Awake-Woke, Fake-Woke
`Psycho-Social insights into the world of woke'
Woke is a hot topic these days. USA Republicans use ‘woke’ as a derogatory short-hand for the liberal views of progressives, and the woke culture wars are spreading internationally and fast. As elections in North America and many other countries take place this year, woke politics will be utilised as a weapon to divide voters and win votes.
Woke is perhaps the essence of the US culture war, it evokes passions and even hatred. Woke (being awake to injustice) once an object of desire for leftists, has been transformed into a term of derision by the populist right.
“Woke Mind Virus”
Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, elected for a second term with a significantly increased majority in 2022, utilises ‘woke ideology’, positioning woke as the enemy to fight against. He attacked Democratic governors and leaders as being infected with a “woke mind virus”. There is a nugget of truth in even the most extreme claims, and the idea of a ‘woke mind virus’ achieves two things. Firstly, this perverts the idea that being woke, or ‘awake to social injustice’ is something to uphold as a good thing, and turns it into a disease of the mind that needs curing. Secondly, it amplifies the culture-wars, moving political debate towards identity and gender politics.
During his victory speech, he said “We have embraced freedom… We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers and we reject ‘woke’ ideology.”
He continued to a cheering crowd, mirroring the famous Winston Churchill we ‘will fight them on the beaches’ speech:
Later in April 2022, De Santis signed into law what he called the Freedom from Indoctrination, or ‘Stop Woke’ Act.
Whilst the culture war is at its most fierce in the US, it has become a part of European politics as well. UK conservatives and other Europeans use anti-woke sentiments to win right-wing votes. Rishi Sunak vowed to stop 'woke nonsense and left-wing agitators' when campaigning to be Prime Minister. On university campuses and in political agitations across the media, woke has become a battleground.
What is Woke?
Woke’s original meaning is of being awake to issues of social justice and particularly to racism (see below). Simon Hatterstone of the Guardian proudly claimed ‘I am woke’ when critiquing antisemitism.
Woke’s original meaning: “If you’re woke, you dig it”.
The term woke came from the Black community in the USA, its meaning was to be awake to issues of social injustice and particularly to racism. Barbara Lee sums it up neatly:
“But we will only succeed if we reject the growing pressure to retreat into cynicism and hopelessness… We have a moral obligation to "stay woke," take a stand and be active; challenging injustices and racism in our communities and fighting hatred and discrimination wherever it rises.” - Barbara Lee
Origins
In 1962, the New York Times published an article on “phrases and words you might hear today in Harlem”, a neighbourhood of New York City with a majority Black population. The African-American novelist William Melvin Kelley wrote the earliest known use of the word under its new definition in an article titled, “If you’re woke, you dig it”.
Ten years later in 1972, a character in the Barry Beckham play Garvey Lives! says he’ll “stay woke” via the work of pan-Africanist, Marcus Garvey, with the line: “I been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr Garvey done woke me up, I’m gon’ stay woke. And I’m gon’ help him wake up other black folk”.
The term’s break into mainstream language came from the Black Lives Matter movement, which used the hashtag #staywoke in the wake of racial injustices spreading across the US.
Woke ideology, literally means an ideology that demands we wake up to injustice. So when DeSantis says he will fight woke ideology what he is really saying is this:
‘We fight woke in the legislature’ (we fight people waking up to injustice in the legislature)
‘We fight the woke in the schools’ (we fight people waking up to injustice in schools)
‘We fight the woke in the corporations’ (we fight people waking up to injustice in corporations)
‘We will never ever surrender to the woke mob’ (we will never surrender to people who are awake to social injustice and racism).
‘Florida is where woke goes to die’ (we will crush those who are awake to social injustice and racism in Florida).
When you look at it this way, to be against woke is a damning project which inevitably will fail. People not wishing to be ‘awake’ to social justice issues is clearly very flawed, and also very dangerous as history has shown us. When a large proportion of a population support ‘not being awake’ to social injustice and are pro-discrimination against marginalised groups, blaming them for their economic and social problems, terrible things become possible. Reactionary politics are simply that, a fearful reaction, an unconscious displacement of anxiety and fear projected onto a ‘bad other’. Reactionary, nationalist and populist politics rely on people turning a blind eye to what they know, choosing to be asleep rather than take a more thoughtful, but perhaps more difficult position of being ‘awake’ and facing the deeper underlying issues that need addressing.
To be ‘awake-woke’ means to acknowledge and own our own biases and prejudices, and not project our fears onto the easy targets chosen by ‘anti-woke’ political forces i.e. immigrants, Jews, Muslims, Travelling community, Roma, Gay and Trans communities, amongst others.
What politicians and media on the populist right have understood very well, however, is that turning thoughtful politics into partisan culture wars pays off. Turning economic anxieties into fear and blaming anyone who is different is an easy-win game, but this only offers short-term relief, and doesn’t solve political and economic problems. It’s a nasty distraction. The cause of the anxiety, resentment and fears do not go away when we choose to repress them and to be asleep, rather than being awake.
Choosing the politics of blame, rather than the politics of working through social tensions, has never led to a ‘better society’. Being anti-woke provides a short-term sugar rush solution, but leaves the hunger unfulfilled, and fear, anxiety, and resentment soon return.
Awake-Woke and Fake-Woke
The short-term pleasure hit gained from fighting culture wars is also a left/progressive problem too. There are some ‘woke progressives’ who gain (unconscious) pleasure, from being self-righteous and demonising the bad ‘populist other’. They gain their pleasure not from fighting for social justice, but from partaking in the ‘culture wars’. Their pleasure comes from creating a good self-identity and creating a bad-other; mirroring the reactionary splitting from the conservative tribe, which is not at all ‘awake-woke’.
When activists/progressives ‘enjoy too much’ (or ‘surplus enjoyment’ in Lacanian psychoanalysis) this is a sign that a true ‘awake’ position has been lost. Enjoying the culture war too much, rather than trying to understand the anxieties and social issues that underpin the real fears and anxieties that cause it, is not being woke.
I use the term ‘awake-woke’, to differentiate those who strive for social justice, from the culture war liberals who identify as woke warriors, yet get caught up in unconscious dynamics which lead them to ‘fake-woke’ places. Let me explain.
Fake Woke - The New Puritans
We are not ‘awake-woke’ (awake to social justice) if we attach ourselves to tribal politics of the cultural war. The line between ‘awake-woke’ and ‘fake-woke’ can be blurred. Consciously woke warriors really believe in social justice, but unconsciously they are ‘getting off’ by alienating and attacking their ‘bad other’ enemies. In Lacanian psychoanalysis, this unconscious enjoyment, this ‘getting off’, relates to how we attain our pleasure/jouissance. Progressive comedy show hosts on late night US TV thrive on being ‘fake-woke’. They show their fishbowl liberal audiences how clever they are, and their audience feels clever too, laughing at how stupid the ‘bad other’ is. The elite audience and their ‘fake-woke’ tribe of liberals, delight in making fun of the lower caste ‘deplorable other’.
A good way to spot ‘fake-woke’ is to notice when excess enjoyment takes place. Sharing jokes and irony, having a good laugh and feeling solidarity with others is important, but when ‘surplus enjoyment’ is present, this is a warning sign. It is like a manic reaction that is a signal that we are no longer being ‘awake-woke’. When this occurs we have drifted into enjoying tribal politics too much which just feeds the beast. The populist right then have some justification in crying out ‘virtue signalling’ in response. The hunger for culture wars on both sides undoes the real battle for social justice. There is a real need to be ‘awake-woke’ and to develop understandings that can lead to radical change.
‘Fake-woke’ emerges when liberal progressives become puritans, believing they are the chosen ones and only they have the truth. The paradox is that when Evangelical Christians, religious fundamentalists, market fundamentalists and populist-nationalists preach their Puritan truths, the ‘fake-woke’ liberal tribe is incensed.
Using language as power
We are not ‘awake-woke’ if we claim to be social justice warriors and at the same time use the power of language, knowledge and elitism to undermine or silence others with less power e.g. the oppressed white working class in the rustbelts-not all white folks are privileged. We are not woke if we shout for social justice, whilst posturing and virtue signalling to feed our egos, to get attention and ‘likes’, instead of acting to progress social justice. ‘Fake-woke’ is also a common practice by corporations and other public organisations and individuals who see woke as being a positive branding exercise. They spend large sums on rainbow-washing, and create P.C language cultures to promote themselves as cool companies, whilst doing little to address (and often doing harm) to social justice issues.
What is to be done?
1. If you are striving towards being an ‘awake-woke’ activist i.e. to be awake to social injustice, then let go of the culture war adrenalin buzz, and realise that enjoying partisan politics too much, just feeds the ‘bad other’ on both sides.
2. Be alert to ‘surplus-enjoyment politics’ on both sides. When ‘fake-woke’ liberals compete to be the purist gang in town, or anti-work republicans take excessive enjoyment at Trump rallies - both offer a clear signal of danger. Not only do the populists enjoy too much but the liberal press also feasts on Trump’s transgressions, enjoying too much the spectacles he creates that sell their papers and feed the culture wars.
The truly radical position is to engage with the other, calling out injustice and speaking truth to power, but also being awake to our own biases and tribal behaviours that create pleasurable bonds between us. Enjoy the bonds of solidarity for they provide the strength and courage to make change, but don’t enjoy so much as to forget that the struggle is for social justice, not for being righteous.
When you are called out by someone for being woke, as I often am when I talk about social justice, what is your response? My response is to say yes, I believe in social justice, and then I ask them if they believe in social justice. The response sometimes opens a space for dialogue, not always successfully, but if you fall into the culture war, it’s a dead-end argument.
Silencing free speech, utilising cancel culture, virtue signalling, and closing down the other, also feeds the narrative spread by DeSantis and others that woke means ‘woke police’ who shut down freedoms.
Holding open a space for wokeness to come to life, for people to have a dialogue, to challenge each other and wake each other up, is the real work that needs to be done. So let’s fight for social justice, enjoy our solidarity, and strive to reach out to those who we can.
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Further reflections for yourself and your team:
There is a worksheet below that enables you to use this essay as a stimulus for personal development and/or team building.
Work through the reflective questions alone or as a team development exercise.
Reflective Questions:
Suggested format if working with a team
Step 1. Introduction and Check-in: 10 min
Choose a facilitator to keep the time and to ensure everybody’s voice is heard. It is good to rotate this role at each new session.
We suggest that you set aside one hour of team development to work through this exercise.
Begin by taking a few minutes to check in with each other: how are each of you arriving at this team event?
Step 2. Read the essay: 5 min
Take 5 minutes to read this essay again (somebody reading it out loud is a powerful and enjoyable experience).
Step 3. Work through these three questions: 30 min
After the facilitator reads the question, encourage each person to share their response with the group and then discuss- or if working alone journal your answers and reflect on them later.
1. Share your emotional response to this essay. What did it stir in you?
Discuss for 10 minutes
2. How does woke, political correctness or the culture wars impact you personally
Discuss 10 minutes
3. What could improve the dialogue in your workplace - How can you create a safe space to discuss social justice issues without polarising others?
Discuss 10 minutes
Step 4. Roundup: 15 min
Reflect on your discussion, what are the key takeaways?
Are any actions to be taken?
Plan your next session!
I hope that this essay and these reflections will be beneficial to you and your team as you work towards creating the ‘good society’.