“In the end, the Left’s portrayal of being ‘woke’ feels more like an identity badge than a call to action. It serves as a comforting reassurance that they’re the good guys, the enlightened ones, while everyone else is either a villain or a sleepwalker. In essence, their version of ‘wokeness’ feels like a narrative designed more for self-validation than for navigating the roughness of the real world.”

by Cauf Skiviers (Substack)

After being exposed through the ‘What is a Woman?‘ phenomenon, progressives, in their lack of imagination and sense of dignity, believed they found a silver bullet in a supposed comeback: ‘What is woke?’ With one fell swoop, they felt they could alleviate criticism of their irrational antics and provide a gotcha question to lay the pesky ‘what is a woman?’ problem they can’t answer, to rest.

Except ‘what is woke?’ is a burning question that holds no fire.

There’s no ambiguity, no contradiction, just a demonstration of sheer progressive ignorance while the world watches. Because the world knows exactly what woke is: the cult of Cultural Marxism, a secular humanist religion.

It is a concept so widely accepted that I wrote about it over a year ago in the article below:

https://substack.com/redirect/1b63badb-a2f0-4b07-82d1-48c8c3d4425a

“if their founding myth is based on the ‘oppressor’ and ‘oppressed’ archetypes, it only makes sense that their theology is underpinned by historical materialism [Marxism] but, with a twist: instead of the class struggle, we ended up with multiple identity struggles.”

But, don’t take my word for it. Matt Walsh, of “What is a Woman?” fame, has recently given a remarkably similar definition, and I was not surprised by it:

“[woke] is a cult or a secular religion which teaches that society is systemically oppressive towards certain supposedly marginalized groups, […] that our institutions were built expressly with the purpose of oppressing these groups […] according to the doctrines of the cult nothing can exist for its own sakes no institution can have any purpose above or beyond the enforcement of those doctrines […] in the woke religion the Satan figure is the heterosexual white male and each member of this group inherits the collective guilt of the oppressor”

Interestingly, last year, I identified Donald Trump as the ‘devil’ according to the woke perspective (Walsh is more generic, opting for the heterosexual white male), and I wrote an entire piece on how the progressive belief in naïve rationality (Walsh’s “nothing can exist for its own sake no institution can have any purpose above or beyond the enforcement of those doctrines”) is a reason why the woke fail in critical thinking.

You can watch Walsh’s full video on the definition of ‘woke’ here. Now, even if we couldn’t agree on a common definition, there is still a crucial difference between asking ‘what is a woman?’ and asking ‘what is woke?’ A woman is, of course, a biological reality, ‘woke’ is an idea and therefore open to multiple interpretations. Also, by answering ‘what is woke?’ we are giving a definition to something. By answering ‘what is a woman?’ the Left is attempting to redefine a word, assigning a contrived meaning to something whose definition we always understood.

Nobody Joins a Cult

So, why does the definition of ‘woke’ remain elusive to the woke themselves, even if conservatives agree on a roughly concise meaning? The answer lies in two reasons.

First, people never join a cult; they simply associate with a group of like-minded individuals who believe they are working towards the ‘greater good’. A key characteristic of cult members is their inability to understand that they are part of a cult.

But are the woke really part of one? German-American philosopher of religion, Joachim Wach, identifies three key elements of a cult: a belief system, a system of ritual worship, and a moral system governing social relationships. Wokeism checks all these boxes.

As a belief system, it holds the egocentric belief in a self-God, the founding myth of ‘white privilege‘, and the theology of the ‘oppressed vs oppressor‘. Additionally, they threaten dissenters with the modern-day Inquisition of cancel culture and hold the belief that the apocalypse is near with Climate ChangeTM poised as divine retribution for our sins.

In terms of ritual worship, followers gather in communion to chant protest slogans, often while donning their ceremonial pussy hats and/or black masks. They produce a rich iconography to virtue signal that they are always supporting the ‘current thing‘ and have strict rules about what one can say, wear, or eat. They also hold firm beliefs in the sacraments of gender transition, abortion, divorce, and euthanasia.

Regarding the moral system of social relationships, the woke have a well-defined structure with apostles (celebrities), prophets (politicians), high clergy (corporate officers), and low clergy (NGO officers), all enforcing a strict hierarchy of victimhood.

Diverse Weights and Measures

Similar to those in a cult, the woke are under constant pressure to suppress their individuality and conform. They are driven to change their names, engage in self-mutilation and castration (or mortification?), and consume hallucinogenic substances to ‘find themselves’ (LSD, ‘shrooms, and ayahuasca are the new Kool-Aids).

The cult goes to great lengths to isolate their members from the external world, portraying outsiders as harmful influences. Within this echo chamber of relentless emotional abuse, members cling to each other, relying on the benevolence of their leaders. Unsurprisingly, this standardisation process surfaces many common traits among the members, such as:

Narcissism, an inflated sense of self-importance and a craving for perpetual validation and attention, leading to a belief that their feelings outweigh logic, and their experiences surpass reality. Hence, the cult’s emphasis on ‘lived experience,’ ‘my truth,’ deplatforming dissent, and a profound sense of entitlement;

Oedipus complex, also known as ‘daddy issues,’ reflects an aggressive, irrational attitude towards the achievements of one’s ancestors or predecessors, leading to a visceral repulsion of anything built before they came to be. Hence, the cult’s quixotic hatred of an imaginary ‘patriarchy,’ fierce opposition to parental rights, and profound disdain for organized religion and familial life;

Naïve rationality, a conviction that desired outcomes can only result from direct control, leading to a belief that things will happen just because they wish hard enough or try hard enough and, of course, unquestioningly follow expert advice. This accounts for the herd-like reaction to Covid, their belief that ‘if one identifies as such, one is such’, deep respect for credentialism, and a propensity, when in government, to increase expenditure and throw money at problems; and, finally,

Aesthetic worldview, the tendency to comprehend the world based on sensory perceptions, which results in a narrow and superficial understanding of reality and a failure to recognise that things aren’t always as they appear on the surface. Hence, their unwarranted reverence for the wisdom of children and indigenous peoples, codified behaviors and accessorisation, and a very, very poor taste in arts.

With this framework, it’s easy to identify which things ARE woke: racism (different treatment based on skin color), misogyny (erasing women to accommodate men’s desires), socialism (central planning of the economy by a nomenklatura), fascism (compulsory vaccination and big tech surveillance), doublethink (“it’s just a clump of cells” and “oh, look, Rihanna is having a baby!”), and white supremacy (an exceedingly white, ‘enlightened’ reasoning — just ask the ‘Latinx‘ — with an aggressive suppression of diversity of thought).

We can also identify which things are NOT Woke: meritocracy, charity, diversity, empathy. While the woke can feel empathy, it typically surfaces when they anticipate getting something in exchange – a quid pro quo, more sociopathic than empathetic.

Shepherds and Butchers

If belonging to a cult is the first reason the woke can’t quite grasp what ‘woke’ means, the second reason has to do with perspective.

One could say they’re in denial about their own condition, but there’s more to it than that. As obedient, well-trained sheep, they’ve learned to see their masters as shepherds, not as butchers.

In their fervent rebuttals, they allude to a ‘woke’ revelation, spun like a woolen yarn to keep you warm and docile, arguing that being ‘woke’ is to acknowledge past wrongs and understand the present through their lens.

While it’s crucial to remember the lessons of history, the ‘woke’ version seems selective, ignoring any progress made and any instances that don’t fit neatly into their narrative, veering towards a Kafkaesque drama rather than providing a straightforward course of action. Thus, they discard any notion of personal responsibility, conveniently laying the blame on an omnipresent, nebulous system.

In the end, the Left’s portrayal of being ‘woke’ feels more like an identity badge than a call to action. It serves as a comforting reassurance that they’re the good guys, the enlightened ones, while everyone else is either a villain or a sleepwalker. In essence, their version of ‘wokeness’ feels like a narrative designed more for self-validation than for navigating the roughness of the real world.

And they wear that identity badge as the hood of a clan, but it isn’t even that: it’s the skin of a sheep.

Because how they self-identify isn’t what they are, and it bears no weight on reality. An objective observer, impartial in assessing the sheep and their handlers, will see their handlers not only as shepherds, but also as the butchers they are.

As for me, I’m a simple man, so I’ll stick to my initial gut feeling about the whole thing: ‘woke’ is just a mix of hot yoga and bad choices.