I once thought being woke was like being chosen by a Jedi to bring balance to the galaxy. You know awareness, social justice, standing up for the oppressed. Next thing I knew, I was afraid to say “ladies and gentlemen” at a bus terminal in case the benches canceled me.
Don’t get me wrong, wokeness had noble roots. It started as a wake-up call to racism, discrimination, and injustice. But somewhere along the way, that wake-up call turned into a full-blown siren at 3 a.m., screaming “Oppressor!” at anyone who didn’t update their vocabulary every five minutes.
In her article, “The Fatal Tension at the Heart of Wokeism” (Time Magazine, June 27, 2023), philosopher Susan Neiman points out how woke ideology shifted from Enlightenment ideals like universal rights to a focus on power dynamics. What was once a noble call for justice now risks turning into a competitive sport of who’s the most oppressed.
The Great Divide (And I’m Not Talking About the recent Congressional seat battle in Benguet)
Wokeness was supposed to unite us against injustice, but now it’s dividing us like leftover sinigang, into camps: vegan sinigang, traditional pork sinigang, and those who cancel both because sinigang is a tool of colonial taste bud oppression.
As the editorial “Woke Isn’t Right for the Left” in The Times of India (March 26, 2024) puts it, identity politics under wokeness reduces people into checkboxes – race, gender, pronouns, and gluten tolerance – while forgetting we’re all just trying to survive Mondays.
Cancel Culture: The Hunger Games of Discourse
Nothing unites people like a good debate. Except, oops – debating is now a hate crime. Ask a question and suddenly you’re trending with hashtags like #CancelledByTuesday.
A scholarly article published in Synthese (May 2023) titled “Cancel Culture and the Epistemology of Silencing” explains how woke-driven cancel culture often suppresses dissent and intellectual exploration. Even The Boston Globe has covered how university campuses now feel more like tightropes than spaces for learning.
Language Policing: The New Olympic Sport
Today, being woke means updating your vocabulary faster than your phone updates apps. What used to be “poor” is now “economically displaced.” “Fat” became “horizontally challenged.” Say “third world country,” and someone might throw organic kale at you.
In “Woke War on Language Too Alienating to Win Elections” (The Daily Blog, June 1, 2025), author Martyn Bradbury writes that woke language is so sanitized and euphemistic that it alienates everyday citizens. When the common folk need a glossary just to understand your advocacy, you’re not saving the world – you’re just confusing the barangay.
Let’s Not Forget the Culture Wars
Here in the Cordilleras, we know a thing or two about cultural pride. But woke culture sometimes attacks tradition itself. The article “Woke Culture: The Silent Threat to Tradition, Religion, and National Unity” from AVCJ Blog (April 2024) warns that unchecked wokeness may frame indigenous customs as oppressive – without understanding the contexts or values behind them.
You want to honor Igorot tattoos? Great. But then someone says, “Wait! That’s cultural appropriation unless your great-grandmother is a mambabatok!” And suddenly, your cultural appreciation post becomes a war zone in the comments section.
So, What Now?
I’m not saying being woke is evil. I’m just saying we need a version 2.0. Maybe something like “woke, but chill.” Woke enough to fight injustice, but chill enough to let your tita say “Oriental” without accusing her of imperialism.
Even institutions are backing away. The Financial Times article “Where ‘Woke’ Went Wrong” (February 1, 2025) explains how companies and universities are scaling back woke initiatives due to fatigue and backlash. Similarly, The Guardian in “How Does Woke Start Winning Again?” (June 10, 2025) acknowledges that public trust in social justice efforts is eroding because people feel lectured – not listened to.
Final Thought
So maybe the real “woke” awakening is realizing we need more conversations, less cancellations; more bridges, fewer labels; and more laughs, fewer lectures.Because at the end of the day, we’re all in the same jeepney just arguing over where to get off. – CCT
