Woke? Americans take that as a compliment

THE majority of Americans think being woke is a good thing that describes being aware of injustice rather than a reason to police others’ words, according to a poll.

About 56 per cent of people surveyed by USA Today and Ipsos consider wokeness to mean “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices”.

However, despite having a generally positive view on what it means to be woke, people found that when the term was used to describe someone, it was to insult them.

More than 1,000 people with different political leanings were asked: “If someone described you as woke would you consider it an insult or a compliment?”

Some 40 per cent of people thought it was an insult, with that figure rising to 60per cent among Republicans. Just 32 per cent of people, and only 14 per cent of Republicans, thought it was a compliment.

Woke has become one of the most politically charged words of the last few years.

So divisive is the word that America’s Merriam Webster Dictionary has two definitions.

The first is: “Aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice.)”

The second is: “Politically liberal (as in matters of racial and social justice) especially in a way that is considered unreasonable or extreme.”

Karine Jean-pierre, the White House press secretary, sidestepped a question last month when asked whether Joe Biden is woke during a press conference.

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s liberal prime minister, is often referred to as the world’s most woke leader for his Left-wing policies.