Wakey, wokey
To The Guardian
The reaction against wokeness isn’t always a backlash. It could be a natural part of the journey that people go through when first exposed to these ideas. White privilege and intersectionality are difficult ideas to confront even if you are left-wing or liberal, and I’ve seen the process described as like going through the stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance). I’ve witnessed first-hand at least two people go through similar changes when confronted with their own privilege – getting angry and crying, then reading and learning, then accepting. Maybe what we’re seeing is not always a simple backlash, but rather the first vital steps to acceptance. For many it will take a painfully long time, but then history is a long game.
Penny Southgate, Bristol
To The Guardian
Ellie Mae O’Hagan (“The ‘anti-woke’ backlash is no joke – and progressives are going to lose if they don’t wise up”) is absolutely right. Many people didn’t buy into this acrossthe-board social liberalism, or at least not fully, and now feel emboldened to vent their criticism.
But it’s not enough just for liberals to recognise this and adjust their tactics accordingly. The anti-woke people have a point. It’s not that they are right, but that the emphasis we liberals place on having the correct attitudes towards feminism, homophobia, identity politics and so on, is just not that important in their world. Many have far bigger fish to fry, like getting a job that pays a living wage, surviving on a pension or social security, finding somewhere to live, worrying about their health. Recognising a “woke” issue, deriving the correct behaviour to it, and adjusting one’s own behaviour accordingly is irrelevant to their lives.
By all means fight against all forms of discrimination in our society, but at the same time recognise that there are bigger ills that face far too many people, regardless of their gender, race or sexual orientation. Our loudest voices should be saved for this. The more people who are able to live reasonably comfortable day-to-day lives, the more people there will be with the time and energy to fight prejudice in our society. David Williams, Swanmore, Hampshire