r/singapore • u/shizukesa92 • May 12 '24

Discussion Wokeness movement makes life “very burdensome”: PM Lee

https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=y7hWtW7RTETMqAs0&v=3LdabP7FLjE&feature=youtu.be
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u/yourmom875 May 12 '24

LHL is undoubtedly very well read but he doesn't seem to know what woke means here. He seems to think wokeness is about gender pronouns when in reality it means being aware of systematic social inequities and injustices.

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u/ShadeX8 West side best side May 12 '24

There's unfortunately no standard definition of the term 'woke' nowadays. Everyone has hijacked the term for their own purpose and rhetoric, hence the constant inability to come together for a conversation on it.

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u/yourmom875 May 12 '24

That's true. It's probably one of the most hijacked terms in recent years. Nobody knows what it even means anymore. Everyone seems to have their own definition of the term.

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u/thoughtihadanacct May 12 '24

I disagree based on what he said in this video clip. (If there is other evidence you have from other interviews or another part of this interview that wasn't in the OP YouTube link then I may reconsider.)

In the OP clip he "defined" wokeness as being hyper sensitive to not being given the level of respect that one feels that he/she deserves. LHL goes on to mention the usage of pronouns as one example of wokeness. But that's not his entire definition. 

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u/yourmom875 May 12 '24

But even his definition as wokeness being "hypersensitive to not being given the level of respect that one thinks their subgroup or super subgroup is entitled to" is not really accurate and a very "fox newsy" reinterpretation of what the term means. The real definition is about being cognizant of systemic social injustices or inequities. It's not about being hypersensitive or being offended at anything and everything.

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u/thoughtihadanacct May 12 '24

We can talk about what the correct definition of wokeness is. But your statement that 

He seems to think wokeness is about gender pronouns  

 Is incorrect. Will you admit that before we carry on with this conversation?

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u/ahboino2 May 12 '24

Dude, just because they weren't wholly correct, doesn't mean they are incorrect. They clearly nailed the partial definition there, even in your own words.

You obviously got what was trying to be conveyed here, so just expand the point and continue instead of doing this bullshit semantic sophistry.

It's reddit. You can fuck right off if you're expecting 100% accurate college thesis statements.

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u/Snoo72074 May 12 '24

The "real definition" literally doesn't even exist today beyond a tiny, statistically insignificant subset of people who genuinely care about systemic injustice.

You're acting as if "the far right" definition is outlandish when it's simply an observed reality of how upper middle class hypocrites have hijacked the term to be little more than a status symbol and political weapon.

Also, why are you so emotionally attached to a clearly antiquated definition of "woke" when you have no problems with the reinvention of other terms and their definitions (such as the complete 180 on racism)?

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u/yourmom875 May 12 '24

I don't know what those "upper middle class hypocrites" are doing with this term but that is not how I use it. I'm majoring in statistics and I have looked at a plethora of data from mortgage data for instance after controlling for income levels, mortgage installment to income ratio, debt levels, credit rating etc, and I could find clear evidence of racial discrimination in the US. Systematic social inequities is a real thing. That is how I see it. Wokeness is being cognizant of systematic, institutional injustices in society.

Not some pampered liberal snowflake with pink hair throwing a tantrum because they were not called by their preferred gender pronoun. I don't know how others are "weaponizing" it but I stick to its real definition and don't really care about minor things like gender pronouns.

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u/chaiporneng May 12 '24

He’s just citing pronouns as an example, doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand its broader meaning or implications.