By: Isuru Parakrama
February 28, Colombo (LNW): The word “woke” is now a political grenade, lobbed with venom by far-right factions across the globe. To them, it is a catch-all curse for progressive ideals—social justice, inclusivity, multiculturalism—recast as a menacing spectre haunting traditional values.
As alien as it may appear to Sri Lankan eyes and ears, social movements being labelled as “woke” unravel a deeper societal issue wooing the division amongst communities. Now that local far-right religious extremists like “Mawwarunge Peramuna” have taken the matter to the street, being “woke” should no longer remain a closed topic.
The demonisation of being “woke” is not mere bluster; it is a deliberate ploy to smother a movement with deep historical roots and a critical role in confronting global injustice.
“Woke” began in African American Vernacular English in the early 20th century, a call to stay alert to racial prejudice. Its modern lineage stretches to the 1930s, tied to civil rights struggles in the United States. Blues icon Lead Belly sang of the Scottsboro Boys in 1938, urging listeners to “stay woke” to the fate of nine Black teens framed for rape.
For decades, it thrived in activist circles, surging anew with Black Lives Matter in 2014 after Michael Brown’s killing. By then, “woke” had ballooned into a worldwide rallying cry—against racism, sexism, economic disparity, and environmental ruin.
From Tokyo’s feminist marches to Johannesburg’s anti-apartheid echoes, from Stonewall riots challenging criminalisation of same-sex conduct to the “ACT UP” movement demanding equal access to health during the AIDS epidemic across Europe, “woke” became a universal language of resistance.
Being “woke” matters because it is about piercing the veil of power. It is the Indigenous Australians demanding land rights, not just apologies, for centuries of theft. It is the Fridays for Future kids striking for a planet choked by greed. It is the whistleblowers in Brazil exposing Amazon deforestation whilst far-right leaders shrug. It is the cry of the Tamil minorities of Sri Lanka, demanding equal access to the national dialogue. To be “woke” is to see the threads—how wealth hoarding in New York fuels slums in Nairobi, how misogyny in Delhi mirrors machismo in Buenos Aires. It is not about preaching; it is about prying open eyes too long shut.
Yet the far right has made “woke” their whipping boy. In the US, Trump acolytes—quite notably the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement—decry it as “cancel culture” run amok; in France, Le Pen’s National Rally slams it as a threat to Frenchness; in India, Hindu nationalists brand it Western meddling. They scoff at “woke” wins—same-sex marriage, climate accords—as frivolous, dodging the structural critiques beneath.
This is no accident. By trashing “woke” ideals, they shield the hierarchies—white supremacy, patriarchy, racism, homophobia, corporate dominance—they champion. Take the UN’s 2021 climate talks: far-right voices globally dismissed “woke” green agendas, even as floods and fires ravaged their own backyards.
The damage is not just rhetorical. Far-right campaigns against “woke” spark real rollback—Hungary’s bans on gender studies, Russia’s crackdowns on LGBTQIA+ rights, Brazil’s gutting of Indigenous protections. In 2022, US states like Florida pushed “Don’t Say Gay” laws, framing “woke” teachers as groomers.
This repression paints dissent as treachery, stifling voices that dare challenge the status quo. It is a global playbook: mock the “woke”, then muzzle them. Yet it is a losing gambit—the more they attack, the more they reveal their dread of a world waking up.
Groups demonising the “woke” culture do not hesitate to violate the rule of law, as this was clearly evident when “Mawwarunge Peramuna” held that being queer is an equivalent to being paedophilic, in a blatant contempt of what the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka declared in its special determination two years earlier, and even openly campaigned inside public schools against the queer rhetoric.
The twist? The far right’s fixation on “woke” apes the vigilance they condemn, only they are hunting imaginary foes whilst real crises—inequality, climate collapse—burn.
“Woke” culture has flaws; it can tip into dogma or alienate with sanctimony. But its essence—awareness, compassion, defiance—is a lifeline against indifference.
The far right’s war to bury it is not just wrong-headed; it is a threat to a planet that could be kinder, braver, and more just.
The fight is on. Where do you stand?
