 Every now and then, you read a sentence that just rings in your ears like a struck tuning fork. David Brooks dropped one of those in his Atlantic article, “The Voters Who Like What They See.” The line? “Even if they don't agree with everything he's doing, he's doing something.” There it is. Right there. That sentence. It's like overhearing someone say, “He’s not a great driver, but he sure knows how to crash through traffic.” Let’s be honest: it’s not just a #47 thing. It’s a sociology thing. When large groups of people begin justifying erratic or authoritarian behavior because 'at least something’s happening,' you’re no longer in Kansas—or a democracy. You're in a moment. A movement. A slow sociopolitical tilt that deserves analysis, not just anxiety meds. So let’s take a deep breath, put on our tweed jackets (elbow patches optional), and imagine we’re in an undergrad-level sociology course called: Populism, Perception, and the Psychology of Modern Politics. Five Sociological Forces at Work (Beyond the Oval Office) 1. Behavioral Justification Theory - Webster: A cognitive tendency wherein individuals excuse unethical or abrasive behavior in favor of perceived effectiveness or action. - Boston American: “He may be a jerk, but at least he’s doing something.” That’s the vibe. When the system’s stuck, even chaos looks like courage. Morality gets benched as long as someone’s moving the ball—even if it’s into their own end zone. 2. Authoritarian Drift in Democratic Clothing - Webster: The gradual acceptance of authoritarian traits within democratic systems, often motivated by a desire for clarity and control in unstable environments. - Boston American: This isn’t about folks dreaming of dictatorships. It’s about people sick of indecision. In a crisis, a guy who shouts orders sounds more trustworthy than one who forms a committee. Doesn’t matter if he’s wrong—he’s confidently wrong. 3. Emotional Identity Politics - Webster: A political dynamic in which individuals align with leaders based on shared emotional expression or perceived psychological resonance, rather than policy substance. - Boston American: If they make you feel seen—or pissed in exactly the same way—you’ll vote for them even if they replace your healthcare plan with a sandwich coupon. It’s not politics, it’s therapy with flags. 4. Media Compression and Context Collapse - Webster: The reduction of complex topics into overly simplified, decontextualized formats in digital and media environments. - Boston American: Immigration bill? Now it’s a meme. Foreign aid? Now it’s a six-second TikTok. We’ve compressed the world into vibes and slogans. Context doesn’t just get skipped—it gets steamrolled. 5. Economic Anesthesia - Webster: A sociopolitical phenomenon where delayed or obscured economic pain leads individuals to support policies or spending that contradict their immediate financial struggles. - Boston American: Rent’s due Friday, but somehow you’re fine with a $2 billion border wall. Why? Because the pain’s postponed. That’s economic anesthesia—it numbs you long enough to buy a dream, even if you can’t afford dinner. Smart People We Should Be Reading - Arlie Russell Hochschild (emotional sociology) - Zeynep Tufekci (tech + movements) - Jonathan Haidt (moral psychology) - Michael Sandel (merit and justice) - Cornel West (socio-political philosophy) - Shoshana Zuboff (surveillance capitalism) - Yuval Harari (long-range societal observation) _________________________________________ For teachers, mentors, and parents... LERN MODULE: Title: Sociology of a Movement This LERN module isn’t about the current President. It’s about trends. It's designed to help students, citizens, and curious minds decode political behavior through a sociological lens. Learning Goals:
Classroom Exercise: Build the Movement Map 1. Break students into small groups. Assign each one a 'force' (media, identity, economy, etc.). 2. Ask them to research how this force has evolved over the last 10 years in America. 3. Challenge them to connect their force to a recent political outcome (policy, vote, scandal). 4. Present to the class. Facilitate debate. 5. Reflect: what do all these moving parts suggest about where we’re headed? Discussion Prompt: “If someone supports something you don’t understand—what’s your job: to attack, or to ask why?” Final Thought: Democracy doesn’t die from disagreement. It dies when we stop understanding each other. And that’s why we teach. That’s why we LERN. #TheBostonAmerican, #LERNplatform, #SociologyOfPolitics, #ThinkBeforeYouVote, #PopulismExplained, #Votingand Sociology, #CriticalThinking, #ScrollSmarter, #HumansOverAlgorithms
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 The anti-woke movement is no longer just a republican or conservative political backlash against liberal or progressive excess. It’s become a fast-moving T train picking up all kinds of passengers—some with reasonably valid critiques, others with much darker and nefarious intentions. But first, let’s acknowledge that there are elements of the woke movement that simply overreached and wouldn't let up. Like Mark Wahlberg's overblown Boston accent in The Perfect Storm, some of it just became unbearable to listen to. With this lens, one can appreciate that a public appetite for correction was inevitable. But what was difficult to predict is that while the grievances are diverse, the shared opposition itself would become a collective identity. The rapid piling-on has created a mood that says: not only is enough enough, but let's prop the door open and fight back—on everything. Why? Because the mood has created room for more than just a little extra push back. It’s created cover. Under the anti-woke banner, voices that were once confined to the margins are stepping into the mainstream with confidence. Not just voices opposed to progressive gender policies, for instance, but voices that are passionately striving to normalize racism, antisemitism, and many other forms of hate. The energy is being shared at internet speed—and that’s what makes this moment in American history so pivotal. Momentum Is Contagious When movements start, from either side, momentum builds when they draw in those looking for permission to express something they feel at their core, but have been hesitant to broadcast. And that’s precisely what’s happening. A rhetoric once maintained in the back channels is becoming increasingly mainstream, repackaged as 'common sense', 'parental rights', or 'cultural preservation'. It was subtle at first, and now it’s pervasive. (See data under "LERN Module".) To be clear, I’m not suggesting everyone who questions “wokeness” is secretly harboring extremist views. Far from it. There are thoughtful conservatives, sincere people who feel left behind by shifting social norms and want to have a voice in today's conversation. And they should. But remember, it was just yesterday that saying something overtly racist in public would come with intense consequences—loss of your social standing, job, credibility. Today, we’re watching a slow unraveling of those consequences because the social signal that once shamed such things has weakened under the weight of “anti-woke” fervor. In net effect, what began as reactive backlash against wokeness is leading to the normalization of some pretty old and ugly shit. Back to Work, Kids If we don’t call this out, we risk enabling it further. We risk letting legitimate frustrations be co-opted by those with no interest in good-faith dialogue, only in power, exclusion, bigotry, and resentment. The hidden passengers become the loudest voices. The train changes course. So, yes, let’s have the hard conversations about gender, fairness, language, education, and history. Let’s examine where our policies and narratives could use a tune up. But let’s make sure we're paying attention to who’s taking advantage of these conversations—and why. Because history has taught us what happens when a populist wave goes unchecked. It won’t just clear away the excess like a Zamboni at the Garden smoothing the ice, we run the risk of it carving away the fundamental values that are the foundation of our American democracy and society. What this Freight Train Does, or Does Not, Slam into is Up to Us The question is: Are we guiding the anti-woke momentum toward a more just and thoughtful society—or are we letting it carry us backwards, to a place Americans past and present have agreed we never want to be? _____________________________________________________________________ For teachers, mentors, and parents... LERN Module: Media Literacy & Modern Movements Lesson Title: When Pushback Becomes a Parade: Understanding the Anti-Woke Wave Core Objectives:
Examples of People That are Even Building Personal Brands on Being Anti-Woke:
Current Trends in Digital Hate Take note: This isn’t just noise from the internet’s dark cellar. The numbers show a coordinated, emboldened effort by hate-driven actors to hijack the anti-woke narrative and normalize bigotry in the mainstream. The Data:
Assignment: Choose one anti-woke figure from the list above. Then:
Bonus Activity: Use the following Critical Evaluation Checklist to judge a viral anti-woke moment:
If you intend to ride today's American cultural rollercoaster, you really should know who's rebuilding the tracks. - The Boston American |
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