While You Were Sleeping

I hate WOKE culture. I hate it as a metaphor. I hate it as a trend. Because being woke is so fucking privileged in so many ways. The fact that you had the freedom to sleep soundly for so long is pure privilege. And while you’ve been dreaming black, Indigenous, people of colour have been fighting battles you failed to notice. As you dozed, there were screams, calls for help and uncontrollable sobs echoing in the old rooms of the newly dead. You must be quite the heavy sleeper to nap through racism, mysogyny and homophobia, because while you were sleeping they killed George Stinney and Ingrid Escamilla and Matthew Shepard. While you were taking a nap we’ve been UP. Fighting. All day. All night. All the time. So you don’t get a trophy for waking up. But now that you are awake I hope your intention is to stay awake and fight instead dozing when things get shitty and heartbreaking and ugly.