January 11, 2019 – The word “woke”.

        Yesterday I received my second issue of The Washington Examiner magazine which is an alternative to the defunct magazine, The Weekly Standard.  The Washington Examiner was kind enough to pick up the balance of my Weekly Standard unused subscription.  Nice guys – I must say – I had anticipated the worst scenario – losing 80% of a yearly paid subscription.  It was a sweet surprise.  Because they have absorbed my subscription I intend to be loyal for at least a few years – as long as I like the content.

        Within a matter of minutes, I ran up on two articles that had the word “woke” used in a new way for me. I am learning new things already was my first thought.  When I got to second time it was used in a matter of 10 pages, I decided I better research this new word usage.

        The first was in the Editorial by Hugo Gurdon:

        “Who taught social-justice warriors that free speech was a problem rather than the foundation of liberal democracy, and that people without “woke” opinions should be denied the chance of being heard.”

        Letter from the Editor – Hugo Gurdon, Washington Examiner, page 4, Volume 25, Number 2

        The second was from the article entitled The Royal millennial –

        “The Duchess is at times a parody of woke Californians, reportedly banning her husband not just from alcohol but also from tea and coffee.  Her preferred substitute?  Mineral water.”

        page 10, ibid

       

Merriam-Webster - woke – adjective – chiefly US slang

“Aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)”

Wikipedia – woke – direct quotes taken with footnotes notes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke

        “Woke is a political term of African American origin that refers to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice.^[1]  It is derived from the African American Vernacular English expression “stay woke, whose grammatical aspect refers to a continuing awareness of these issues.  Its widespread use since 2014 is a result of the Black Lives Matter movement.^[1][2]”

“Oxford Dictionaries records^[3] early political conscious usage in 1962 . . .”

        “The New York Times Magazine, Amanda Hess. raised concerns that the word had been culturally appropriated, writing, ‘The conundrum is built in. When white people aspire to gets points for consciousness, they walk right into the cross hairs between allyship and appropriation’ ”^[12]

            My conclusion from the above research:  I won’t be adopting it into my vocabulary, as I don’t want to be accused of racial appropriation. I am hoping it will fade from usage completely as it seems to me to be a divisive word and I don’t believe we need any more of those at this time.

        As the word “woke” with the above definition has now found its way into magazines I read, I will be paying a bit more attention to it to see if it morphs into some other meaning.

November 9, 2016 - "Fasten your seatbelts.  It's going to be a bumpy . . ." - Bette Davis

Donald J. Trump, President elect.

Congratulations to you Donald J. Trump; but also congratulations to all those 

who voted for him.

We have finally been heard.

When I was a young woman, my Mom told me to avoid discussions of religion, sex, and politics among friends, associates, and strangers.   For many years I have heeded that caution but it sure leads to dull conversations, and a dull life.

I finally grew out of that mantra and this election season I talked religion, and politics.  I also shelved the "politically correct" language and used the same forceful language as Donald J. Trump. I have always liked to "call it like I see it" and it has offended many people over the years. But, my closest friends and work associates have actually found it sort of endearing and humorous over the years because they never know what I might say.

[One attorney used to smile and say, "Well, Teri, tell me what you honestly think . . ." ribbing me after I'd drop my "call-it-like-I-see-it" comments.  It was his polite way of telling me I had stepped over the line for the general public, but he understood me and my angst of the situation.]

This political season I have honestly enjoyed my robust discussions with fellow "Trumper's" and non-Trumper's.  It has been enlightening.

I wasn't one of those who had to be wooed over.  I was one of those: "YES, about time, a business man, who has been successful and an outsider."   I was on board from day one.

AND, I have subscribed to The Weekly Standard, a conservative Republican weekly magazine, for several years and they were behind the "never Trump" movement.  So, not only did I get the - "You don't have your head on straight" from the people I came into contact with; I managed to read, cover to cover The Weekly Standard which was so ANTI-Trump I almost cancelled my subscription over their scathing editorials.    I only kept the subscription because the political cartoons are simply "over-the-top" funny.

I imagine I will now have absolutely no traffic to this blog because I am one of those "Deplorables", but then, I have "grown-up".   Hopefully, you will re-visit me in the future ignoring my political affiliation if it offends you.

It is going to be SO interesting to watch history unfold before our eyes as 

we move forward.

It was a long and bumpy ride during the campaign and

the next four years may be an even more bumpy ride.