I’m an old white guy and I am very confused about the word “woke.” It’s one of those new slang words that just popped up and now it’s everywhere. I know where it came from, but I am very confused about where it’s gone.

I can’t make it very far through a social media thread these days without seeing “woke” used as a complaint about something I had no idea I was supposed to be worried about.

If I could just address one question to my fellow white folks… I would just like to know this: Where the hell did you even pick that up and how did it turn out to be this huge catch-all word?

“Woke” is an AAVE word (African American Vernacular English). A dialect most people who look like me don’t speak. There’s not a damn thing wrong with having a dialect. We all have one – I grew up in the country and most of us certainly did.

I know this because I first heard it in Dear White People, a show on Netflix that white people tend not to watch. Ironically enough. I like to watch things I suspect weren’t targeted at me. I like seeing things from new angles.

Us white folks always pick up black slang. Gradually our dialect changes. It’s the way languages work.

I enjoy listening to AAVE. If you’re into hip hop you can hardly miss it. I’m sure it’s a good percentage of my vocabulary by this point. But the way we use it sometimes…

In Dear White People, a character asks, “Are you woke?” And it sounded strange at first, the way all new slang always does, but it in the story it meant “Are you aware of the unfairness of the system?” It seemed obvious. I went, huh, picked up a new word, and moved on.

“Do you hate white people?” or “Do you want to bring down Western Civilization?” never once popped into my head. It was just a new one for the file, like “no cap” or “ish.” (That last one is clever as shit.)

So you would think woke-ISM would mean, the process of seeing through the unfairness of society. Sounds pretty based to me. Who in hell, except for the wealthiest capitalists, thinks this society is fair – for any of us?

How the hell did seeing through the system and trying to reverse it become a catastrophe? Seems like it would be the other way around.

I remain confused.