Trending in North American politics these days is a term that has yet to genuinely make its way across the Atlantic. In France, only 14% of those surveyed have ever heard of “woke” thinking, and fewer than half of even that sample size is actually able to coherently define it.
In Morocco…when one Googles “Morocco” and “woke” together, the results on the entire first page are confined to the name of a Casablanca Chinese restaurant containing in its title the name of a deep cooking pot with a rounded bottom (“wok”). Clearly, this is new territory here.
A generally accepted definition of the term “woke” is, “being aware of and mobilized to act against injustices historically suffered by various racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual groups at the hands of the predominant/empowered group.”
A Moroccan university student–who was recently interviewed under the condition of anonymity–provided some valuable insights as to the pros and cons of this movement, and on its likelihood of genuinely influencing daily life in Morocco. She started the discussion by rephrasing “wokism” as “neo-wokism,” purportedly connotating an original intent to improve the lives of those disempowered, but eventually corrupted into an agenda-serving fad (and a divisive one, at that).
This interviewee self-identified as a former proponent of this trend–as she called it–but after high school became disenchanted with what she considered to be superficial talking points which behind the scenes actually work to sabotage individuality.
She elaborated by proposing that the concepts of gender fluidity and misandry eventually subvert the empowerment of those who have traditionally been labelled as underprivileged, not to mention creating a lucrative market for rage as a cash crop.
Woke proponents claim to be fierce advocates of diversity, inclusiveness, and toleration–which, when systematically implemented as policy–have actually resulted in preferential, and not just equal treatment allocated to these groups, resulting in allegations of reverse discrimination.
In fact, woke has come to have a pejorative connotation–much to the delight of its detractors–whose own dubious underlying objective in combatting wokism is merely a thinly disguised attempt to maintain the status quo of their own longstanding political, economic, and social dominion over these historically oppressed groups.
In the U.S., woke thinking emanates from its civil rights struggle, which evolved into affirmative action policies, unofficial quotas, and even calls for reparations (cash sum settlements) to Black Americans who are theoretically direct descendants of enslaved ancestors a half dozen generations removed. It has since come to include a call for empowerment for not only Black Americans, but for women, LGBTQ, body positive, and disability rights advocates.
Indeed, it is American trendiness that is driving discussions of woke mentality on Moroccan university campuses, for it is this age range of which the nation’s population tends to be most receptive to progressive ideology. Adolescent minds are constantly weighing prior knowledge with new experiences and perspectives to evaluate and reevaluate opinions. Termed simply, certain circles associate anything emanating from the U.S. as being “cool.”
Some argue that woke thinking has evolved into simply an “anything goes” mantra, a type of indoctrination that absolves individuals of responsible, respectable, and moral behavior. A few of the most radical woke activists actually extend this demand for protection to the pedophile sector in making calls to understand them and to be compassionate with them.
In 2021, an American university professor published a book arguing that there is a need for the public to shift its attitude toward pedophiles–yes, pedophiles–if it hopes to protect children. Yet clearly one could argue that sanitizing the term “pedophiles” into “Minor Attracted People”–as was done in her academic work–epitomizes the absolute disregard for taking responsibility for one’s deviant inclinations and sullies the credibility of the entire woke movement.
However, in their rush to condemn what they allege as censorship, anti-woke political reactionaries themselves have banned in many educational institutions the very freedom of discourse which they claim is being threatened.
In some circles, it is now forbidden in schools to even mention in passing actual, documented historical events under the guise that such emotional themes elicit tension in the classroom, and books which chronicle these events–simply because these truths are inconvenient for their political agenda–have been banned on a widespread basis in southern U.S. states.
Case in point: In weaponizing the war on truth, last month when a Florida college history professor was so intimidated by Governor DeSantis’s anti-woke legislation, he felt compelled to cancel his entire class on the civil rights era–a chapter necessary to complete the curriculum–simply because the lesson made one student feel “uncomfortable.” Hypocrisy, anyone…?
This “cancel culture”–the systematic boycott of businesses, institutions, and even individuals associated with practices and viewpoints which are deemed offensive to those who wish to essentially obliterate the relevance of these “offending” entities in modern society—sets a dangerous precedent. We need debates, not boycotts.
So, what is the prognosis for the woke movement carving large-scale inroads into Moroccan society? The current state of world affairs will certainly dictate the speed and extend to which these ideas filter down to generations to come; however, one should not hold one’s breath. And that may very well be for the best, as woke thinking–at least as it has evolved in its originating country–appears difficult to reconcile with the concept of national pride.