Projection alert: The View's Sunny Hostin highlights piece on how the right wing 'uses language as a weapon'

The word “woke” became part of the national conversation after Terry McAuliffe’s defeat in Georgia after Democratic strategist James Carville suggested that part of what went wrong was “stupid wokeness” and suggested that some people need to go to a “woke detox center” or something.

"Well, what went wrong is this stupid wokeness," well-known Democratic strategist James Carville said.

"Some of these people need to go to a woke detox center or something. They're expressing language that people just don't use." https://t.co/SaFgNoyNWs

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 4, 2021

Those progressives who consider themselves woke took great offense at Carville’s words, and now there’s a piece about how the right-wing is using language like “woke” as a weapon.

The View’s Sunny Hostin retweeted the piece, pulling out as examples the words “illegal alien” and “states’ rights” along with “politically correct” and “woke.”

How the right wing uses language as a weapon. From "illegal alien" to "states' rights" to "politically correct" to now "woke," the Republicans have perfected the art of language devoid of concrete specifics, but charged with big feels. https://t.co/LtwhAb7Dyb

— Sunny Hostin (@sunny) November 7, 2021

Magdi Semrau wrote for AlterNet back in May:

So, what “wokeness” denotes is overwhelmingly positive: awareness of bigotry and concomitant opposition. Yet, recently, as conservatives have co-opted it, the term has become derisive. “Woke” people are unserious. You’re allowed to roll your eyes at them, because they are sensitive and sanctimonious. In this sense, “woke” has unfortunately become a dysphemism. Whereas euphemisms soften underlying meaning (the dead “passed away,” for instance, or the woman is “with child”), dysphemisms do the opposite (the dead “croaked’, for instance, or the woman got “knocked up”).

(1) The term "illegal alien" was a legal term;
(2) "States' rights" have been a key component of American thought since before the Constitution;
(3) "Politically correct" was coined by Marxists;
(4) The term "woke" was originally utilized by Left-wing race activists. https://t.co/bzYV7xZ1D0

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 7, 2021

The ultimate use of language as a weapon: fetus. It convinces low-information people that an unborn baby isn't a baby, isn't a person, isn't human, and isn't even alive.

— Renna (@RennaW) November 7, 2021

Facts are violence.

— Wolfgang O'Houlihan (@ForeverGrumps) November 7, 2021

Imagine trying to write a sound argument about choice of language tactics and ending it with “big feels”

— Luke Persiani (@LukePersiani) November 7, 2021

Never seen a tweet more deserving of a ratio

— Julien (@Fitness_Julien) November 7, 2021

There’s still time to delete this.

Actually, don’t because it’s helping the right win! Thanks Sunny!

— Erik Janowicz (@ErikJano82) November 7, 2021

This post gave me cancer and COVID. Thanks Sunny

— KJ Samuel (@KJSamuel6) November 7, 2021

The side that continually demands we remove words from our vocabularies and calls concerned parents “domestic terrorists” is now complaining about using language as a weapon.

Related:

Ibram X. Kendi announces there’s no such thing as ‘not racist,’ wants it eliminated from our vocabulary https://t.co/oBfmj7c45G

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 22, 2020