Woke is a general term to cover a whole range of policies and ideas which have been adopted and practised by elites, taken firm hold and are now dominant in many Western countries. Central to woke are ideas on gender, race, sex and identity particularly as it pertains to minorities and the cancellation of individuals who oppose these ideas. Free speech is seen as a tool of oppression used by those in power to consolidate their dominance and oppress minorities.
How Woke Affects Men and Boys
We at MVI have often said that understanding the dynamics currently at play across the western world whether in politics, media, culture or generally is essential to even begin to tackle the problems assailing men and boys and the direction of future problems and policy. What issues are likely to feature in future, what are the likely next attacks on the rights of men and boys? Because these attacks are not about to cease, rather they will continue as long as the initiative rests with those currently calling the shots. For proof of this just consider the current efforts at the UN Human Rights Council to demolish the concept of Parental Alienation and dismiss it as a pseudo-science.
Under the woke dispensation, men and specifically straight white men, are seen as colonisers, oppressors, responsible for most of the evils of the world, who should be shut out of public discourse and who deserve all they get.
Who are the principal actors in this drama, what are the big ideas being wielded and how are they gaining influence? Are politicians leading or simply tame puppets being pulled along by the undertow?
Who form the opposition, how strong are they and what successes have they had so far? Some answers are now clear.
Many academics in the Social Sciences and Humanities play a leading role and many academic institutions have capitulated and comply with the new powers in the land. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have become the new sacred values displacing academic freedom. Corporations have adopted Woke Ideology and contributed to the institutionalisation of the new values. Many governments are woke or are strongly influenced by woke ideology.
The traditional values of merit, competence, ability have been downgraded; logic itself has been targeted as a product of white male supremacists and the profound consequences that follow from this for Science, Rationality, Law, Medicine, the conduct of politics and life generally are becoming more apparent.
Mis and Dis-information, Big Brother Watch
Major issues thrown up by the past few years: Attacks on Free Speech, the spread of mis- and dis-information and the emergence of private organisations and government units ostensibly engaged in combating these but actually at times engaging in the spread themselves.
We pointed some time ago to the Global Disinformation Index. Another example is the Trusted News Initiative, a global consortium of the most powerful media organisations headed by the BBC. See the list compiled by Matt Taibbi on the Censorship Industrial Complex https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/11/matt-taibbi-report-on-the-censorship-industrial-complex-the-top-50-organizations-to-know/
Big Brother Watch is a British civil liberties and privacy campaigning organisation which monitors the rise of the surveillance state, police use of oppressive technology, freedom and privacy online, the use of intrusive communications interception powers, the protection of personal information and wider data protection issues.
Big Brother Watch’s report Ministry of Truth: the secretive government units spying on your speech, https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/campaigns/ministry-of-truth/#take-action
reveals the truth behind the government’s five anti-fake news units and how their mission of ‘countering disinformation’ has quickly turned into countering dissent across the UK.
Free Speech on Campus, Sundry Items
Third level campuses have been central breeding grounds for woke ideology, where activists control student affairs, keep close watch on visiting speakers and either call for the cancellation of those they don’t like or else disrupt meetings. Many students who disagree are shouted down or feel unable to voice their opinions on sensitive subjects.
A most welcome development in the past year has been the emergence of student organisations which uphold and defend free speech. Two organisations have emerged in the UK, Living Freedom and Speak Easy. They have gained a foothold in a few universities, and are seeking to expand. https://twitter.com/LivingFreedomUK
These initiatives are aimed at giving a voice to those students who feel intimidated in speaking their views and who oppose cancellation.
Friday November 17 is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Men, IDEVAM, first instituted last year. DAVIA is to host an online conference of experts on domestic abuse and violence at 11am EST.
Remember the APA guidelines for treating men and boys from early 2019, the attack on “traditional masculinity”?
The American Psychological Association (APA) Division 51 has changed their mission statement in a way that suggests the APA are abandoning – to a significant degree – their much-criticised negative view of masculinity.
Notices are now being sent out that the next International Conference on Men’s Issues will be held in Budapest on August 10,11 2024. The first ICMI held in Detroit in 2014 was organised by Paul Elam who is again a speaker at Budapest. One keynote speaker is Janice Fiamengo and there are many other well-known names.
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