‘Woke’ senator accuses others of ‘wokeism’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/07/2022 (1528 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earlier this month, Manitoba Senator Don Plett announced he is endorsing Pierre Poilievre in the current contest to become leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Plett said he had planned to remain neutral in the race, but changed his mind after some senior Conservatives openly questioned the CPC’s ability to win a federal election with Poilievre as party leader.

Plett told the Free Press (Tory senator picks side in leadership battle, July 18, 2022) that “When people say, ‘well if so-and-so wins, we can’t win an election’ … then I feel that maybe we all have to come out of the closet and declare our stances.”

He added he supports Poilievre because he stood up for convoy protesters last winter. “We have had our freedoms taken away by this government; freedom of speech has been taken away,” he said. “This was a freedom convoy, of people who were frustrated.”

He argued that “We have a woke society out there that we need to move back to where we were in the days of, absolutely, Stephen Harper — but also in the days of Brian Mulroney and our very founding forefathers … and most Liberal prime ministers.”

The accusations of being “woke,” or of engaging in “wokeism,” are insults frequently cast by right-wing politicians and commentators these days.

Rex Murphy wrote in the National Post last November that “Political correctness is toxic; wokeism is an insult to reason.” Earlier this month, Jamil Jivani wrote in the same newspaper that “Elected officials are rarely made to answer questions about how and why woke ideologies have become so influential in our schools.”

I wonder if Plett, Murphy and Jivani even know what the term “woke” means.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “woke” as “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”

Urbandictionary.com defines “wokeism” as “A nonexistent trigger word invented by conservative mainstream media (namely Fox News) that is designed to disparage individuals/victims/minority groups/or otherwise marginalized parties who speak out against abusive systems of power, culturally insensitive/offensive individuals, or other forms of abuse against them.”

Dr. Michael Karson writes on the Psychology Today website that “Wokeness … is a good thing. … Awareness of unfairness in the treatment of others not only makes the world a better place and us better people; it creates a culture in which the marginalized receive empathy instead of blame.”

The irony here – and perhaps the hypocrisy – should be obvious. Plett criticizes Canada’s “woke” society, yet he is engaging in his own form of “wokeism.”

Plett endorses Poilievre because he sided with last winter’s “convoy protesters.” He supports the protesters because he says their freedom of speech was taken away, causing them to have hurt feelings.

He frames the issue as one of social justice. He is offended by what he describes as an abuse of power by the federal government and an improper restriction of some citizens’ freedoms.

That’s wokeism, Senator. The problem is that its selective wokeism, offered in support of a corrosive sliver of our society at the expense of the rights, freedoms and interests of millions of other Canadians.

The protests and horn-honking traumatized residents of Ottawa, Winnipeg, Windsor and Coutts. The blockades caused tremendous harm to the national economy, costing Canadians billions of dollars in commerce, millions in wages, and putting many jobs in jeopardy. The blockade that occurred at the Manitoba legislature cost Winnipeg taxpayers $500,000 in extra policing costs.

What about the rights of the many citizens affected by all of that, senator?

Plett complains that today’s Canada is a “woke society.” He says it needs to “move back” to the days of Stephen Harper and “our very founding forefathers.”

He’s wrong. If Canada has become more sensitive to issues of racism, inequality and injustice – a “woke society” – that is something to be celebrated, not condemned.

He yearns for Canada to return to a time when the rights of the marginalized and powerless were routinely ignored and abused, but it is too late to turn back. Younger generations of Canadians will not allow it to happen.

They have no shame in being labelled as “woke.” They just wish Sen. Plett and his convoy-coddling Conservative colleagues would wake up.

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