Man, if I had to tell you how many times I have written this post over the past month you would have a fat chuckle! It is such an emotive topic but one that id hope would result in dialogue so anyway heeerree goes…
Over the last little while I have been bombarded with this term “Woke” and then recently another “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) Say whaaaa?!! Yes, exactly my thoughts too, but thank goodness for Auntie Google right?! See up until a few weeks ago when I attended an engagement where Helen Zille’s book “#Go woke, stay broke” was discussed, I admittedly hadn’t paid much mind to this term CRT. My interest was piqued however where it was said that the term woke in a way equated critical race theory. Also kindly note the room was largely filled with people that the equating of these 2 ideas would benefit, in my humble opinion. Yes, indeed another first for me. But let me help ya’all out with some definitions
woke, adjective: Originally: well-informed, up-to-date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice; frequently in stay woke. (Source: Oxford English Dictionary)
critical race theory (CRT), intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans. (Source: Britannica)
This term woke has been floating about for some time now, way before CRT stepped into my lane, so you can imagine my bewilderment when the 2 were likened. I’m a simple human and to me woke is woke and CRT is CRT. You are just complicating my mind by trying to make them the same, it feels akin to trying to fit a square peg into a rectangular hole, it kinda, sorta fits and you can make yourself and some others who like what you are saying believe it fits, but it really doesn’t fit. Now I’m no researcher but I know 1 or 2 people so I decided to conduct a small nyana survey. I asked them what their understanding of woke was. The older generation, like myself, struggled a wee bit with the exact definition but had the gist of what the term referred to but not one of the many people I came across over a 2/3 week period EVER linked CRT to woke. NOT ONE.
My observation of this world we live in is that it is geared towards males and in some societies more so than in others. Case in point being having a room full of old men pontificating about reproductive choice. For real? I use this one because I find it theee most ridiculous of them all. Here we are as guys, we drop a seed and life carries on largely as ‘normal’, some of us even decide to make like Craig David and walk away, yet we want to decide on what a woman, who has to carry and grow this life form and nurture it till it is no more can do with it? haaibo
The speaker at the event I attended was saying that being woke equates CRT which equates to the systematic dismantling of the role Caucasian heterosexual males play(ed) in society. Interesting equation. I am going to try and take a look at it a different way. #meToo movement, LGBQTI standing up, black folk asking to be seen. All these people are trying to raise awareness or a consciousness of the world where we see the Caucasian heterosexual male as the apex. It may not necessarily be a bad thing. Because there are more categories in this world than just that. Now please I beg oh, I’m not for one second calling for the elimination of anyone, but more the recognition of others. I look at this continent and I see that there is a strong race for resources. The west wants it, the east wants it. But one’s approach seems more right than the other’s, which I guess requires further investigation to determine the reality. But the rhetoric is out there and many of us lap it up without much research being undertaken to determine accuracy.
Anyway onto CRT and my very limited take on it, Colonialism, apartheid, 1820 settlers, Zulu wars, Anglo Boer war, the Holocaust, world wars Vietnamese war, Cambodian war, ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, slavery….as much as we wish they didn’t, the all happened. Their effects still linger in society to this day. Do I believe those behind these atrocities should be revered? Ehhh NO! Do I think they should be erased from all spheres of life? Ehhh No! What I do struggle with is the idea that a certain way of being is the apex, a yardstick against which we should all hold ourselves. It may not always be overt, but it creeps in.
So whilst doing my survey, I was having a chat with a good mate of mine who is pretty senior at one of our banks in SA. And he gave me an example of a guy who is brilliant at his job, but he added that this guy will never be a great deal maker because he doesn’t drink, mountain bike, play golf and talk smut, how will he connect with the dudes? He comes from another side of the tracks, different religious beliefs and his old man is a mechanic (this one got me a wee bit because why should that be a thing, but I digress in parenthesis). He just wouldn’t gel with the guys with the cash that you need to shmoooze to get the deals. I then engaged with another mate from another institution who was part of an interviewing panel. A host of people were interviewed, and he found one guy to be an absolute standout. The other manne (men in Afrikaans…written for effect/illustration) said nah bra, he won’t fit the culture because of his background and religion. (Sure there are those occasions where people are shoved into positions purely because of the melanin concentration mostly to address some of the injustices of the past because let’s be fair, were it not for laws compelling people to look beyond their norm or comfort zone, some of us may not have gotten a chance to show we are able and capable).
I currently live in Cape Town and large part of our job is to host industry events to listen to and see how we can or are assisting industry grow the economy. I won’t lie I am always struck by the demographic in the room. Pick an industry, any industry...
These are a few snap shots taken from one lense, other lenses may show the beholders eye something else. But Some people still wonder why making statements like Black Lives Matter is relevant or necessary. Indulge me for a second will ya? At the start of the Euro2020, the English football team decided take a stand against injustice. This is a young team, a diverse team, a unified team lead by someone who seems a good human. Before every game they took a knee to take a moment to remind themselves and others that injustices have no space in their game and possibly lives too. Good on them and on the back of that and their ability, they managed to achieve something NO OTHER male English football team has managed in 50 odd years I think, and that is to make it to the finals of any tournament of note. They took this stance as a stance against intolerance, largely racism. They were booed, ridiculed, insulted…
Well let’s just take a quick look at what happened on Sunday 11.07.2021, Euro 2020 finals 3 brave young men, one dark the other 2 mixed i.e. they hold Caucasian genes too, missed penalties for England against Italy, what happened to them? The weight on those kids shoulders when they stepped up to take the penalties knowing what abuse might befall them should they fail, was etched on their faces. It is going to sound prophetic, but when they were taking the penalties, I hoped they wouldn’t miss, but my soul felt that they would miss (Jorginho too for that matter). I sent my mate a message straight after that to say those kids are gonna get it, and just like clockwork….
In 2006, I can’t remember Rooney (sent off) Stevie G and Frank Lampard (penalty misses) getting any abuse when they lost to Portugal. And sadly it is not just them let the Springboks lose or a person who is darker than Caucasian play poorly, the abuse they have to contend with?! Those are very simple examples that I bring up to show where we are in this world. We have progressed much but many still see life in race, gender, sexuality, religion and we need to speak out against injustices wherever we find them. Had someone stood up and spoken out against Hitler and his rhetoric would the world not have been better off?
So am I woke? Ge-arrahere man! I’ve been out here speaking boxing for the longest time. Not a fan of the term, but then again I don’t like being pigeon-holed. There are things that speak to me and my soul and things that don’t. Kinda like most people. I despise things I believe to be unjust and those may not seem unjust to others and I accept that. Do I believe rhinos should be poached, hell no and I sometimes shrug my shoulders in a ‘oh this life sometimes’ sort of way when I read that a would be poacher was mauled by a lion. But will I take up arms to fight to save the rhino, not so much. Gender based violence or someone calling someone he doesn’t know, a woke lesbian bitch, (which in itself is all kinds of wrong so the reason for her drawing the ire of this man, makes it even more annoying) you can sign me the fudge up!
