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Dear Woke People
A Joe Biden Democrat’s response to your narrative
Consider the source. That’s what we subconsciously do when listening to someone reason through their position on a political issue. Using what data points it has, the brain filters and treats some incoming ideas as valid and good and correct, or it annihilates them as misguided, borne of hate and learned ignorance: the person speaking is simply wrong, and probably their parents are to blame. Admit it, most of us think this way as we listen.
When I listen to yet another outraged progressive — I live in Marin county, CA where we have lots of these — I feel compelled to answer them with questions about how this might sound to conservatives and moderates. Something inside me is irritated and I just can’t nod and lend my support. It would feel weak and false.
I’m sad that the right wing ‘news’ outlets have hooked into the terms “cancel culture” and “Woke”, and that they’re making hay ridiculing progressives on TV. That’s not hard, by the way. In my ideal world, the woke people would tune their messaging to sound sharper, more articulate, less hysterical and more composed. I’m sad that right wingers are attacking your ideas because most of your causes are from the heart and well-intentioned. Here are some thoughts for progressives on getting a message across and possibly sounding more…
