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 to avoid the word because it has so effectively been weaponized by the far right to mock and discredit anyone who supports racial justice, economic equity, universal healthcare, and many of the issues in which I too believe.

In the ABC interview, AOC explained the ways in which, during the Covid lockdown, “There was a huge opening. The doors were really open to entertain any and........

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