Quantifying the Illusion of Awareness


There have been some attempts at quantifying just how “woke” some states are, cf. the map above. At Zippia Kathy Morris explains:

It’s 2021 and every other Gen Zer is calling themselves woke. What does it mean to be woke?

Being an old Millennial, I googled to find out. Merriam-Webster defines it as, “ aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of justice).” That’s nice.

However, Urban Dictionary adds it’s a “pretentious” and “deluded” awareness. That’s less nice.

We set out to find the most woke states- and the states where it still means getting up in the morning.

Based on her analysis the most “woke” states are:

  1. Oregon
  2. Washington
  3. Vermont
  4. Colorado
  5. California
  6. Minnesota
  7. Massachusetts
  8. New York
  9. Maine
  10. Wisconsin

I think she’s measuring something but I’m not sure what it is. That is very nearly a list of the whitest states. Maybe the least black states?

IMO the degree of wokeness is extremely variable within states, from extremely “woke” places, e.g. Evanston just a few miles north of me, to place which aren’t very “woke” at all, e.g. say Rockport, Illinois on the west side of the state.

5 comments… add one
  • Andy Link

    I’m not sure how Colorado gets to #4 on the list unless the authors are only looking at Boulder and parts of Denver.

    And their criteria:

    – BLM protests attendees
    – # of BLM protests
    – Voting
    – Master’s degree or higher
    – Organic farms
    – Kombucha consumption

    And even that last one isn’t what they really measured:

    Finally, because being woke has become a bit of a lifestyle, we used Google Trend data to find where the most people are searching for Kombucha. The more people guzzling the fermented tea, the more woke the state.

    And “voting” is just measuring voter turnout percentage – what does that have to do with wokeness?

    I haven’t seen methodology this dumb in a long time. I want to believe it’s satire, but I’m guessing it’s not.

  • TastyBits Link

    That is very nearly a list of the whitest states.

    As I have stated previously, progressives love poor black people, until they meet them, and then, they learn that the beloved poor black people are more like the much hated poor white people than like their affluent “black friend”. What comes out of their mouth would make a dead Exalted Cyclops klansman cringe.

  • they learn that the beloved poor black people are more like the much hated poor white people

    That has certainly been my experience. I’ve spent a lot of time among poor black people in my time and we tend to get along pretty well. I’ve been accepted into their homes and met their families which I suspect is pretty unusual for a white boy.

  • steve Link

    Have never tried kombucha. Am I missing anything? I avoid anything claiming to be a health food, unless it has bacon in it.

    Steve

  • Grey Shambler Link

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