Ever heard of sunset towns? They were ones where black people were welcome to shop, visit, work menial jobs, and so on, but only till sundown. After that, get out of town. Or else.
Or have you heard about the death of Jesse Washington? He may well have been guilty of the murder he was accused of and confessed to. But being mutilated? Then burned to death? Slowly? To maximize suffering? Follow the link if you have a strong stomach.
Especially if you were a black person in examples like those, you needed to have your head on a swivel and eyes wide open. Today, too, if you're someone marginalized, you'd better be alert at all times. You aren't safe. You are threatened.
This was and is no secret to the people under threat. They knew their situation. They warned each other, sensibly, not to go sleepwalking through life, because it could get them killed. Horrifically.
They had to wake up and watch out for reality. Or else.
You might want to keep this history in mind when you run into the word "woke" now. Before you object to the word, you might want to think about where it came from, what lay behind it. I mean, "You need to stay alert" is a sentiment you have a problem with? With what's happened to people in the past? With the ones who've had someone kill them by kneeling on their neck?
Object to whatever you want, I'm not telling you what to do. Your life, your decisions.
Just keep in mind the decisions that led to some lives being ended. Think it all through. Clear-eyed.
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