Cloud Hammer, Second Day of Autumn, 526 M.E. (Helios): It may be Autumn, but outside it still feels like the Dog Days - 97°, and feels like 102° with the heat index factor thrown in.  Eduardo's now but a tropical depression over East Texas, but the Nacogdoches area is under flash-flood warnings. 

Too hot for my alternating day walk. I mean, technically I could walk outside today, unpleasant as it is, but why? I don't want to and you can't make me do it. I'll settle for a King George (less than a one-mile Washington).

I have a question and it's genuine. I really want to know. It's not rhetorical and it's not meant sarcastically or ironically. But here it is - why did white liberals and progressive agree to quickly with the far right that "woke" was a pejorative word and deny any association with the term? And as long as we're at it, why are there no defenders of DEI? What's wrong with diversity? Or equality? Or inclusiveness? 

"Awakening" and being "awake" have special meanings in Buddhism and are generally synonyms for "enlightened," so it's especially offensive to those of us who study the buddha-dharma to hear the word "woke" used pejoratively. I understand why the word is anathema in the MAGAsphere - it was associated with African-American speech and was used sarcastically by white christian nationalists to deride those who held progressive positions, i.e., "Oh, you're so woke." But rather than replying, "Fucking straight I'm woke, motherfucker," white liberals denied association with the term and now make ridiculous statements like, "I mean, I don't want to sound all woke or anything, but I think all U.S. citizens should have access to the vote."

And DEI. After the bigoted and corrupt Supreme Court declared that DEI-based college admissions were an unconstitutional form of discrimination, the Stable Genius' administration has run with the concept and is regularly purging government agencies of non-white and non-male employees as "DEI hires." Even four-star generals and world-recognized scientists. It's getting so ridiculous and so blatantly racist that they've even identified public amenities that mainly benefit impoverished or minority communities as "DEI," like "DEI bike trails" and "DEI transit." I wouldn't expect anything less from the current racist administration, but after some fifty year of supporting and watching the progress of the civil rights movement, I find it genuinely perplexing how the left, or even the midstream for that matter, aren't challenging these cuts and firings, and not trying to defend diversity or equality or inclusiveness.

Have white progressives just given up, "Well, what can you do?," or did they never really care all that much about policies they don't see as directly affecting themselves in the first place?