The Gary Null Show - Welcome to the Woke Culture and its Nihilistic Agenda

Welcome to the Woke Culture and its Nihilistic Agenda

Gary Null and Richard Gale

Progressive Radio Network, August 7, 2020

As we witness the increasing populist persecution of politically correct language through the emerging cancel culture, we must pause for a moment.  What went wrong that in a blink of an eye so much hatred, disdain and condemnation has unfurled in the streets, the social media and on college campuses. Demanding that tenured professors should be limited in what they say and how it is stated is counterproductive to understanding that our institutions of higher learning have historically been forums to challenge and rebut ideas and preassumptions in order to inspire open dialogue and debate.  This is how critical thinking develops. Epigenetically ingrained beliefs and feelings are thereby examined outside the bubbles of culture, class, race and ethnicity, because the real world frankly doesn’t care about self-centered emotions nor supercilious appeals for focused attention.

Previous generations had their moments in the public arena to exhibit their tantrums and hurl vindictive vitriol at their real or imagined enemies. Again we are witnessing a new generation of youth stamping their feet, beating their chests with self-righteous indignation and screaming for justice.  “We are inclusive,” so they yell, “and you are the racist, bigot, misogynist and deplorable trash.”

But the euphoric high in the current rebellion will be short-lived. Populist rebellions and protests are usually coopted by more powerful entities eventually. And rarely do revolutions bring about the changes that its participants have idolized. Some scholars have observed a similarity between the current demonstrations of Black Lives Matter and Antifa with the French Revolution. But that too quickly splintered after heralding momentary success into the various factions of Robespierre’s Jacobins, Jacques Hebert and George Danton. And where did the revolution’s achievements end after Napoleon arrived?  Indeed successful widespread demonstrations can change the course of history and do trigger systemic change frequently. However there is no Rosetta stone that guarantees the desired outcome will be reached.

The belief that we are a systemically racist nation is fundamentally flawed otherwise there would have been no achievements from earlier mass protests such the civil rights movement, the early abolitionists, suffragettes, and the Vietnam War protests. The very idea that the best selling book White Fragility should be the new  bible is a travesty to critical thinking. Yes, it is proper to condemn slavery; any reasonable person would.  But the premise that being born White is an irreversible and unredeemable trait of racism, coded in our DNA as a biological sin, is not only juvenile and ill-founded but also intrinsically dangerous. How is it that an author can condemn all Whites as racist while denying this in and of itself is a racist argument?

Even if a person can provide the evidence that their family heritage had many abolitionists who fought for freeing slaves, it makes no difference. Any statement, any gesture or word uttered by a 10 year old or an elderly person in their later years can be used to cancel one’s life, including all the goodness that person may have done as a conscious and moral human being.

One criticism often heard against today’s younger generations is that they are historically illiterate. How can anyone say with moral and historical authority that the civil rights movement meant nothing and in a swoop of amnesia wipe away 70 years of accomplishments for liberating people of color.

In no small measure these past populist movements proceeded forward in the spirit of unity where the color of one’s skin did not limit anyone as a human being. Tens of millions of Americans joyfully embraced each other in cooperation at every level of society.  Now today’s protests are negating this legacy as if it never existed. Yet when Clinton, Bush, Obama-Biden, and now Trump, Democrats and Republicans alike, at the behest of the neo-con and military industrial complex decided it was in their financial and ideological interests to invade country after country, most of these populations were of color. Why isn’t the populist rebellion now calling out our nation’s addiction to military adventurism for its systemic racism and the destruction of foreign cultures? When China carries out its persecution and incarceration of its minorities, including Tibetans and Muslim Uygurs, why do our youth blissfully continue to purchase the latest mobile phones and computers manufactured in the Mainland? Instead, China is given a pass as fomenters of human suffering to have the luxury of the newest gadget to show our friends.

And how is it not racist when thousands of small businesses are destroyed in riots when the majority of the proprietors and owners are Black, Latino, Asian and Native American?  Is any effort being made by the demonstrations’ organizers to restore their lives? In the meantime, the media covers these crimes by saying there are no riots. Jerry Nadler tells us that Antifa riots are a myth; however, tell that to the people whose life savings and means of livelihood have disappeared and who don’t have a penny left.

On a more pragmatic level, when a group of liberals and intellectuals principally sign a petition, including Noam Chomsky, to ask that we show respect for freedom of speech, they are attacked and ridiculed with the intent to destroy their reputations and to silence their freedom of speech.  The disturbing question is whether those participating in the woke movement have contributed any understanding to the nation’s crises of income inequality and militarism at the level of a Noam Chomsky? What exactly have any of the most vocal protestors created in their lives that have made society a better place from their efforts?

The best we can do is learn the historical lessons of how racial injustice arises, and it is not based solely on color or biology. Rather it is a question of power, the control of a privileged elite for the sake of greater wealth and socio-political influence. That is the basis for how a society becomes corrupted, and it is a battle essential for transforming the destructive trajectory of our country that is not being addressed. When the central issues of woke culture rely solely upon how you feel or what you believe is right then the society becomes divided between insiders and outsiders because not everyone will share your personal sentiments and illusions. Wokeness avoids being held accountable for the consequences that our words and actions inflict on others of a dissimilar mind.  In the meantime the clock is ticking away the seconds as the planet furls into being unsustainable for supporting its 7.8 billion citizens.

If the woke left believes it has the power to bring Joe Biden and the powers behind him to the White House, it is probably correct. But what happens once they are in power?  Life worsens as it has done for each succeeding president in recent history.  Will the legions of wokeness take credit for that?  Certainly not.

Undoubtedly, the woke culture perceives itself as being wise. But wisdom doesn’t arise from being afflicted with ADHD, being self-righteous, and finding one’s worth in how audaciously confrontational one can be towards an enemy. Our wise women and men today are those who have seen many struggles and have incorporated their knowledge into making society more equitable, to bring jobs back, to erect means of protecting those who are disenfranchised by corporate and political greed and exploitation.  Nevertheless these are the reputations the woke want to destroy, individuals who have the insight to analyze and discern the faulty thinking and self-cherishing delusions behind cancelling the lives of others, such as Noam Chomsky, Gloria Steinem, Chris Hedges, etc.  It is an immoral mindset to believe that one has the right to destroy another’s accomplishments regardless of whether one agrees or not.

The current protests erupting throughout the nation is like Sherman’s March to the Sea, destroy everything and everyone in its wake, then take pride in your carnage. Unfortunately, Black Lives Matter, despite the truth and integrity of its stated mission, is run by the wrong leaders – juveniles acting like belligerent teenagers who stamp their feet before locking themselves in their bedrooms.

During the past decade, and particularly in the last three years, there has been a full throttle acceleration by the major social media firms – Google, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia – to cancel voices and platforms that represent honest journalism. These are the voices of free speech that challenge the political weaponization of education represented in White Fragility, medicine and class struggle. Many sites such as Globalresearch, GreenMedInfo, Truthout, Blacklisted News, and Anti-Media have been censored. Also cancelled, shamed and pillared are people with impeccable integrity for their criticisms against power, including Abby Martin and Chris Hedges. These are the people with the strength of character and wisdom to expose all levels of power engaged in hegemonic control, unmitigated greed and the corruption throughout our two party duopoly. Neither the political Right or Left have done anything to challenge these breaches of public trust.  And Biden will certainly continue this trend.

So now we face a wave of nihilists in the streets and the internet spreading their apathy, frustration, hopelessness and hostility against racism and a system that correctly needs to be criticized and dismantled. But its lack of wisdom is displaying a mob rule that goes far beyond the threshold of honoring free speech, individual rights, and the kind of empathy and compassion that is so much needed at this time in mass populist movement.  Out of the collective ignorance that plagues the current uprising is the vulnerability to become unwilling tools of the powerful who are far smarter and wiser on knowing how to manipulate and direct trends that otherwise are not in their best interests.  We are already witnessing this happening as hundreds of millions of dollars are dumped into Black Lives Matter by donors and organizations that should rather be targets of protest.  This is the cost of nihilism and being deluded by wokeness: those who believe they are in power and control have been puppets all along.