if a female is pregnant and wishes to terminate-that’s between her and her doctor and not some damn politician.

If people would respect others’ boundaries, both personal and geographical, this whole world would be a much better place.

KASHMIRI1 profile image
KASHMIRI1 in reply toBoss302Fan

How refreshingly right you are.

secrets22 profile image
secrets22

i haven't the foggiest idea what it is.

Boss302Fan profile image
Boss302Fan

In the USA it’s a slang term applied to the Democrat Party because that party wishes to not discriminate the historical events, relating to how we treated minorities, throughout our history. The Republican party believes what injustices have occurred in the past should be ignored because it could have an emotional impact on caucasians (like reverse discrimination). Anyway, this quote below is the most elegant, accurate and least derogatory of the definitions I’ve read.

Also, it’s not Critical Race Theory (CRT) which is not being taught in the K-12 school system regardless as to the BS that has been posted in social media.

WOKE:

{Asked what “woke” means more generally, [Desantis’ General Counsel Ryan] Newman said “it would be the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.”}

lgreene123 profile image
lgreene123 in reply toBoss302Fan

Wishing a Pleasant Christmasy Holiday folks. xxx

Corcaigh profile image
Corcaigh in reply toBoss302Fan

Eh?

Grizzly-bear profile image
Grizzly-bear

I imagine the confusion is that the right wing media attempt to make being woke look like a bad thing by associating it with absolutely anything they disagree with. The media at the moment is very good at making anyone who cares about justices just seem irritating.

I’ve seen it as being meant more on the lines that people have been “asleep” to historical and current injustices, or wilfully ignoring, but once you open your eyes to them and acknowledge them they can’t be unseen, so you have awoken to them, and are now woke. In terms of application to own lives, it is a case of examining whether you benefit from these privileges (that are the product of historical and current injustices) in any way, and considering what you can do to mitigate that.

There’s a lot of books on different aspects of this if you wanted to read more about it. Equally I think it’s a nice thing to even ask about from a neutral stance.

KelW21 profile image
KelW21

"Woke" is a slang/abbreviated term of "Woken" or "Awake". As in, you have awoken to the injustices of the world and that other people have different lived experiences or lives. You are no longer asleep or turning a blind eye to them. It also reminds people to be inclusive. It was coined by the African American community. And since then, opponent's to it have ridiculed it and tried to apply the term to inconsequential stuff, in order to dilute it's message and to turn the term into an insult.

It now also gets paired with the word "Broke" as part of a meme. Because the two words rhyme. And then for added humour, "Bespoke" gets added as well. Broke is the boring/ mainstream choice/opinion, Woke is the better/more enlightened option, Bespoke takes things to a whole new level.

At a basic, non humourous level:

Broke: Stair/Steps access only

Woke: Providing ramp access

But for humourous takes:

Broke: Home Alone is the best Christmas movie.

Woke: Die Hard is the best Christmas movie.

Bespoke: Home Alone is the best Die Hard movie.

From:

twitter.com/gravytugboat/st...

Outside of meme's, the only relevance to your life really is to ask yourself do you want to bury your head in the sand and be asleep to what is going on in the wider world outside of your own experiences? Or do you want to be awake/aware of other people's lived experiences? If you are already aware that other people live different lives to you and on occasion may require certain accommodations to put them on an equal level with more privileged folks, and you're ok with that; then congratulations, you're already woke.

MrsMarigold profile image
MrsMarigold

Hi Andrew. How courageous of you to ask this; especially this time of year. I’m an American. I’m White and I am a woman with lupus and other AI diseases.

I’m not going to give a definition of woke because it segues like angry tentacles into even the most mundane actions ; real or grossly exaggerated, not by Right or Left but now in 2023 almost, by all collective groups and individuals who decry our national history and just tear it down in the name of social justice. Woke=Social Justice=Erase History of your people because you disagree strongly with the days of slavery, poverty and most ills of a broken world.

Instead of actually allowing the wokeness to transform societies and individuals in an affirmative and positive way it is causing opinions and free speech to be silenced. It is causing division between cultures and minorities. It is a word infection.

If anyone is authentically woke they should shut their mouth. Use no words. Choose your cause and get your heart ready to be filled with new knowledge as you work towards peace for all. Merry Christmas with love for us all. MrsMarigold 🌼💜🎄

vivdunstan profile image
vivdunstanVolunteer

I'm going to close this thread now to further comments. Politics can be a fraught subject, and in this case it's not even connected with vasculitis and health treatment. However I've been happy to let the thread run for a while, and thank all participants for gnerally measured and polite responses. But no further comments on this please. Thank you.

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