Young, woke, and tired

 Young, woke, and tired.

Addressing people with their preferred pronouns, keeping up with laws regarding women’s bodily autonomy, using less plastic, et-fucking-cetera. Every day there’s a different tragedy in the media, a different cause to care about. We are told to stay tuned; we are told what we can (and should) do about this and that. We almost never get a chance to deal with the occurrence or cause on its own. It’s as if we’re forced to experience the action, the reaction, the news, and the response. And quite frankly, it’s exhausting.

When yet another social justice movement emerges, my fingers are working overtime doing research, signing petitions, and sharing the story. Especially because I am a woman of colour with my own socio-political ideals.

In a culture where being woke is good (and by ‘good’ I mean that it illustrates that our society is adopting a way of forward thinking), we sometimes forget that being woke all the time, especially trying to be woke online, takes a lot out of a person. Online wokeness is particularly tiresome because once you’ve entered something onto whatever platform, it’s in your digital footprint and there is no going back.

Constantly, we have to think about what we’re about to say and how it is going to affect the next person. And while this is a good thing, it is also very overwhelming. Having to count your words all the time puts a lot of strain on an individual, and kind of takes away from “speaking your mind”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning ignorance. It’s important to consider the far-reaching consequences of your actions. I fully acknowledge that we are living in times where we should be conscious of what we say and how we interact with others, being sure to respect each one’s identities.

We are living in a time where instead of assuming someone’s gender binary and referring to them as him or her, we are obliged to ask which pronouns they prefer. We are living in times where every second person you come across is vegan. We are living in the age of the paper straw. Essentially, we are trying to be woke, and to not offend anyone. As a result, many older folks are saying millennials (and subsequent generations) are too sensitive, which is not a bad thing. Caring about other people or the planet we live on is not a weakness.

What I am trying to say with all of this is that sometimes we just want to say something without being attacked for it. How many times did you share something you thought was funny on Facebook, all to be reprimanded in the comment section? Again, I am not condoning ignorance.

I just think we should all be a little bit more understanding and allow people to, for once, say something without worrying whether it checks all the woke boxes. I think we should all be allowed something like a "get out of jail free card". And in our efforts to be woke, let's be careful how we reprimand and educate others. Don't choke on being woke, kids.