There’s quite a lot of chatter on liberal Twitter today about the word “woke” and how conservatives can’t seem to define it.
Every conservative when they’re asked to define “woke” pic.twitter.com/OYc2neE2dl
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 15, 2023
We can’t be totally sure, but it may have something to with conservative writer and “Stolen Youth” coauthor Bethany Mandel’s recent appearance on Hill TV’s “Rising” with Robby Soave and Briahna Joy Gray:
"We don't know what it is, but we know we don't like it!" – the Proudly Unwoke Republican Partyhttps://t.co/CpakkNy92z
— Marsha Warfield (@MarshaWarfield) March 15, 2023
This is why I tell journalism students that open-ended questions are better than questions that sound tough. When conservatives first hijacked “woke,” every journalist should have asked them to define it. Cause these meltdowns would have happened a lot.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 15, 2023
Love the end:
Mandel: "Um, well, hmmm, uuuummmm… it's hard to describe in a 15 second soundbite"
Gray: "We can give you more time…" 😆
Thanks @mmpadellan https://t.co/DQG2PHYMGi
— Kelly AuCoin (@KellyAuCoin77) March 15, 2023
Mandel indeed stumbled a bit:
LOL: Briahna Joy Gray BREAKS the brain of Rising guest Bethany Mandel by asking her to define "wokeness" pic.twitter.com/uwRSSH0LaM
— The Vanguard (@vanguard_pod) March 14, 2023
And she’s taken complete ownership of it:
So, everybody's seen my viral brain fart from "Rising" this morning. I can see why it went viral, of course. For those who haven't, here it is: https://t.co/4rgFBy9SGB
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
Mandel has written a thread to give her own perspective on what happened:
A bit of backstory.
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
Just before we went on air, Briahna Joy Gray was on a hot mic. I heard her demeaning parenting in general in colorful and nasty terms, stating parents only have kids in order to perpetuate their own narcissism. Robby responded, "There are some good ones and some bad ones."
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
As a mom of six, including a newborn, this threw me off just a bit. Not an excuse, just a reality. I’m human!
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
A human with hardcore mommy brain. A human with hardcore mommy brain who has a new book out about what’s been done to children over the past several years and who had just listened to the cohost of the show she was a guest on talking smack about parents. It’s hard to blame her for briefly losing her verbal footing.
Your definition wasn’t even that bad!
— RonnieWest GoodParentsGoodChildren 🚸x7 (@GoodParentRWest) March 15, 2023
In any event, Mandel — unlike a lot of liberals who would be fuming in her position — is able to laugh at herself:
Lol once I got around to it.
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
And she hasn’t lost a step in her commitment to fighting wokeness:
As for wokeness, here's an actual definition:
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
A radical belief system suggesting that our institutions are built around discrimination, and claiming that all disparity is a result of that discrimination. It seeks a radical redefinition of society in which equality of group result is the endpoint, enforced by an angry mob.
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
Mandel’s coauthor Karol Markowicz came to her defense (not that Mandel can’t defend herself):
In one of the first interviews I did (on @guypbenson’s show) for Stolen Youth, I forgot the name of the book…while holding the book in my hand. It happens. I’ve heard Bethany define wokeism a million times. The left just loves their scalps but they’re not getting this one. https://t.co/5aibqBwnoi
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) March 15, 2023
And many others did, too:
Or maybe just a brain fart on live TV (I'd probably stumble too if I were in that scenario). FWIW she owns up to it and provides a coherent definition of "woke" in this thread https://t.co/Pb9MmYc4a3
— Jake (@jakeaporter) March 15, 2023
Love that @bethanyshondark is calling herself out here. You NEVER see that. One more reason to buy "Stolen Youth." Honesty. https://t.co/SyzsoCpBbA
— Steve Gordon (@stevemgordon67) March 15, 2023
they want Bethany's scalp for a one off but defend Biden who can't string a coherent sentence together to save his life. okay. 🙄🧐
— Emily (@hostagehoosier) March 15, 2023
Great point.
Define 'woman'. https://t.co/Xi3kUlYqeD
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) March 15, 2023
They can’t.
Anyone can mess up on TV. Don't sweat it at all. Ignore the Twitter idiots.
— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) March 15, 2023
There are quite a few of them, of course:
Imagine being stupid enough to keep digging in this situation. https://t.co/uCdccnnSx5
— Sean Biggerstaff (@Seanchuckle) March 15, 2023
FINALLY!!! This anchor has asked these folks who ‘USE’ this term to actually EXPLAIN what that word MEANS. 🙄🙄🤡
They have ‘weaponized’ a term that they DO NOT understand to further their agenda. As always that ‘agenda’ is rife with Bigotry, and pure vile White Supremacy. pic.twitter.com/T3nHVjtdxv
— Alimi Ballard (@AlimiBallard) March 15, 2023
All you had to say was you mean “n!gger” when you say woke. https://t.co/GTXWlqOn1X
— tiny kitchen witch (@queerfemmegirl) March 15, 2023
Good Lord. Mandel have had a brain fart, but those people are just brainless.
The “you have to be able to precisely define a complex social undercurrent on the fly or you’re not allowed to critique it” approach towards wokeness is really something. https://t.co/94rA4sFIFu
— Bill Zeiser (@BillZeiser) March 15, 2023
See also the claims that @realchrisrufo “redefined” Critical Race Theory by his own admission, which I do not think to be what he did at all.
— Bill Zeiser (@BillZeiser) March 15, 2023
And speaking of Chris Rufo, who often comes up in conversations about wokeness, he’s got something to say about defining wokeness:
It's an infinitely stupid game to say "you can't define 'woke'" or "you can't define 'critical race theory.'" Of course we can define them—and even those who can't immediately summon the words have an intuitive understanding of what those phrases mean. Reddit-tier sophistry.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 15, 2023
It's not hard. It's literally a meme.https://t.co/oEP73NTTUb
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 15, 2023
Bethany Mandel will be just fine.
And wokeness will always be toxic.
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