What is Woke? - By: Military Matter(s)

[Boats]

What is Woke? - By: Military Matter(s)
By: Brian Mcelhiney - Stars & Stripes - 07-13-21
Re: https://www.stripes.com/multimedia/p...m-2131254.html

The word [WOKE] started in 1971 -
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It has variable meanings - many most likely didn't know this.
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Onsite there is a recording - giving you the history of WOKE & it's meaning.
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Listen to this LINK Recording it explains a lot many of us didn't know:
[https://www.stripes.com/multimedia/p...-2131254.html]
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The debate about critical race theory and “wokeness” has infiltrated just about every aspect of American life, including the military.

Last month Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before
House Armed Services Committee and defended against questions by Republican lawmakers about their handling of extremism
and diversity issues in the ranks.

““I want to understand white rage, and I'm white, and I want to understand it,” Milley said. “So, what is it that caused thousands
of people to assault this building, and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America, what caused that?
I wanted to find that out.”

In the Season 4 premiere episode of Military Matters, host Rod Rodriguez discusses “wokeness” and critical race theory in the
military with guests, Brian “BK” Kimber, Air Force veteran and host of the weekly podcast, “World News with BK,” and John Witte,
professor emeritus from University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the departments of political science and the Robert La Follette
School of Public Affairs.

Kimber argued that the term “woke” to him suggests “an overemphasis on differentiating characteristics, such as race, gender,
class.” However, he doesn’t deny that these differences can create tension in the military and beyond.

“There’s going to be racial tension in America, period, because America is a unique nation, right?” he said. “We're a melting pot.
Other nations don't have … these huge populations of different ethnic minorities, different religions. They just don't have it.
America has always been unique in that way.”

Discussing racial disparity between white and Black people in the U.S., which is at the heart of critical race theory, can be difficult.
Most people don’t consider themselves racist, and therefore can have a strong offense reaction to being told systemic racism still
exists, according to Witte.

“If you take a look at the raw numbers on these situations, it's pretty hard to say there isn't (racial disparity) because African
Americans, particularly males but females as well, do not do as well in all of those situations,” Witte said. “They don't do as
well in income. They don't do as well in education. They have a higher incarceration rates — in my state, very high, for example.
The gaps in Wisconsin between whites and Blacks and education and incarceration are just enormous, highest in the country.

“So it's hard to deny the statistical side of that,” he said. “The question of course is, is the causation side. And if the causation
side is just blatant discrimination, I think a lot of people resist that because they don't see themselves as racist.”

About this writer: Follow Jack Murphy on Twitter @jackmurphyrgr and Rod Rodriguez @rodpodrod.

A transcript of the episode can be found here (*).
You can find Military Matters on Twitter @stripesmmpod.
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Personal note: Something I really didn't know the actual meaning of; or better yet - more than most of us really understood or knew!
It's a medical issue - If you're WOKE should you be in the service or not? And should the military accept this? Hmm - I really don't
know. But I think it's what you bring into the service with you that some can't tolerate or be with? I'd rather be informed.
But that's just me. It's more than I knew about these issues of WOKE & CRT & they seem to go hand and hand. WOKE folks
and now the Critical Race Theory. They were issues in our Division at times - usually the boys from the South didn't like
mixing with the colored guys. It's been that way for sometime - just under a new nametag. As for me I got along with most
everyone - I don't believe I was racist even to this day.

Treat them as equals and its goes away - I've seen that. In the service we were all one or we are nothing. We both
can be killed - and we can both do our jobs - that's what is important. I've heard it said: That All Men Are Brother's
Under The Skin. Nobody like's having name-plates that defame one or the other (many had nick-names. That may
seemed to be OK - as long as they weren't defaming). In my neighborhood my nickname was RAGS - that was because
my cloths were patched or torn. We weren't rich - but we were clean. I think every kid I knew had a nickname. One
guy I hung out with his nickname was Weedhead - why who knows. But mean-full slander will disrupt most people
regardless of their race - creed or color. Even some girls in the neighborhood could kick the ass of many guys
who tried to make the move on them. I knew of four sisters that were nice but defensive and could really kick
a boy's ass's - if they were out of line. (Won't mention their names they may find me an knock the crap out
of me). Their brother's taught them how fight like guys - and they were all knockouts (not literally) but
good gals. They all moved up from the South - and all of them were redheads & tougher than nails.
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