Toby Young | Woke Culture HAS Gone Too Far - 3/8 | Oxford Union

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Initially used as a term to empower awareness of systemic inequalities in society, wokeism is now a deeply divisive term. The media's perpetuation of woke culture has made this term a buzzword. For some, being woke is part of the antidote of acknowledging the instruments of oppression. For others, it is a dangerously absolutist ideology, a sort of reverse McCarthyism, corroding liberal society and encouraging self-imposed victimhood. Is the 'war on woke' a legitimate phenomenon, or a reactionary distraction from the real problems being 'woke' addresses?

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[andrewspencer]

Spot on. Insulting people does not persuade them that you are right.

[martinneill]

"To smear, to ostracise, to publicly shame, to cancel".
Twitter is the same. Your are having a reasonable exchange of Tweets about women's rights and some Gender Identity activists crash in calling everyone a bigot and a transphobe, reporting you to get you suspended: the Twitter equivalent of banging pots and pans and blaring foghorns outside a lecture theatre or meeting place. The Grievance Industrial Comple is such a good term; the first time I heard it. Thank you Toby.

[DrawTheThinLine]

Well said Toby, common sense at its best. Great points, excellent perspective.

[Storm]

You don't have to be an Oxford graduate to know this madness has gone way way to far

[bobbyuk]

The only person I can think of, who could have made this point so successfully is, Douglas Murray.

[williamlee]

That was an absolute tour de force, Toby. A brilliant and articulate exposition of the flawed approach embraced by the Woke cult. Thank you.

[joshuaam]

As a recovering woke individual, it is beyond a breath of fresh air to hear such debates now at the center of stage. I for one support the ideals of the “woke” movement, but have lost faith in the tactics and lack of a concise and clear platform that doesn’t involve canceling or berating people into submission. It is indeed a form of fascism, where the left circle back on themselves.

[chris-]

When I mention WOKE culture or trans rights to my friends who don’t spend as much time as I do on YouTube, they laugh and say “what are you on about. It’s a “thing” only on social media. I remember Kier Starmer getting flustered having being asked “what is a woman”. He knows perfectly well what a woman is, he’s married to one but he couldn’t explain it in words for fear of “offending” the woke movement. How crazy is that?

[MicroMouge]

Im so very happy to have come across these clips. So good to see intelligent people pushing back on the destructive woke movement.

[ThunderboltWisdom]

Good speech. I hope we are at a turning point now where the woke backlash and cancel culture will gradually be faded out. Only time will tell, but I hope that soon we are looking back on this terrible episode through the rear-view mirror.

[TheArcturusProject]

Well said. We need things like this that can be shared to people who still have any moral integrity, but aren’t sure how to properly exercise that ability

[jackieo]

Listening to this man is like a breath of fresh air. I hope these people are taking all this in.

[chris.fyourman]

this and Konstantin's speeches are why no-platforming became so popular. Good to see debate taking place. Hope this spreads to other places.

[lawsonspedding]

The Tavistock Clinic is now facing over 1000 law suits for the medical malpractice and injuries caused to children and the ignoring of psychological problems and the help that should have been given instead of mutilation !

[shantishanti]

I am so delighted that this popped up in my feed... I have been trying to find the words to express what has happened in Australia and New Zealand this weekend...

[spanglestein]

When I first heard the term woke around 2 years ago ( I may have been slow to catch on )
Initially I had to ask quite a few friends and colleagues what it meant & at first I had to question am I woke ?
But now strangely I feel that I have been pushed further and further to the right . This has clarified that all along I was ( 2 years ago ) fairly balanced in my social and political outlook but mainly in defence of all I hold dear I am on the right and as a consequence far less tolerant
Let us hope that this woke nonsense dissipates so we can all get a firm grounding in common sense and reason once again ❤

[brianarps]

Political ideologies have no brakes. They always go too far.

[ianboard]

I wish we had something like this here in the US. Good speeches and a free exchange of ideas.

[aynrandish]

This guy was very good with the debate topic. His description of woke culture makes me think we need a new debate on what the solution will be to steer humanity back on track to solve the mass mental illness now afflicting most of the western world.

[robbyjones]

The statement that we do not disagree with what woke culture are trying to achieve but its methodology is a major reason that many rebel against this theology.
The other point he brings out well is how those who stand for social justice seem stuck on the idea that their own said country is uniquely "racist" without asking about the wider world and ignoring the history victories we have had and why and how they came about.