The banner many marched under a few years ago now feels hollow. As a middle-aged, white-ish man, I may not be best placed to pronounce the decline of woke. Still, I can see its problems mounting.
Last month, Barbara Furlow-Smiles pleaded guilty to criminal charges that she embezzled $US4 million ($5.9 million) from Facebook while serving as a top diversity executive at the tech company. That tawdry episode seemed a fitting end to the year the woke wave crested. In 2024, it is likely to recede.
The term “woke”, of course, has been twisted to the point of deformity. It can mean an awareness of one’s surroundings, usually related to racial and social injustice. Or, it can be stretched to cover such things as critical race theory and identity politics, and a conviction that most problems are systemic and must be addressed as such.
