The word is increasingly being transmitted to individuals or groups woke up without really understanding the wrongs they are being accused of.
The term originated in struggles against discrimination in the United States and was instead borne by progressive groups with a passion for social justice. The word has been picked up by a radical right, who are using it against those who thwart their cause.
French political scientist Clément Viktorovitch says the word has become a catch-all, “a purely rhetorical tool, a weapon of massive disqualification used against left-wing discourse.”
I must confess to you that I didn’t care how the word was used by politicians or analysts because I saw that it was an abbreviation that people easily adopted to avoid in-depth explanations.
Prime Minister Legault’s allegations of wokism against Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois left me cold, convinced that the former did not know what he was talking about.
However, the excessive use of the word “wake” and statements by American politicians or think tanks have encouraged me to better understand the concept.
Cultivate ignorance
Florida Gov. and Republican primary candidate Ron DeSantis said he wants to stop waking culture.
Today, Moms for Liberty, an ultra-conservative group formed in Florida during the pandemic to campaign against mask-wearing by children in schools, has about 500 branches across the country to help stop waking up.
Several other US politicians or think tanks share the same ambition. If you take a closer look, they want to get out of schools or the public space, among other things, when it comes to issues such as sexual orientation diversity, racial discrimination, social inequalities, gender changes and abortion.
As in the film Fahrenheit 451, any books that go against their thinking should be taken out of the libraries and burned.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the American right that is attacking wokism to hide inequality.
naming issues
This American movement has not returned to us, and that is a good thing. I agree with my colleagues who are suspicious of politicians or militant groups who would like to make us feel guilty by making people believe that we live in the same reality as our southern neighbors.
However, we are not immune to American influences, so there is interest in moving away from a catch-all term to properly naming and tackling the problems we face.
Many see Wokism as a restriction on freedom of expression and a call for “political correctness”. Above all, I understand that professors and actors in the public scene have restricted themselves instead of leading the fight for the free circulation of ideas.
One thing is certain: the charge of wokism should not be used as an excuse for not addressing social inequalities.
