USA Today:
Republican presidential hopefuls are vowing to wage a
war on "woke," but a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds a majority of
Americans are inclined to see the word as a positive attribute, not a
negative one.
Fifty-six percent of those surveyed say the term
means "to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices."
That includes not only three-fourths of Democrats but also more than a
third of Republicans.
Overall, 39% say instead that the word
reflects what has become the GOP political definition, "to be overly
politically correct and police others' words." That's the view of 56% of
Republicans.
The findings raise questions about whether
Republican campaign promises to ban policies at schools and workplaces
they denounce as "woke" could boost a contender in the party's primaries
but put them at odds with broader public opinion in the general
election.
Independents, by 51%-45%, say "woke" means being aware of social injustice, not being overly politically correct.
“Most
Americans understand that to be woke is to be tuned in to injustices
around us,” said Cliff Young of Ipsos. "But for a key segment of
Republicans who make up the Trump-DeSantis base, 'woke' is a clear
trigger for the worst of the politically correct, emerging multicultural
majority."
A new rallying cry in the culture wars
In the
early 20th century, "woke" was generally used as a call for Black people
around the world to "wake up" to racial oppression. After the 2014
police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the term gained
wider usage to describe awareness of the continuing legacy of racial
discrimination and systematic oppression.
Now conservatives have
adopted the term as a rallying cry in the culture wars, signaling their
opposition to everything from the teaching of the ongoing effects of
slavery to the use of gender-neutral pronouns.
"We will never
surrender to the woke mob," Ron DeSantis declared in his victory speech
when he won a second term as Florida governor in November. Former
President Donald Trump last week accused President Joe Biden of
engineering "a woke takeover of the entire federal government."
Even
South Carolina's Sen. Tim Scott, a Black man who discusses how racism
has affected his life, has derided "woke corporations" and "woke
prosecutors" as negative forces in American life...
