What AOC gets right – and wrong – about ‘Woke 1.0’ | Francine Prose
Summary
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) said that the first wave of "woke" politics was extreme and sometimes unreasonable. The term "woke" started as a warning to stay aware of racial injustice but has been used negatively by some groups. Some strict left-wing policies about language and education have caused debate and even led some people, like a Black college professor, to leave academia.Key Facts
- AOC described "Woke 1.0" as extreme, especially in ideas like defunding the police and military.
- The word "woke" originally meant staying alert to racial prejudice but has changed in meaning over time.
- Some on the left pushed strict rules on language and cancelling people for past mistakes related to racial or social issues.
- These strict policies made some critics feel that freedom of speech and individual rights were threatened.
- Bates College required all departments to offer courses examining white supremacy and bias in their subjects, including science and math.
- Such policies included students correcting perceived insensitive comments with words like "oops" or "ouch."
- A Black professor, Tyler Austin Harper, left academia because he felt these policies harmed academic freedom and personal integrity.
- Some extreme policies have since been rolled back, but the controversy helped critics on the right mock "woke" politics.
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