To me, woke isn’t “educated”. It’s more in line with “aware”.
Give you an example. I’m white. At the time of Rodnry King I would have been about 9 years old. So, my whole outlook of the world is based on the adults around me, and the tv.
Rodney King was a one of those pivoting points for America. My family was shocked by what they saw. Police? Abusing their authority? That’s unheard of!
And at the time, most white people had ZERO idea that was a regular occurance. The video tape is what changed that. The woman who filmed it shined the first light onto injustice that had been going on for centuries.
At the time I went to an all white school. I think there was 1 black kid. He was 2 grades above me, so I never really talked to him.
The next year, when the Rodney King trial was going on, I had changed schools. I was in a mostly black school now. And it was a TOTAL shift from what I had known.
I started learning that I saw Rodney King as four corrupt cops who did an outragious, totally out of character set of actions. I saw it as an isolated incident in a rare time of cops being violent against someone.
What I was then told is story after story from students that never made the news. Stories of their own lives. Stories of our local cops doing similar things. Maybe not as harsh as 4 cops beating one man, but we all know today the types of stories I heard in 3rd grade.
Point is, yes, I was educated back then on the harsh realities that black families go through, and have gone through, for generations.
But the difference between being educated, and being aware, is that I told my sister everything I heard back then.
Two years ago in my apartment building my upstairs neighbor was being absurdly loud.
I was on the phone with my sister at the time. She suggested I call the cops on them. I said “No. I want them to be quiet. I don’t want them dead.”
And this is where educated vs aware comes in. My sister had been educated just as I was in the 90s what had been happening. I was aware NOT to call the cops. My sister thought I was being difficult and dramatic.
Now, I don’t KNOW the cops would have shot my neighbors. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they would have written a fine and left. But the fact that it’s a very real possibility is still something I’m very aware of. While my sister had been educated, she isn’t aware on a day to day basis that her life is different than others purely because of her background. It’s not something that she’s thinking about, even if she’s been taught.
To me, woke isn’t “educated”. It’s more in line with “aware”.
Give you an example. I’m white. At the time of Rodnry King I would have been about 9 years old. So, my whole outlook of the world is based on the adults around me, and the tv.
Rodney King was a one of those pivoting points for America. My family was shocked by what they saw. Police? Abusing their authority? That’s unheard of!
And at the time, most white people had ZERO idea that was a regular occurance. The video tape is what changed that. The woman who filmed it shined the first light onto injustice that had been going on for centuries.
At the time I went to an all white school. I think there was 1 black kid. He was 2 grades above me, so I never really talked to him.
The next year, when the Rodney King trial was going on, I had changed schools. I was in a mostly black school now. And it was a TOTAL shift from what I had known.
I started learning that I saw Rodney King as four corrupt cops who did an outragious, totally out of character set of actions. I saw it as an isolated incident in a rare time of cops being violent against someone.
What I was then told is story after story from students that never made the news. Stories of their own lives. Stories of our local cops doing similar things. Maybe not as harsh as 4 cops beating one man, but we all know today the types of stories I heard in 3rd grade.
Point is, yes, I was educated back then on the harsh realities that black families go through, and have gone through, for generations.
But the difference between being educated, and being aware, is that I told my sister everything I heard back then.
Two years ago in my apartment building my upstairs neighbor was being absurdly loud.
I was on the phone with my sister at the time. She suggested I call the cops on them. I said “No. I want them to be quiet. I don’t want them dead.”
And this is where educated vs aware comes in. My sister had been educated just as I was in the 90s what had been happening. I was aware NOT to call the cops. My sister thought I was being difficult and dramatic.
Now, I don’t KNOW the cops would have shot my neighbors. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they would have written a fine and left. But the fact that it’s a very real possibility is still something I’m very aware of. While my sister had been educated, she isn’t aware on a day to day basis that her life is different than others purely because of her background. It’s not something that she’s thinking about, even if she’s been taught.
Thats educated vs aware.