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I THINK I MIGHT BE WOKE

BEING WOKE OR POLITICALLY CORRECT OR PROGRESSIVE IS BEING OPEN TO CHANGE, THE RECOGNITION THAT MY WORLDVIEW ISN'T THE ONLY ONE, WRITES DREW EDWARDS

Column Drew Edwards can be reached at drew@drewedwards.ca

I have a confession to make: I think I might be woke.

For those not up on the parlance of the day, "woke" is defined by MerriamWebster as "aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)." The idea is that you are "waking up" and realizing the discrimination that exists around you. That doesn't seem so bad does it?

While the term "stay woke" traces its origins back to the 1930s and the modern definition became part of the popular lexicon in the 2010s, the term has recently be used as a criticism toward those perceived as overzealous, performative or insincere in their pursuit of progressive ideologies.

As a straight, white, middle-aged dude living in a suburb, I have not experienced discrimination of any kind. Though I go through life with a physical disability — I've had partial paralysis since birth and am typing this column, and every one I've ever written, with one hand — it's a testament to my privilege that I don't think of myself as disabled: that's how high the deck is stacked in my favour.

Have I worked hard to achieve whatever success I've managed? I'd like to think so. But I think about privilege like dominoes: I worked to tip over the first

one and the rest fell pretty easily, largely because society is designed to work like that for guys like me. For other people, particularly those in marginalized communities, each domino requires maximum effort — and even then, they don't always fall as they should (that's discrimination).

When I was in university, "woke" was called being politically correct. I worked a number of years at campus newspapers and was routinely challenged on the words I used and how I used them. The simple example I always think is "policeman" versus "police officer." I needed to change how I used the language because not all cops were men. Language changes over time to reflect how society changes and that's a good thing: otherwise I'd be writing this column in Shakespearean English or, even worse,

Latin.

To me, being woke or politically correct or progressive is being open to change, the recognition that my worldview isn't the only one. It needs to evolve over time as I learn and change and as our society and community does. Having a queer daughter and a transgender son has deepened my understanding of issues I thought I understood but really didn't: as always, I have a lot to learn.

If that's being woke — a willingness to challenge my beliefs, consider things I hadn't previously considered, to accept that I am required to grow and change, well, I can live with that. It's certainly better than being asleep — or even worse, resistant — as the world evolves around me.

OPINION

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2022-11-23T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-23T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281539409961312

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