In Canada, we’re witnessing the deliberate weaponization of the time period “woke” by political figures like Pierre Poilievre and different right-wing leaders, who use it as a blanket label to dismiss requires justice, fairness, and fact. What started as a time period rooted in activism—significantly inside Black and Indigenous communities—has been distorted right into a derogatory buzzword, usually used to discredit authentic actions for social change.
At its core, “wokeness” is just the attention of injustice. It’s an awakening to the systemic inequalities and oppressive buildings that exist in our societies.
Wokeness calls consideration to the injustices confronted by marginalized communities—whether or not it’s racial inequality, gender oppression, financial exploitation, or colonial violence. It urges us to see the world for what it’s and to acknowledge the methods wherein historic and up to date methods of energy proceed to hurt those that are already oppressed. It additionally urges us to act—whether or not it’s standing in solidarity with Indigenous land defenders, preventing for local weather justice, demanding accountability for police violence towards Black and Brown communities, or advocating for the rights and dignity of trans folks. Wokeness is the dedication to dismantling actual, tangible harms attributable to systemic oppression.
But, in political discourse, “woke” has been twisted into one thing detrimental, usually used to color social justice actions as radical or divisive. Sometimes called “wokeism” by political figures like Pierre Poilievre, the implication is that those that advocate for a extra simply and equitable society are by some means disconnected from the realities that really matter to Canadians. This narrative tries to border rejecting progress as aligned with what folks think about “frequent sense.” However the fact is, preventing for justice, equality, and dignity is the true frequent sense—it’s about addressing systemic points that have an effect on everybody, not simply sustaining a system that advantages just a few.
Rejecting Wokeness as a Political Agenda
What is especially troubling is that the rejection of “wokeness” isn’t just a dismissal of sure progressive causes—it’s a rejection of a broader ethical and moral framework that acknowledges inequality and seeks to handle it. For instance, once we see political leaders rejecting requires motion on Indigenous land rights, or after they oppose measures to handle racial discrimination, they aren’t merely dismissing one challenge—they’re rejecting the very ideas of justice and equity that information our efforts to create a extra equitable society.
When a whole political agenda is constructed round rejecting “wokeness,” it alerts a want to take care of the established order, the place methods of oppression like colonialism, racism, and patriarchy stay largely unchallenged (these are the identical methods that underlie and allow environmental destruction, by the way in which!). By framing “wokeness” as a menace, politicians like Poilievre are primarily arguing that the search for a simply and equitable society is by some means harmful, and that acknowledging the existence of privilege and systemic hurt is a menace to social cohesion.
However is it harmful to demand a world the place all of us share equal rights and privileges, no matter our race, gender, or identification? Or isn’t that exactly the world we wish?
Reclaiming Wokeness
When a political agenda is constructed on rejecting “wokeness,” we danger fostering a society that’s willfully blind to its injustices. We create a tradition the place essential conversations about race, colonialism, and privilege are silenced, and the place the methods that perpetuate hurt are left unexamined. This rejection of “wokeness” isn’t nearly rejecting one time period—it’s an try and hold us snug in our ignorance, permitting dangerous narratives and energy buildings to persist unchecked. It positions actions for social justice as one thing undesirable, in the end portray the pursuit of fairness as a divisive, even “un-Canadian” endeavor.
This method doesn’t serve the higher good. By vilifying the attention of injustice, we’re complicit within the perpetuation of hurt. We can not afford to look the opposite method when problems with racial violence, gender discrimination, and environmental devastation proceed to have an effect on marginalized communities. Once we reject wokeness, we reject the very notion of justice—one which holds us accountable for our actions and urges us to do higher.
Let’s take a second to essentially take into consideration what “wokeness” means. At its core, it’s a name to motion, not about ethical superiority or political correctness. It’s about acknowledging the lived experiences of those that have been pushed to the margins and coming collectively to construct a extra simply and inclusive society. As an alternative of letting politicians twist it right into a weapon, let’s reclaim “wokeness” as a badge of honor. It’s a logo of our dedication to problem injustice and struggle for actual, systemic change.
So, ask your self: What sort of society will we need to stay in? Do we wish one the place we flip a blind eye to systemic injustice, or one the place we deal with these points head-on—with compassion, accountability, and a real drive for fairness? Rejecting “wokeness” means rejecting the very values that drive social justice. It’s time for all of us to rise above the political rhetoric and push for a Canada the place justice, fact, and fairness are extra than simply phrases—they’re the lived realities for everybody.
Remark your reflections under!
