We’ve all heard the term used to insult and degrade those who support progressive values – ‘Oh you think you’re so woke!’  It’s even progressed to a ‘woke mind virus’, giving it an even sharper jab that insinuates infection, brainwashing with new ideologies. 

‘Woke’ of course, is short for ‘awake’.  At its base it is referencing awakening to full consciousness from a state of being asleep.  The term is also referencing the concept of ‘awakening to new knowledge’.  Becoming aware of something that was previously unknown.  

Calling someone ‘woke’ as an insult is an element of anti-intellectualism, and you hear that complaint in discussions about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion programs, ‘It’s too intellectual!’  The definition of intellect is, ‘The ability to think, reason and understand.’  So, why are we mad-dogging thinking and learning?!

Those who have been swept up in anti-intellectualism & ‘woke’ messaging should be asking themselves why people wouldn’t want them to be thinking critically and learning new things?

How did ‘woke’ get twisted into an insult?  In short, the use of the term ‘woke’ is a summary of the decades-long effort from the dominant status quo to devalue learning new information to halt change.  Let’s break down the psychological undercurrents.

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist & psychologist from the early 1900’s who is greatly known for his work with the unconscious mind.  It is estimated that around 95% of our thinking happens in the subconscious, a place that is just outside of our awareness.  The term that is often used to describe this unconscious aspect in psychology is ‘the shadow’.  

Think of the mind as a computer that relies on previously learned background programs to operate the windows you see on the screen.  A ‘shadow’ is an unconscious belief system or pattern (schema) that is not yet known or seen.  We develop our unconscious thought patterns from what we see in our families, communities and media over time.  

Having unconscious patterns is not a weakness or a bad thing, it’s a human thing.  And, we can make the unconscious more conscious through a variety of intentional practices – if willing.

Ironically, diversity, equity & inclusion trainings often teach people about this- things like ‘implicit bias’ where we subconsciously hold beliefs about certain people depending on what we’ve been exposed to.  Now why would the dominant power hierarchy not want people to become aware of that?  To keep the power hierarchy in place of course.  Historically society has benefited one group more than others – white men.  (Side Note:  none of this is about hating white men!  It’s about dismantling the system that benefits one group more than others.)

Western Culture has a collective ‘schema’ or unconscious thought pattern rooted in valuing ‘knowing the right answer’ over ‘having the wrong answer.’   Another way to describe it would be the ‘Know it all Shadow’ which is a defense mechanism to protect the ego.  ‘I don’t need to learn anything new!  I already know it all!’ 

We have developed over time into a hyper-logical society, thanks to the scientific method and patriarchy (Be sure to read my blog post on our Emotion Phobic Society).  From the time we are children we are praised for ‘knowing’ the right answer, and we get teased, shamed or graded poorly for ‘not knowing’, which over time develops a strong inner compulsion to want to be ‘right’ and ‘know it all’ for the sake of our ego and what society tells us will make us ‘good’ – knowing.  

By the way, egos are not bad things, we all have them and need them.  It’s what defines our identity and protects us from the world.  Unconscious patterns operating to protect our egos can cause problems however.

Obviously we DO learn new things and this is a positive thing!  The human capacity to learn is amazing!  When we have new knowledge and understanding we can better solve problems and create positive changes in the world.  

Of course we want to analyze new knowledge and filter it through a lens of neutral curiosity (mindfulness) so that we can determine where that new knowledge fits, or if it is grounded in factual information.  The idea is not to suck everything up indiscriminately – that creates another problem.

When someone then uses the term ‘Woke’ as an insult to people who may be speaking up about new unfamiliar concepts, new ideas that are confusing or new understandings, it is similar to the child in school who mocks their peer who gets the answer correctly and calls them a ‘know it all.’ 

This is a form of ‘projection’, when one projects their own insecurities onto someone else as a means of deflecting from feeling the pain of that insecurity.  ‘I don’t want to admit that I’m confused or this is new to me, so I’ll put the focus back on them.’

Oftentimes the pain of that insecurity is because people are adding an assumption ‘they think they’re better’.  We have to be able to promote, teach & learn new knowledge amongst each other as humans without judging people as ‘better or worse’ for knowing or not knowing.  

This is why I’m so passionate about teaching mindfulness more broadly.  Mindfulness practice is non-judgmental, so we look at the facts of reality without adding subjective and evaluative judgments that are unhelpful and intensify reactions. 

Let’s make this practical.  People who are labeled judgmentally as ‘Woke’ are typically progressives who have gained further understanding about issues related to social equity or environmental justice.  For example they’ve gained new understanding about systemic oppressions that are fundamentally built into our system of governance and society.  They have gained further understanding about injustices that have been done (and continue) disproportionately to certain groups, including those living in poverty, immense harm to black people, people of color and indigenous cultures.  They have gained a broader understanding about issues related to gender and sexuality.  These are just a few of many examples.

This term was coined with intention to support maintaining the status quo for the dominant power hierarchy.  Using the term ‘Woke’ as an All Purpose Slur to clump everyone together and create the ‘enemy’ absolves them of having to engage with any actual ideas.  You can simply write off any thinking about the topic to ‘just being woke’.  ‘They’re just being a know it all, shut the conversation down.’  This gives a hit of dopamine around ‘I’m right, they’re wrong’ and then there is no need to open your mind to new truths or ideas.

Why close the door on new knowledge?  Because that new knowledge means changes are needed that people don’t want to make, the new knowledge creates fear because it’s not understood, or the new knowledge creates an automatic sense of shame because of the societal ‘know it all’ construct.

What is also beneath all of this resistance is, ‘Don’t make me admit I don’t know something, or I got something wrong.’  None of us like to admit when we are wrong or don’t know, but the truth is it doesn’t have to be bad or scary.  Part of intellect and rational thinking is the ability to acknowledge error with humility and know that it doesn’t actually impact your value as a human being.  ‘Aaah!  I didn’t know that!  Wow!  I was totally wrong about that.  Thanks for enlightening me!’  Super easy.

It is important to note here that truth and knowledge are constantly unfolding with time.  We continually gain new perspectives and understandings of things, this is the nature of the universe which is constantly expanding.  We must embrace the fact that new knowledge is always unfolding.  Gaining new insights as humans is a strength for both our conscious and physical growth & evolution.  

People don’t know what they don’t know until they know it, and everyone is doing the best they can with what they know at any given time.  There is no need for shame in not understanding something.  The truth is, most of us ‘don’t know’ most things – we have niche knowledge from our singular perspectives.  This is why learning from each other can be so powerful and valuable!  Listening to others who are different or hold different perspectives is a major strength to expand our limited knowledge.

Zen Buddhism teaches ‘beginner’s mind’) which is a framework to VALUE humble ‘not knowing’, openness and curiosity.  It is a mechanism to approach life with an understanding that there is in fact STRENGTH in not knowing, because it is from there that we can be open to see and learn new things.  If we already ‘know it all’ then there is no room to gain new understandings, we shut out new knowledge, which is not effective. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion programs are based in the fact that participation in US society has never been merit based, and in fact many people have been left out since the beginning of this nation, including women and other minorities who had to fight tooth and nail to be included.  This knowledge is easily discoverable with a bit of research – which does take effort and learning (ugh, hard!).

The main complaints being given about these programs are that they are ‘over-intellectual, tiresome, they require too much self-monitoring & self-censoring’ – in other words, they require learning and changing.  As Zuckerberg called it, DEI programs are ‘masculinity being neutered’ in the workplace. It requires emotional labor (what society usually deems ‘women’s work), and we shouldn’t be surprised that the dominant power hierarchy of patriarchy does not want to do the emotional labor required to understand others, listen to others and reciprocate to others needs. 

I can’t help but ask myself as people cheer the cutting of DEI programs across this nation, stating that ‘the woke went too far!’:  Are DEI efforts ‘too far’, or is it just too much emotional labor for the patriarchy? 

Moving past this divide is going to take WORK, and for the mindset of ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ you’d think they might apply a little elbow grease here.  The truth is that its work the dominant power structure does NOT want done.  And thus: de-value learning and target those with new information as ‘Woke’.

So here is my response to those who would call me woke:

If being woke means I’m promoting human rights and equity for ALL people then yeah, I’m proud to be woke.  And if me being ‘woke’ makes you feel guilty or ashamed to the point that you have to mock me for it, maybe that’s a sign that you also want to embrace different values and be a part of the collaborative change in society.  That closing yourself off to understanding & reciprocating with other people isn’t actually that gratifying.   That willfully ignoring other people’s pain & needs doesn’t actually feel that good.  That claiming inequity in the world doesn’t exist, while the data on poverty, abuse & discrimination says otherwise, doesn’t actually sit well with your soul.  That fighting to maintain the existing power structure isn’t actually all that gratifying or meaningful.  That pretending a ‘merit based system’ has ever existed, while all the old white men sit in positions of power, ticks an alarm of cognitive dissonance in your mind.

So go ahead and call me woke.  I’m happy to wear that title, and it tells me all I need to know about where you value learning and where you stand to maintain the status quo – and I appreciate knowing who I’m dealing with.  

But let me tell you this.  You, no matter what, are still infinitely valuable as a human being.  You have worth, like every other human equally does.  You don’t have to earn it, or prove it.  And I hope that you can find a way to see that.  Because when people deeply know their own worth, they don’t find the need to judge or mock others who are different from them, shut what they have to say out and tear them down.  There is a more gratifying way, and I hope you can open your mind enough to explore how to find it.

None of us really like the pain of waking up in the morning, but once we get through that initial blurry fog and wipe the sleep from our eyes, we can see the warm glow of sun that is dawning on a new, fresh day.

Signed, 

A proud, bleeding heart, snowflake who is committed to continually opening my mind to both being wrong AND to waking up to new information, however painful & challenging it may be.