Conservative writer struggles to define 'woke'

A conservative writer struggles to define “woke” so we enlist some help to figure it out. 

Follow MSNBC Show Blogs

MSNBC delivers breaking news, in-depth analysis of politics headlines, as well as commentary and informed perspectives. Find video clips and segments from The Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, The Beat with Ari Melber, Deadline: White House, The ReidOut, All In, Last Word, 11th Hour, and Alex Wagner who brings her breadth of reporting experience to MSNBC primetime. Watch “Alex Wagner Tonight” Tuesday through Friday at 9pm Eastern.

Connect with MSNBC Online
Subscribe to the MSNBC Daily Newsletter: MSNBC.com/NewslettersYouTube

#msnbc #tiktok #woke

[fairdinkum]

That Anchor deserves a pay rise!
Se sensed that her guest may not be able to define Woke.
The she simply asked her... "just so we're on the same page...",
And keeping absolutely quiet, letting her guest self-destruct!🤣

[AJeziorski]

The hardest thing about defining "woke" for right-wingers is that at its core, it just means trying to be a decent human being who's considerate to other people. And if that's what you oppose so fiercely, then that makes you the bad guy.

[odinata]

Every time you hear the word "woke" use, ask them to define it and better yet, ask them to tell you the ORIGIN of the word.

[lissamac]

you wrote a book about it but you cant define it??? what???

[lw]

If you are going to write a book about "woke' ideology, you best be able to define the word. Did she think no one would ever ask her that question?

[Beatlearl]

Sounds like she WOKE up on the wrong side of the bed with her non explanation.🤔

[__m-a-x__]

It’s because the word has no real meaning and she knows it. Why would someone write an entire book without defining their terms. It’s amateur and she deserved this moment.

[Marvellous]

Every time any "anti-woke" person or politician professing that"woke" is an issue, they need to be asked "what does 'woke' mean?".

[drwalker]

Once she defines "woke" as something that means *redo society in order to create hierarchies of oppression* at 1:33, I see why her misinterpretation makes her dislike it. It also sounds as if she wasted an entire chapter on that bizarre definition. That makes the quality of the rest of the book suspect.

When I first heard "woke", my thought was that it meant something akin to "no longer asleep", and I would assume that most native speakers of American English would do the same. But some snowflakes were apparently offended by the implication that _they_ were asleep/unaware/not-paying-attention, and it upset them to think about that.

Also, I'm gonna miss Roy. If only he had called Rev. Al Sharpton....

[sandiegotrafficlightstrain]

😆 she said, "This is going to be one of those viral moments." And yes it did.

[roldanflynn]

Woke: to be able to recognize the social environment(s) around one’s self and the injustices born from that environment.

[canadiansociologist]

There's a philosophy in academia that the more you actually know about your topic, the easier and more succinct you can explain it.

[halasalready]

Being ‘WOKE’ is something that Christians are supposed to be: kind, compassionate, selfless, inclusive, understanding, acceptance of everyone.

[PeterKaitlyn]

Woke:
Actual Definition: the past participle of the state of having awakened. To be in an awakened state of consciousness.
Republican Adjective: A term of political denigration against anyone who believes that America is actually a democracy.
Republican Verb: A term of disparagement for anyone who actually expresses their legal freedoms under the Constitution.

[leesweather]

Girl...reminds me of having to watch a fellow student speak in front of the class in 4th grade for the first time. *CRINGE*

[MartijnHover]

Let's never forget that "rightwing intellectual" is a contradiction in terms. 😀

[theBiggerJigger]

Conservatives are having trouble defining "woke" because since the 1920's it was a simple slang meaning 'to be informed'. African Americans started using 'woke' as a term to keep an eye out and understand the effects racism happening in their communities (from coast to coast). Woke is not an adjective, it's state of mind. Being informed about how your social surroundings can negatively affect you is not, and cannot be misconstrued as an insult.

[jimmylopez]

It's incredible a person that claims to know "WOKE" an can't say a simple compressive meaning. She's not alone, all those politicians that use it are on the same page. For them off a slang that is trending and is use without any knowledge of it's meaning. Everyone should called it out!

[LJ_nowandalways]

Conservatives mean "not like us" when they say "woke."

[michaelcapeless]

I prefer to be awake than asleep - and asleep seems to be the opposite of "woke"