General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Carville was right. Here's why it doesn't matter [View all]StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)That one word breaks the entire concept down to its very essence in the simplest possible terms that everyone can understand.
But when we say woke, we're lectured that it's too difficult to understand and we SHOULD be explaining it in much more complicated terms and longer sentences that are considerably more academic and jargony than the simple term "woke."
The problem, as I see it, is that people don't want to deal with the issue itself, so they make excuses about why they're not listening to it. One of those excuses is "you're talking down to me with academic jargon." If they were REALLY interested and thought someone was saying something they didn't fully understand, they'd just say, "I don't think I understand. Could you break that down for me?" Instead, they walk away and claim that they're being ignored or condescended to, so they're not going to listen at all. That's an excuse and a copout. But, unfortunately, plenty of people, like Carville, cosign that for them.
In the meantime, they seem to have no trouble understanding "Make America Great Again" and "cancel culture" and "law and order" which are as jargony as you can get and don't say jacksquat.
The language isn't the problem. It's what the language conveys. They know what it means. They just aren't open to it. That's why I think we should stop busting our butts trying to explain it because no matter how well or simply or respectfully we do, some of these people will never respond.