Reading the news lately, a thought that pops into my head several times a day when I see various ridiculous quotes and opinions is: 'What exactly is "woke" about not being an arsehole?'
@karlequin I think it has now become shorthand for "not being an arsehole". It used to be shorthand for "believing in social justice", but shorthand for "not being an arsehole" is pithier.
Same thing really. Only an arsehole would not believe in social justice. Someone who doesn't believe in social justice is an arsehole. (Because if one doesn't believe in social justice in general, they won't believe in justice at small scale and will constantly act selfishly even with close people, being absolutely toxic.)
@Lily_and_Frog @karlequin I agree with the sentiment, though the pedant in me is now debating with itself what the definition of arseholery is - probably a lot wider than just not believing in social justice.
I'd define an arsehole as being both stupid and selfish.
A stupid and selfish person will not care about social justice (owing to being selfish) nor will they be smart enough to understand that more social justice would also be in their own self interest.
@Lily_and_Frog @karlequin that's a good start 👏
@karlequin yep, to me, woke is the opposite of ignorant.
Afterwards, they are often clearly hiding their ashamedness.
@karlequin Well for one thing "woke" is a lot quicker to write than "not being an arsehole".
@karlequin Oh, oh, I know this one!
For over a generation, a few American conservatives have been trying to rebrand common decency with a bunch of insulting names, like "politically correct" and "woke".
Their hope is that if they can convince people that it is bad not to be sociopathically detached from concern for others, then their policy of cruelty and sadism will be advanced.
"Woke" IS a synonym of "not being an arsehole"
Woke: awake, aware. Aware of your surroundings, aware of others, aware of the consequences of your acts, aware of the bigger issues and aware of how everything is interconnected and, finally, wanting to make other people better.
What's an arsehole? The complete opposite: arseholes are selfish, are totally unaware of how other people feel, incapable of seeing things from other perspectives and cannot comprehend wider issues.
@karlequin
"The cruelty is the point"
@karlequin To put it simply: the right has chosen to reaffirm themselves as the "arsehole people", with all that it entails: not taking advantage of other people, not putting your boot on their neck, not having the despicable refuse that comes out of the back end of a rotten beast for ethics… all that makes you a stupid, woke loser.