For many years, the term "woke" had a very positive connotation in the Black community. But these days, "woke" is often used as a pejorative by the MAGA right — and even some supporters of the Democratic Party, including political strategist James Carville and "Real Time" Host Bill Maher, are critical of what they view as the excesses of modern "woke" culture. Carville and Maher are very specific in their criticisms of contemporary "wokeness," whereas countless MAGA Republicans toss the word around so casually that it becomes nothing more than dumb, empty, buffoonish rhetoric. One of the worst offenders is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and journalist Abigail Weinberg cites some examples in a cutting article published by Mother Jones on Feb. 9.
"The word that was once a rallying cry for Black Americans to stay alert to racial injustices has been co-opted by the conservative right to denounce any educational, cultural or policy position that attempts to reckon with our nation's racist history," Weinberg explains. "People appropriate the language of Black struggle all the time . . . Arguably, no one has done more to dilute the meaning of 'woke' than Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis."
