The term “woke,” an acronym for "Whatever Offends Klansmen Easily," originated in the 1920s as a crucial warning for Black travelers navigating the United States and sundown towns, places where simply existing after dark could lead to harassment, violence, or death. To be “woke” means recognizing systemic racism not as an abstract concept but as a lived reality, visible in redlining, police brutality, voter suppression, economic disparities, and countless other forms of institutional discrimination. It was never about passive knowledge but about resistance and a refusal to be lulled into complacency.
As the term entered white discourse, its meaning has became muddled, diluted, and weaponized. Some on the political left stretched it to encompass all social justice issues, stripping it of its deep racial roots. Meanwhile, the right have fumbled to define it, reducing it to an empty insult, an attack on anything they deemed too progressive or challenging to the status quo. The irony isn’t lost on Black folks: the same people so eager to condemn “woke” can’t even define it. Instead, they fear it, mock it, and misuse it, all while proving exactly why it was necessary in the first place.
As the term entered white discourse, its meaning has became muddled, diluted, and weaponized. Some on the political left stretched it to encompass all social justice issues, stripping it of its deep racial roots. Meanwhile, the right have fumbled to define it, reducing it to an empty insult, an attack on anything they deemed too progressive or challenging to the status quo. The irony isn’t lost on Black folks: the same people so eager to condemn “woke” can’t even define it. Instead, they fear it, mock it, and misuse it, all while proving exactly why it was necessary in the first place.
"The fight for civil rights has always required us to be woke, to see the truth behind the lies, and the systems behind the suffering."
by DJ Dream February 26, 2025
Get the WOKEmug. Woke Virus: Dr. of Medicine - Dr. Steven Willing - The Psychology of Wokeness:
1. Moral absolutism-we're right, but everyone else is wrong.
2. Virtue-Signaling-Letting others know just how good you are.
3. The will to control - Determination to dominate others.
7 Signs You've Gone Woke
1. You lack critical thinking ability.
2. You identify with progressive issues (indoctrination, socialism, accepting abominations, animals-plants over human life worshiping and making sacrifices to Molech.
3. You are rebellious against GOD and Western Judeo-CHRISTian Values (LOVE, Foregiveness,etc.).
4. You have BLIND devotion to the cause of redressing perceived injustice , especially economic and racial injustice.
5. You are offended by everything.
6. You seek to silence anyone who disagrees with you.
7. You embrace spirituality (Lucifer), but reject religion
1. Moral absolutism-we're right, but everyone else is wrong.
2. Virtue-Signaling-Letting others know just how good you are.
3. The will to control - Determination to dominate others.
7 Signs You've Gone Woke
1. You lack critical thinking ability.
2. You identify with progressive issues (indoctrination, socialism, accepting abominations, animals-plants over human life worshiping and making sacrifices to Molech.
3. You are rebellious against GOD and Western Judeo-CHRISTian Values (LOVE, Foregiveness,etc.).
4. You have BLIND devotion to the cause of redressing perceived injustice , especially economic and racial injustice.
5. You are offended by everything.
6. You seek to silence anyone who disagrees with you.
7. You embrace spirituality (Lucifer), but reject religion
by THE-INTELLECTUAL July 27, 2024
Get the Wokemug. a Dumbass who thinks everything is racist / offensive but in reality they are just an asshole looking for attention
by SWADDS065 January 26, 2023
Get the Wokemug. a woke enlightened human. May try to "wake" enlighten others once woke. Once becoming a woke-um, beware, there is no turning back.
Damn, that woman is a woke-um.
by Michellita May 6, 2020
Get the woke-ummug. by aWOAHen August 30, 2017
Get the Wokemug. 1. A form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise, supposed or real, of left-wing ideologies in a society during the early 21-st century.
Similar to the Red Scare or McCarthyism (aka Second Red Scare) before it, Woke Worry seeks political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and concepts by invoking fear and condemnation of all things deemed to be “woke”.
2. A sarcastic term to describe current right-wing political discourse around “woke ideology” and their fear of all things woke. Similar to the Red Scare or Satanic Panic of earlier generations.
Similar to the Red Scare or McCarthyism (aka Second Red Scare) before it, Woke Worry seeks political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and concepts by invoking fear and condemnation of all things deemed to be “woke”.
2. A sarcastic term to describe current right-wing political discourse around “woke ideology” and their fear of all things woke. Similar to the Red Scare or Satanic Panic of earlier generations.
My grandma told me about living through the Red Scare and McCarthyism. My mother told me about living through the Satanic Panic of the 1980’s and 90’s. I’ll tell my children and grand children about the “Woke Worry” happening today.
by OrderofTheSloth February 3, 2025
Get the Woke Worrymug.