Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:What's "woke"? Believing minorities deserve the same opportunities and protections as whites? Count me in. That people can love who they want and identify as they want without harassment or ridicule or fear? Count me in. That all people can worship the god they believe in without exclusion? Count me in. Or even that women should earn as much as men and have all the same opportunities? Count me in.

47 genders?

What does it matter to any of us the choices another individual makes about themself? Is it just uncomfortable to us, so they should adapt and be uncomfortable? Thus we just pick the "woke" issues we agree with and ridicule the issues?

Mental illness is what it is.

When things are divorced from reality it does matter.

Who’s doing the forcing? Binary men and women still get to be what they are.
Especially when the nonsense is forced onto others as the only truth. It's Orwellian, and how every totalitarian regime started, left or right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is an example. My children’s private school DEI lead has set up to inclusivity groups. One related to sexual orientation and one to people of color. Which apparently only included black people. The lead staff member is black and said someone who looked like another staff member with white skin and brown eyes wouldn’t be able to join. In the name of inclusivity. My kids were really upset and said it doesn’t make sense. They were in 6th grade. The school also included discussion of gender and sexuality in the context of identity for elementary schools. And our school is moderate.

OP here. Interesting. Thanks PP and good to know. My kids are so young that we haven't been exposed to any of this yet (so my concerns are just general).

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's "woke"? Believing minorities deserve the same opportunities and protections as whites? Count me in. That people can love who they want and identify as they want without harassment or ridicule or fear? Count me in. That all people can worship the god they believe in without exclusion? Count me in. Or even that women should earn as much as men and have all the same opportunities? Count me in.

47 genders?

What does it matter to any of us the choices another individual makes about themself? Is it just uncomfortable to us, so they should adapt and be uncomfortable? Thus we just pick the "woke" issues we agree with and ridicule the issues?

Mental illness is what it is.

When things are divorced from reality it does matter.

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:OP here. I believe in diversity and equity. The way it is pushed these days is more like a religion where other opinions are not allowed (look at the Hamline University debacle.. I am muslim and every muslim I know thinks what happens is insane). I am a person who is an admirer of Edward Said's book Orientalism as well as the People's History of the United States. I am Arab so am staunchly anti-imperialist. But I think schools have gone overboard. Also there is very little critique of class. I get it - they are private schools. But it is hypocritical to be pushing all of this and ignore the class aspect.

My kids are young - Kindergarten and first grade so they haven't been exposed to a lot of this yet. But I am worried that there is some indoctrination going on.

Sounds like you would be happy for your kids to be taught about the specific type of oppression that has affected people of your ethnicity/religion. But you chafe at having to think about any injustice that doesn't affect you personally (or a group you identify with).

Maybe think about why that is

Not really. The "People's History of the United States" talks about oppression of the various minority groups in the US. I also mentioned in a separate post that I am a big fan of Cornell West and Reverend Barbar who focus mostly on anti-black racism within the US and income inequality. Also really like James Baldwin. The problem is that you can't understand why a person who is against colonialism, racism etc. is also against this new progressive ideology. There is a huge difference between Cornell West and Kendi. The difference between the two is why I just can't stand this new DEI crap.

More power to you, OP! I’m African American and it drives me crazy that people think I must be alt right or something if I don’t like Kendi, as if he represents some sort of gospel of black intellectual thought. Plenty of black people have better takes on racism than Kendi. But their takes tend to me more complicated (as the truth often is) and less amenable to DEI buzz word reduction.

OP here. Thanks PP! Yes exactly! The problem with Kendi are that his takes are too simplistic and reductive. There are so many people with better takes out there that are just regular people who aren't making money off of their takes.

Not sure how this is possible as I'm not a Christian believer but I'm 100% convinced that Jesus had Kendi and fellow wokes in mind when, during the Sermon on the Mount, he (supposedly) said:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

Actually he had the Evangelicals in mind, who claim to be Christians, but then support ideology diametrically opposed to Christianity

Actually Evangelicals and Wokes are very similar to each other in beliefs and attitudes, simply changing a few keywords here and there.

As opposed to actual Liberals and post-enlightenment thinkers.

Yep both are quite simplistic in their thinking and love painting the world as black and white.

bOtH sIdEs

Only one side has actually caused significant damage to our country. Exactly who is "woke" and how much miney are they raising? What is the organization or organizations? Who is part of their movement? I am all ears on this, particularly as compared to the Evangelicals, who have hijacked our country and sending it off a cliff.

Oh mean Soros money? Or the public schools buying curricula from LGBTQIA2+ activist groups circa 2020?

OP here. Both groups are sending the country off the cliff. People in my country think that American progressives are insane (they obviously can't stand the right but they don't ridicule them just hate them). This article from The Nation makes very good points. If the World Cup showed anything, its that the rest of the world is moving on from the US. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/world-cup-2022-qatar/

Thanks fully there is a huge center. That doesn’t get much airtime in leftist DC schools or on leftist mass media.

OP here. Yes I agree. But don't you get the sense that this center is too scared to say what they think?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am genuinely shocked about people referring to a melting pot.

I am OLD and even I remember waaaay back in the 80s talking about how the US isn't a melting pot - that was an antiquated and stupid analogy. Instead, we could think of the US as a salad bowl, where every piece retains it's own unique flavors and comes together as one better whole.

I've also read through most of nine pages and have yet to understand exactly what the OP is worried about or what she considers "woke". I get she doesn't like Kendi. OK, fair enough. Reasonable people can disagree about any specific person or idea. But not sure where the lead comes from there to some larger "wokeness" she's concerned about.

I am confused about this also. I consider myself left of middle and don’t always agree with specific policies of the party, especially at the local level. But I just can’t get into bashing “wokeness” as some vague concept. It would be really helpful to know why OP feels like she doesn’t fit into her woke private school community. What has happened that makes you feel like you don’t fit in?

Perhaps the rub is that controversial and one-sided theories like kendi, gender fluidity, CRT, identity labels, trans jazz Jennings books, and other revisionist takes were supplanted into k-8 weekly curricula with no debate, context or age appropriateness. it’s one thing to layer that in a high school history class, it’s another to spend months per year in grades k-8 on it. The brainwashing agenda is clear, and the divisiveness rapidly erodes the fabric of society.

And the older kids are now eye rolling it. And failing grammar and math tests.

OP here. Yep! Exactly!

Anonymous wrote:Here is an example. My children’s private school DEI lead has set up to inclusivity groups. One related to sexual orientation and one to people of color. Which apparently only included black people. The lead staff member is black and said someone who looked like another staff member with white skin and brown eyes wouldn’t be able to join. In the name of inclusivity. My kids were really upset and said it doesn’t make sense. They were in 6th grade. The school also included discussion of gender and sexuality in the context of identity for elementary schools. And our school is moderate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's "woke"? Believing minorities deserve the same opportunities and protections as whites? Count me in. That people can love who they want and identify as they want without harassment or ridicule or fear? Count me in. That all people can worship the god they believe in without exclusion? Count me in. Or even that women should earn as much as men and have all the same opportunities? Count me in.

47 genders?

What does it matter to any of us the choices another individual makes about themself? Is it just uncomfortable to us, so they should adapt and be uncomfortable? Thus we just pick the "woke" issues we agree with and ridicule the issues?

Mental illness is what it is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am genuinely shocked about people referring to a melting pot.

I am OLD and even I remember waaaay back in the 80s talking about how the US isn't a melting pot - that was an antiquated and stupid analogy. Instead, we could think of the US as a salad bowl, where every piece retains it's own unique flavors and comes together as one better whole.

I've also read through most of nine pages and have yet to understand exactly what the OP is worried about or what she considers "woke". I get she doesn't like Kendi. OK, fair enough. Reasonable people can disagree about any specific person or idea. But not sure where the lead comes from there to some larger "wokeness" she's concerned about.

I gave a specific example here. I am not dying of worry. If I were I wouldn't be posting on DCUM. I am just generally concerned over the direction that some schools are taking (though they are just a reflection of the country in general). I shared an article by Matt Yglesias (who by the way I have many issues with but that's for another day) that wasn't alarmist or anything but made a couple of good points and that I generally agreed with. If you read my response in 01/18/2023 15:28 (for some reason the quotes are hidden) you will get what I'm complaining about. Again I'm not dying of worry. Just coming here in the hope of sparking an interesting discussion and the discussion is definitely interesting! So thanks all for participating.

OP here. Just reread what I wrote and I forgot to edit. Ignore the first sentence of my response.

I am going to copy-paste because I went back to find it:

"But the recent changes middle school and high school curriculums seem to indicate that they are going in that direction. I mean I don't have the problem with the specific changes they made but the terminology they are using makes me think they have been taken over by DEI types. When I say terminology I am thinking of their use of words like "centering," "your truth," "generational trauma," "microaggressions." "BIPOC"... you get my drift."

So nothing specific except terminology. Which OP thinks may portend certain other unspecified future changes with which she disagrees.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I believe in diversity and equity. The way it is pushed these days is more like a religion where other opinions are not allowed (look at the Hamline University debacle.. I am muslim and every muslim I know thinks what happens is insane). I am a person who is an admirer of Edward Said's book Orientalism as well as the People's History of the United States. I am Arab so am staunchly anti-imperialist. But I think schools have gone overboard. Also there is very little critique of class. I get it - they are private schools. But it is hypocritical to be pushing all of this and ignore the class aspect.

My kids are young - Kindergarten and first grade so they haven't been exposed to a lot of this yet. But I am worried that there is some indoctrination going on.

Sounds like you would be happy for your kids to be taught about the specific type of oppression that has affected people of your ethnicity/religion. But you chafe at having to think about any injustice that doesn't affect you personally (or a group you identify with).

Maybe think about why that is

Not really. The "People's History of the United States" talks about oppression of the various minority groups in the US. I also mentioned in a separate post that I am a big fan of Cornell West and Reverend Barbar who focus mostly on anti-black racism within the US and income inequality. Also really like James Baldwin. The problem is that you can't understand why a person who is against colonialism, racism etc. is also against this new progressive ideology. There is a huge difference between Cornell West and Kendi. The difference between the two is why I just can't stand this new DEI crap.

More power to you, OP! I’m African American and it drives me crazy that people think I must be alt right or something if I don’t like Kendi, as if he represents some sort of gospel of black intellectual thought. Plenty of black people have better takes on racism than Kendi. But their takes tend to me more complicated (as the truth often is) and less amenable to DEI buzz word reduction.

OP here. Thanks PP! Yes exactly! The problem with Kendi are that his takes are too simplistic and reductive. There are so many people with better takes out there that are just regular people who aren't making money off of their takes.

Not sure how this is possible as I'm not a Christian believer but I'm 100% convinced that Jesus had Kendi and fellow wokes in mind when, during the Sermon on the Mount, he (supposedly) said:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

Actually he had the Evangelicals in mind, who claim to be Christians, but then support ideology diametrically opposed to Christianity

Actually Evangelicals and Wokes are very similar to each other in beliefs and attitudes, simply changing a few keywords here and there.

As opposed to actual Liberals and post-enlightenment thinkers.

Yep both are quite simplistic in their thinking and love painting the world as black and white.

bOtH sIdEs

Only one side has actually caused significant damage to our country. Exactly who is "woke" and how much miney are they raising? What is the organization or organizations? Who is part of their movement? I am all ears on this, particularly as compared to the Evangelicals, who have hijacked our country and sending it off a cliff.

Oh mean Soros money? Or the public schools buying curricula from LGBTQIA2+ activist groups circa 2020?

OP here. Both groups are sending the country off the cliff. People in my country think that American progressives are insane (they obviously can't stand the right but they don't ridicule them just hate them). This article from The Nation makes very good points. If the World Cup showed anything, its that the rest of the world is moving on from the US. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/world-cup-2022-qatar/

Thanks fully there is a huge center. That doesn’t get much airtime in leftist DC schools or on leftist mass media.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am genuinely shocked about people referring to a melting pot.

I am OLD and even I remember waaaay back in the 80s talking about how the US isn't a melting pot - that was an antiquated and stupid analogy. Instead, we could think of the US as a salad bowl, where every piece retains it's own unique flavors and comes together as one better whole.

I've also read through most of nine pages and have yet to understand exactly what the OP is worried about or what she considers "woke". I get she doesn't like Kendi. OK, fair enough. Reasonable people can disagree about any specific person or idea. But not sure where the lead comes from there to some larger "wokeness" she's concerned about.

I gave a specific example here. I am not dying of worry. If I were I wouldn't be posting on DCUM. I am just generally concerned over the direction that some schools are taking (though they are just a reflection of the country in general). I shared an article by Matt Yglesias (who by the way I have many issues with but that's for another day) that wasn't alarmist or anything but made a couple of good points and that I generally agreed with. If you read my response in 01/18/2023 15:28 (for some reason the quotes are hidden) you will get what I'm complaining about. Again I'm not dying of worry. Just coming here in the hope of sparking an interesting discussion and the discussion is definitely interesting! So thanks all for participating.

OP here. Just reread what I wrote and I forgot to edit. Ignore the first sentence of my response.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am genuinely shocked about people referring to a melting pot.

I am OLD and even I remember waaaay back in the 80s talking about how the US isn't a melting pot - that was an antiquated and stupid analogy. Instead, we could think of the US as a salad bowl, where every piece retains it's own unique flavors and comes together as one better whole.

I've also read through most of nine pages and have yet to understand exactly what the OP is worried about or what she considers "woke". I get she doesn't like Kendi. OK, fair enough. Reasonable people can disagree about any specific person or idea. But not sure where the lead comes from there to some larger "wokeness" she's concerned about.

I am confused about this also. I consider myself left of middle and don’t always agree with specific policies of the party, especially at the local level. But I just can’t get into bashing “wokeness” as some vague concept. It would be really helpful to know why OP feels like she doesn’t fit into her woke private school community. What has happened that makes you feel like you don’t fit in?

Perhaps the rub is that controversial and one-sided theories like kendi, gender fluidity, CRT, identity labels, trans jazz Jennings books, and other revisionist takes were supplanted into k-8 weekly curricula with no debate, context or age appropriateness. it’s one thing to layer that in a high school history class, it’s another to spend months per year in grades k-8 on it. The brainwashing agenda is clear, and the divisiveness rapidly erodes the fabric of society.

And the older kids are now eye rolling it. And failing grammar and math tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I believe in diversity and equity. The way it is pushed these days is more like a religion where other opinions are not allowed (look at the Hamline University debacle.. I am muslim and every muslim I know thinks what happens is insane). I am a person who is an admirer of Edward Said's book Orientalism as well as the People's History of the United States. I am Arab so am staunchly anti-imperialist. But I think schools have gone overboard. Also there is very little critique of class. I get it - they are private schools. But it is hypocritical to be pushing all of this and ignore the class aspect.

My kids are young - Kindergarten and first grade so they haven't been exposed to a lot of this yet. But I am worried that there is some indoctrination going on.

Sounds like you would be happy for your kids to be taught about the specific type of oppression that has affected people of your ethnicity/religion. But you chafe at having to think about any injustice that doesn't affect you personally (or a group you identify with).

Maybe think about why that is

Not really. The "People's History of the United States" talks about oppression of the various minority groups in the US. I also mentioned in a separate post that I am a big fan of Cornell West and Reverend Barbar who focus mostly on anti-black racism within the US and income inequality. Also really like James Baldwin. The problem is that you can't understand why a person who is against colonialism, racism etc. is also against this new progressive ideology. There is a huge difference between Cornell West and Kendi. The difference between the two is why I just can't stand this new DEI crap.

More power to you, OP! I’m African American and it drives me crazy that people think I must be alt right or something if I don’t like Kendi, as if he represents some sort of gospel of black intellectual thought. Plenty of black people have better takes on racism than Kendi. But their takes tend to me more complicated (as the truth often is) and less amenable to DEI buzz word reduction.

OP here. Thanks PP! Yes exactly! The problem with Kendi are that his takes are too simplistic and reductive. There are so many people with better takes out there that are just regular people who aren't making money off of their takes.

Not sure how this is possible as I'm not a Christian believer but I'm 100% convinced that Jesus had Kendi and fellow wokes in mind when, during the Sermon on the Mount, he (supposedly) said:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

Actually he had the Evangelicals in mind, who claim to be Christians, but then support ideology diametrically opposed to Christianity

Actually Evangelicals and Wokes are very similar to each other in beliefs and attitudes, simply changing a few keywords here and there.

As opposed to actual Liberals and post-enlightenment thinkers.

Yep both are quite simplistic in their thinking and love painting the world as black and white.

bOtH sIdEs

Only one side has actually caused significant damage to our country. Exactly who is "woke" and how much miney are they raising? What is the organization or organizations? Who is part of their movement? I am all ears on this, particularly as compared to the Evangelicals, who have hijacked our country and sending it off a cliff.

Oh mean Soros money? Or the public schools buying curricula from LGBTQIA2+ activist groups circa 2020?

OP here. Both groups are sending the country off the cliff. People in my country think that American progressives are insane (they obviously can't stand the right but they don't ridicule them just hate them). This article from The Nation makes very good points. If the World Cup showed anything, its that the rest of the world is moving on from the US. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/world-cup-2022-qatar/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am genuinely shocked about people referring to a melting pot.

I am OLD and even I remember waaaay back in the 80s talking about how the US isn't a melting pot - that was an antiquated and stupid analogy. Instead, we could think of the US as a salad bowl, where every piece retains it's own unique flavors and comes together as one better whole.

I've also read through most of nine pages and have yet to understand exactly what the OP is worried about or what she considers "woke". I get she doesn't like Kendi. OK, fair enough. Reasonable people can disagree about any specific person or idea. But not sure where the lead comes from there to some larger "wokeness" she's concerned about.

I gave a specific example here. I am not dying of worry. If I were I wouldn't be posting on DCUM. I am just generally concerned over the direction that some schools are taking (though they are just a reflection of the country in general). I shared an article by Matt Yglesias (who by the way I have many issues with but that's for another day) that wasn't alarmist or anything but made a couple of good points and that I generally agreed with. If you read my response in 01/18/2023 15:28 (for some reason the quotes are hidden) you will get what I'm complaining about. Again I'm not dying of worry. Just coming here in the hope of sparking an interesting discussion and the discussion is definitely interesting! So thanks all for participating.

DP. I looked back and your post didn’t actually come through unless you click on the quote. Well I have to say that the one specific concern you mentioned an actually seems… pretty minor, especially if you believe as you say that such concepts are real. You would really pull your kids out of their school for this? Sorry I can’t be more sympathetic. It’s just that my DD has faced actual racial bullying (I am the poster moving from public to private) and I would certainly welcome a little more wokeness in her environment. I also would urge you to reconsider whether you are really that much of an outsider as you are imagining. Again, it’s easy to imagine everyone is either a maga fool or rushing to defund police based on media impressions. But I have found actual fellow liberal parents (and even conservative parents 😉) are much more reasonable and moderate than the picture often painted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's "woke"? Believing minorities deserve the same opportunities and protections as whites? Count me in. That people can love who they want and identify as they want without harassment or ridicule or fear? Count me in. That all people can worship the god they believe in without exclusion? Count me in. Or even that women should earn as much as men and have all the same opportunities? Count me in.

47 genders?