What AOC gets right – and wrong – about ‘Woke 1.0’ | Francine Prose

Recent comments by AOC have reignited a fiery debate about ‘wokeism’. But what are we really talking about? Full confession: I am one of those who have come to think that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can essentially do no wrong. At times when I most fear for the future of our country, I watch her videos and am consoled and cheered by her clarity, her honesty, her intelligence, her simple common sense. So I was a little surprised to hear that on a recent interview on ABC This Week, she quoted a political ally as having remarked: “Woke 1.0 was crazy.” What surprised me was not that she called for some moderation of the radical positions – the call to defund the police and the military, for example – that have, at times, been an aspect of progressive politics. But I was frankly a little unnerved to hear her use the word “woke”. The term has its roots in Black slang. “Stay woke” was originally a warning to keep alert to the dangers posed by prejudice and white supremacy. But its meaning has changed to become a synonym for what used to be referred to, also derogatorily, as “PC” – politically correct. I’ve politely asked my colleagues at the college where I teach