Leftists created wokeism. They claimed it was about justice, inclusion for all, diversity, equity and more, much much more. However, this ill-defined "theology" has become a self-destructive nihilism.
Now, leftist organizations are being eaten from within over the no-bounds, no-rules wokeism.
Wokeism essentially empowers any person – except straight white males – to claim grievances. There are no limits as to what can be called a "microaggression" or upon which one can claim to be harmed. With wokeism, "my truth" matters -- even if it is not at all based in reality.
A recent report from The Intercept outlined the many ways leftist organizations are imploding due to this open-ended invitation for people to claim grievances. Leftist organizations found themselves mired in “Slack wars, and healing sessions, grappling with tensions over hierarchy, patriarchy, race, gender, and power.”
Some executives claim they spend “90 to 95 percent” of their time addressing office drama. They’re being forced to address issues that have nothing to do with the organization’s mission or the donors’ wishes.
Executives at the Guttmacher Institute, the American Civil Liberties Union, Sierra Club, and elsewhere are now the targets of their own employees for failing to meet their woke expectations.
Many executives have quit, leaving behind prominent positions because they simply cannot stand their employees. As one executive put it, “This is out of control. No one can be a leader in this culture. It’s not sustainable. We’re constantly being called out from the bottom.”
“I also see a pattern of … people who are not competent in their orgs getting ahead of the game by declaring that others have engaged in some kind of -ism, thereby triggering a process that protects them in that job while there’s an investigation or turmoil over it,” a separate executive stated.
That process leads to internal divisions as employees take sides. And when the woke rules are violated, no apology is ever good enough.
The chaos at the Washington Post shows the playbook clearly. A reporter retweeted an insensitive (though rather tame) joke about women. He apologized, deleted the tweet, and was temporarily suspended without pay.
But that wasn’t enough for some employees. They needed to see more pain from more people. And they wanted the struggle session to be as public as possible, broadcast via Twitter.
It’s sadistic. And liberal executives allowed it to go unchecked because they never thought it would come for them, too. But now, it’s destroying the workplace.
No one is immune. The article reports even Black executives are being called out by staff for being inadequately “pro-black” Although such antipathy is to be expected when the mindset is who can be the most woke.
Appeasement does not work with the woke.
Starbucks, for example, has attempted to follow every progressive cause, yet it seems to only fuel the woke mob’s rage. In recent years, Starbucks has been protested by climate activists, vegans, unions, Black Lives Matter, homeless advocates, divestment activists, and more. By appeasing one group, they welcome more.
For what it’s worth, the Washington Post seems to have had enough. It fired one of the woke mob’s ringleaders and things seem to have cooled down.
Schadenfreude is fun -- especially when one sees the left being "hoisted on their own petard."
Still, the suffering of leftist organizations is a warning to us all. If corporate America continues to adopt woke policies, they too will realize the pandora's box that has been opened.
They will also become mired in employees creating horrible discord as they call out microaggressions based on their own perceptions of harm. Corporate America -- like leftist organizations -- will become dysfunctional. We all will suffer as our economy stalls and division grows.
Now is the time for America's corporations to learn from the lessons of the left. They need to return to rational-based employment policies, simply assuring the workplace has real rules.
Christian Watson is a spokesman for Color Us United, and the host of Pensive Politics with Christian Watson. Follow him on Twitter at @officialcwatson.
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