It’s incredible how much of an impact a non-existent thing can have on people.

It’s much like religion and a non-existent paternal figure.

“Woke” is a word that describes an attitude of awareness over systemic injustices that must be corrected in society.

That’s it.

There is no “ideology” exactly like no “woke mind virus” exists.

All of the hysteria surrounding the term “woke” amounts to nothing more than the whining of children who don’t want to be held accountable for their abusive behaviours.

An ideology is, by definition, a collection of beliefs organized under a dogmatic banner, but to be woke isn’t a belief unto itself. It’s an attitude favouring the support of justice in society and equal access to it for all people — not just the privileged few.

“Woke” itself leads to nothing because it’s not an ideology people rally around in protest of making the world “woke.” There is no singular image of “woke.” There are no collections of rules defining “woke.” There is no institution, group or body of people who represent “woke” as any organized movement for change in society.

“Woke” means simply that a person has realized a corrupt status quo is not sustainable.

“Woke” simply means a person understands and accepts how wrong it is for police to barge into a private residence and shoot people to death while they’re sleeping.

A person who is described as “woke” is just someone who is not only capable of empathy and compassion but is also not intimidated into keeping silent when injustices occur.

That’s what pisses off the people who whine about “woke” as an ideology and invent childish slurs like “woke mind virus” to serve as a boogeyman to fear and attack it out of an illusory need to protect oneself from an imaginary threat.

Some people don’t want social justice.

Some people want to hate.

It’s an addiction for those people, and the media feeds it with a steady diet of conflict porn.

Conservative politicians build their careers around hating groups of easily victimized people.

History is filled with the graves of millions sacrificed on the altar of hatred.

To be “woke” is to know this and be horrified by what humanity has done.

To be “woke” is to want better for themselves, their families, friends, and their communities.

To be “woke” is to want a better future for one’s children and all of us as humans striving to reach our potential as a species.

Some, however, are just mentally ill. Unfortunately, that group comprising “some” amounts to one in five people in our dysfunctional society.

In a city of one million residents, that means 200,000 people are suffering from visible mental health issues.

In a nation of 350 million citizens, that means 70 million citizens are in desperate need of professional mental health services.

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the entire world for fewer infectees than that, and we live with it every day in society instead by pretending it doesn’t exist or that it’s just normal — like almost daily mass shootings that extinguish the lives of thousands of children every year.

Gun deaths among U.S. children and teens rose 50% in two years

How do the mentally ill who want this nightmare to continue deal with these horrifying facts?

They invent disparagements like a “woke ideology” or a “woke mind virus” because fixing these problems means they will no longer be able to enjoy watching people suffer. They will no longer be able to feel better about themselves if they can’t see other people suffering more than they do.

They can’t stand the idea that they have to work on themselves because they can’t accept how utterly broken they are as human beings. Some no longer even qualify for that distinction.