In my 20s, I had a section of my bookshelf that I called my “Know Thy Enemy” section. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It had an assortment of books that, broadly, are antithetical to Western Civliization: Marx, Mein Kampf <\/em>(in German and translation), even a copy of “The Turner Diaries” at one point (although that last one got tossed along the way). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Point being, while I don’t still literally have that bookshelf, I find it useful to know our enemies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So I listen to NPR. Not all the time. Mostly when I’m stuck on a long drive. I seek out the blinkered, the entitled and the depraved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The New Yorker Radio Hour <\/em>rarely disappoints on any of those counts. Like it’s fellow WNYC production, NYRH <\/em>is a reliable stenographer for the inner id <\/em>of eastern transatlantic progressive reflexes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This past weekend? The etymology of word “woke”…<\/p>\n\n\n\n …which, we are reminded, doesn’t really exist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lately, conservatives have blamed \u201cwokeness\u201d for everything from deadly mass shootings to lower military recruitment. Still, few have a ready definition for what the word means.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The episode then goes on to provide its etymology (I’m a linguistics geek, I live for that stuff) and several working definitions and its history of use on the “progressive” left…<\/p>\n\n\n\n …on the way toward telling us the whole thing is a conservative messaging scam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n