Toby Young | Woke Culture HAS Gone Too Far - 3/8 | Oxford Union
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Published 2023-01-12
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Initially used as a term to empower awareness of systemic inequalities in society, wokeism is now a deeply divisive term. The media's perpetuation of woke culture has made this term a buzzword. For some, being woke is part of the antidote of acknowledging the instruments of oppression. For others, it is a dangerously absolutist ideology, a sort of reverse McCarthyism, corroding liberal society and encouraging self-imposed victimhood. Is the 'war on woke' a legitimate phenomenon, or a reactionary distraction from the real problems being 'woke' addresses?
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All Comments (21)
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Spot on. Insulting people does not persuade them that you are right.
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You don't have to be an Oxford graduate to know this madness has gone way way to far
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Well said Toby, common sense at its best. Great points, excellent perspective.
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That was an absolute tour de force, Toby. A brilliant and articulate exposition of the flawed approach embraced by the Woke cult. Thank you.
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The only person I can think of, who could have made this point so successfully is, Douglas Murray.
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When I mention WOKE culture or trans rights to my friends who don’t spend as much time as I do on YouTube, they laugh and say “what are you on about. It’s a “thing” only on social media. I remember Kier Starmer getting flustered having being asked “what is a woman”. He knows perfectly well what a woman is, he’s married to one but he couldn’t explain it in words for fear of “offending” the woke movement. How crazy is that?
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Im so very happy to have come across these clips. So good to see intelligent people pushing back on the destructive woke movement.
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Listening to this man is like a breath of fresh air. I hope these people are taking all this in.
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Political ideologies have no brakes. They always go too far.
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The Tavistock Clinic is now facing over 1000 law suits for the medical malpractice and injuries caused to children and the ignoring of psychological problems and the help that should have been given instead of mutilation !
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I wish we had something like this here in the US. Good speeches and a free exchange of ideas.
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Brilliant, articulate and inspirational! Thank you Toby Young!
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"To smear, to ostracise, to publicly shame, to cancel". Twitter is the same. Your are having a reasonable exchange of Tweets about women's rights and some Gender Identity activists crash in calling everyone a bigot and a transphobe , reporting you to get you suspended: the Twitter equivalent of banging pots and pans and blaring foghorns outside a lecture theatre or meeting place. The Grievance Industrial Comple is such a good term; the first time I heard it. Thank you Toby.
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Good speech. I hope we are at a turning point now where the woke backlash and cancel culture will gradually be faded out. Only time will tell, but I hope that soon we are looking back on this terrible episode through the rear-view mirror.
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I am so delighted that this popped up in my feed... I have been trying to find the words to express what has happened in Australia and New Zealand this weekend...
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Amazing. I really recommend this book "The Rise of Victimhood Culture: Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and the New Culture Wars" by Bradley Campbell. It totally explains what the hell is going on at campuses.
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As a recovering woke individual, it is beyond a breath of fresh air to hear such debates now at the center of stage. I for one support the ideals of the “woke” movement, but have lost faith in the tactics and lack of a concise and clear platform that doesn’t involve canceling or berating people into submission. It is indeed a form of fascism, where the left circle back on themselves.
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The statement that we do not disagree with what woke culture are trying to achieve but its methodology is a major reason that many rebel against this theology. The other point he brings out well is how those who stand for social justice seem stuck on the idea that their own said country is uniquely "racist" without asking about the wider world and ignoring the history victories we have had and why and how they came about.
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As a conservative living in America I can assure you we feel the exact same way about wokeness as this gentleman does. Wokeness conducts itself with the same racial bigotry that they claim to oppose in all it's forms. Next time an American academic preaches to you about inclusivity ask them how many conservatives are in their sociology department. Hypocrisy abounds.
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"What has woke culture given us? Meghan Markle's podcast." 😂😂😂
