The Childish Tantrums of Wokeness

   

   I wonder sometimes about what motivates progressives. Then, I look at my granddaughters, and I see something that may hold a clue. They are three and one years old. The older one seems to have a problem with her sister enjoying anything. If little sis has one piece of a building block toy, big sis screams, and cannot stop, even though she has dozens of similar blocks. She just doesn't want to see anyone else be happy. Does that sound familiar?

   It's kind of sad, but because as a really cool grandpa, I have taught big sis to share, although with limited success. It's always beautiful to see her offer little sis a toy. Of course, she's a three year old, and little sis is only one, so I really can't apply it to adult politics. The thing that links them in my mind is the tantrums. Why do the "woke" progressives have tantrums over things that don't affect them, personally? 

   Elon Musk is buying Twitter, and they act like my three year old granddaughter? Are they really that traumatized? Let me tell you, when Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post out of the blue in 2013, some reporting called him a "white knight savior," because print media was losing out to digital publishing. Here's a good independent analysis, from the time. None of the reporting was as crazy as what's happening now. At least my grandkids stop screaming when I distract them with a new toy. For some reason, the "wokesters" can't accept the new reality. Some even expect the government to intervene.

   I think part of it is generational. People who grew up in the age of the internet have had a greater ability to just "shut out" ideas they disagree with online. Online communities often revolve around political affiliation, even if the groups start out with innocuous, nonpartisan goals. This is why so many Facebook groups have "NO POLITICS" as their first rule. In my youth, the adults used to say "no politics or religion talk" at family gatherings, for the same reason, though it was not always followed. Back then, sometimes you had to engage with people that had very different views than you. You could argue, or be diplomatic, but you often had to listen, depending on the situation. That was part of life.

   These later generations seem to have a different attitude. For one, they don't respect free speech. As they've become in positions of power, they have found some interesting ways of stifling ideas they disagree with. First came the "heckler's veto," where they would just shout down speakers at college events. Then, they started redefining words as "hate speech," or otherwise "harmful," as in "those words make me feel unsafe." It happened gradually, over time, but in the end, millions of people are now afraid to express a political opinion either online, or in the real public square, for fear of being "cancelled." That means hounded by a mob of "wokesters" who will contact your friends, family, and employer in an attempt to destroy your life.

   Now, these "woke" people have found that they can actually bully their own employers, by throwing tantrums over anything. A great example is at Disney, where their employees complained to management about a proposed Florida state law they didn't like. Disney management didn't have anything to do with passing the law, but like an exasperated parent, they gave in to the tantrum, and made a statement opposing it. This has caused some backlash from customers as well as politicians. 

   Corporations that have sunk billions into "woke" training, and taken partisan political positions that will also damage their public standing. Why pick a side, when you are a company that depends on gathering the most customers? The people that run these corporations are supposed to be smart, but they seem to be dupes, following a bunch of scam artists. Whether it's climate change, antiracism, or the LGBTQ+ agenda, they have to step in, without really considering the cost/benefit ratio to their bottom line.

   The good news is that the "woke" far left has gone way too far, and now regular left-leaning folks, as well as centrists are listening to what those of us on the right have been saying for years. For a long time, this childish "tantrum" behavior by the far left was confined to college campuses, and thought of as a joke by most people. What happened in 2020 was that all of a sudden, parents saw that this was being taught to young children, and that they were purposefully being kept in the dark. Non-parents also got a shock in 2020 when the government shut down their economic freedom, and then their ability to question or protest it, to varying degrees.

   There were so many covid regulations that made no scientific sense, and just seemed as if they were designed to destroy personal happiness. Allowing people into mega-stores, but only allowing them to buy "approved" items? Allowing bars to re-open, but only until 10pm? Or worse, insisting that patrons must buy "substantial food" with their drinks? Shutting down outdoor dining, but letting movie studios have outdoor catering across the street? Allowing casinos to open at half-capacity, but not houses of worship? Of course, the hypocrisy of banning outdoor gatherings, unless you were protesting for social justice. These are just some examples that remind me of my older granddaughter's selective hatred of seeing her little sister happy.

   It's funny that they are trying to weaponize their old 2016 standby, "misinformation," when the very people in government and media using it have been its chief practitioners. We all know that anyone can spread "fake news," as Pres. Trump liked to call it (even him!). By now, most people understand that the answer to that is more speech, not less. Only the people with a vested interest in spreading "misinformation" want to silence opposing viewpoints. They call these opinions "harmful" and "dangerous," but the words expressed aren't forcing anyone to believe them, or act on them. Notice that it's the "woke" people on the far left who want to use the power of the state to make everyone speak and act a certain way. Most people have already seen through the "wokesters" tantrums about free speech, covid policy, and any number of other bad policies that are failing the nation. This year's elections will show if they're getting out to vote on it.