Woke is OK
Hello Friends,

Please excuse the commercial nature of my email today, I feel it's toward a good cause. My buddy Tommy came up with the notion and graphic of "Woke is OK", so I'm trying to support his efforts.

Today's rant is on the topic of Woke and DEI, two major bugaboos to the MAGA minions.

The term "woke" has been appropriated by MAGA and so-called conservative republican politicians, used mainly to denigrate their liberal opponents. So what is woke and in contrast what is it to be un-woke? An online search turned up the following:

"Woke originates in African-American culture as a call to be aware of racial injustice and systemic inequalities, famously used by blues musician Lead Belly in the 1930s. The term became widely recognized with the Black Lives Matter movement in the 2010s, referring to a broader consciousness of social injustices, including sexism and LGBTQ+ rights. However, the term has since been co-opted by some on the political right as a pejorative to describe progressive ideologies, often in opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

There is no single, universally accepted opposite of "woke," but common descriptors include "asleep," "unaware," or "ignorant" when referring to a lack of awareness of social issues."

So if un-woke is asleep, unaware, or ignorant, to which I might add selfish, inconsiderate and uncaring, then being woke is a clear personal asset, something we should be eager to own up to. There is no shame to being woke, in fact it should be a badge of honor.

DEI is another term we need to re-appropriate with pride. We are a country of diverse peoples from many places, of a broad range of skin colors, languages, and cultural practices. I was taught and have long believed the greatest strength of our country is the diversity of its people. Our constitution requires we all be treated equally under the law, allowing for inclusion of all in the American dream. Woke and DEI, it seems, threaten the Trump administration's vision of rule exclusively by white Christian men.

In any case my buddy Tommy has embraced this concept and applied it to a commercial venture of selling caps and tee shirts. His website is https://wokeisok.com. Check it out. 20% of their profits will be donated to the ACLU Foundation.

I should no doubt stop here, but feel the need to comment on this week's threats to our 1st Amendment rights.

To be honest I've been blissfully ignorant of the teachings of Charlie Kirk. I'm also not up late enough to hear what Jimmy Kimmel has to say, so I'm reluctant to show my ignorance. I am sorry about the murder of Charlie Kirk. Political violence is a threat to everyone. I've read he had a significant influence on young Americans, and that he was pushing Christian nationalism. From what I've read, he was said to be an intentionally provocative and controvertial speaker.

Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian who frequently satirizes and criticizes Donald Trump, as do many others. Clearly Trump doesn't like being skewered by Kimmel, Colbert, and other satirists.

One could say that Charlie Kirk had his audience and Jimmy Kimmel had his.

What I've found shocking this past week is the perceived entitlement of MAGA World to force on the rest of us their viewpoint on Charlie Kirk. It's great if they loved the guy and want to memorialize him with utmost respect and dignity, but they have no right to deny others the right to think and speak otherwise.

All week I've read about people who've been harrassed and even fired for voicing opinions less than entirely respecful or flattering of Charlie Kirk. He was a controvertial political figure by choice. It's not classy to openly celebrate someone's murder, but that's not what people are getting harrassed and fired about. Any comments that portray Kirk negatively have been taken as inappropriate and grounds for harsh action. This is unAmerican. This is the denial of our 1st amendment rights of free speech, whether nice or not nice.

Kimmel's sin is that he said: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it." Add to this the chairman of the FCC threatening ABC and its affiliates if Kimmel wasn't taken off the air and we have a major authoritarian assault on our media. And so Kimmel was fired.

On a side note, per an article on CNN, "After shocking many by saying mentally ill homeless people should be put to death, Fox News morning host Brian Kilmeade apologized on Sunday for what he called an 'extremely callous remark.'". He still has a job on Fox News.

The Trump administration is shaking down cities, states, law firms and universities, making demands that they toe the Trump line or lose any federal funding.

Another week gone by, wishing you well,

Barry Rothstein

I send out a weekly email of these. If you'd like to be included, please go to the contact page and send me an email.

Previous Images of the Week