This week’s news headlines made me realize how weary I am of hearing right-wing groups throw around the term woke with disdain and hatred. It’s clear many have forgotten what it means to be human.
Welcome to the 132nd edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a simple living challenge for the week. Along with reflections on the anti-woke movement, this week’s edition looks at reusable shopping bags, who’s benefiting from increased longevity, a solar laundromat, and rediscovering the local library.
On my mind this week: Woke is not a four-letter word
On Friday, I republished a reflection I wrote a couple of years ago. It discusses the erosion of consideration and civility and the general lack of respect in our society.
The whole topic of treating others with respect and dignity has been on my mind a lot this week after seeing headlines about the U.S. military’s plans to “put an end to the woke military”.
Interestingly those headlines came on the day Canada observed the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Also known as Orange Shirt Day, it’s a day to remember the atrocities and injustice of Canada’s residential school system and our treatment of the Indigenous peoples who inhabited this land long before white European settlers came along.
More and more, I immediately lose respect for any politician who spits out the word woke like it’s something they scraped off the bottom of their shoe. They may go on to say something of merit, but the disparaging way they use the term woke makes me stop listening.
I have to wonder. Why is the idea of a fair and just society where everyone is equal regardless of ethnicity, race, gender or sexual orientation so intimidating to them? What are they afraid of?
What does woke really mean?
Woke isn’t a new term. Its origins date back over 100 years. For decades, Black Americans used the term to signify being woken up or sensitized to issues of injustice.
In recent years, the term has entered mainstream vocabulary. Dictionary.com provides two definitions of woke. The first is “having an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those involving the treatment of ethnic, racial or sexual minorities.” It’s hard to understand how any decent human being could argue with that.
Sadly, self-serving politicians have hijacked the term and turned it into an insult, as evidenced by the second definition: “as used by political opponents, of or relating to a liberal, progressive orthodoxy.”
Leaders should unite not divide
The nasty anti-woke tone coming from right wing politicians around the world these days makes me sad and angry. It’s easy for privileged, white men to think they know it all and have everything right. But we need only look as far as our historical mistreatment of Indigenous peoples to see the dangers of thinking that one race, one gender, one religion, or one country is right and anything different is wrong.
A friend of mine declared a few months ago that we don’t need “all this DEI crap.” In her view, eliminating discrimination is as simple as just treating everyone with respect. It probably should be that simple, but history has proven that we can’t depend on people to do the right thing.
It’s time for leaders to be leaders and to find ways to bring people together rather than further divide them. Recognizing that a fair and just society where we treat everyone—not just people who look, think and act like us—with respect would be a good place to start.
We are all, after all, simply human. And if we can’t overcome our differences, I see rough seas ahead.
Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.
Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- The Toronto Blue Jays clinched first place in the American League East. Bring on the Yankees!
- To mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, our church invited Indigenous elder Wilamina McGrimmond to share her story. I loved hearing her stories, and enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with some of my church friends.
- There’s nothing quite like fall skies, and Thursday’s sunset was beautiful and colourful.
Things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:
How reusable is your reusable bag?
Most of us are in the habit of carrying our reusable shopping bags with us to the supermarket these days. A new report shows not all reusable bags are created equally.
The Canadian government considers bags containing plastic as reusable if they can withstand 100 trips of 53 metres each while carrying 10 kilograms, without breaking or tearing.
CBC Marketplace tested bags from major Canadian retailers. Only 5 of 12 bags passed the test.
Although not part of the test, I swear by my reusable bags from Bulk Barn. I have 4 of them that I’ve been using for years!
(Source: CBC)
Increased longevity is not equal
In a presentation at the Retirement Coaches Association conference, Stanford’s Dr. Laura Carstensen pointed out that all of the gains in longevity we’ve seen are in the group of the population with a post-secondary education. Yet another example of the divisions in our society.
A solar laundromat
I love stories of small businesses reducing their environmental impact so the story of Toronto’s Beach Solar Laundromat featured in the recent CAA Magazine was right up my alley. After buying an old building on Queen Street in 2002, owner Alex Winch reimagined the main floor laundromat by installing a solar panel system to heat the water.
In addition to reducing gas consumption by 30%, revenues grew 160% over the next 18 months as the change attracted environmentally-conscious customers. Proof that sustainability is good for business.
This week’s simple living challenge – Rediscover the library
Simplifying life is a big part of living more intentionally. With that in mind, I kicked off the year with 52 ways to simplify your life this year, including a downloadable checklist of weekly tasks.
This week’s challenge is to get to know your local library. Even if you’re not a reader, you’ll find a lot more than books. Visit 15 reasons to love your local library to find out what you’re missing.
I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
Discover more from Boomer Eco Crusader
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Thank you for sharing the link to this post over on my recent post, Michelle.
I believe that the word ‘Woke’ is now being used as a weapon by many people. Some of them go as far as to threaten you if you do not agree with them. This takes me back to the times when a woman could be dismissed from her job for wanting to get married, gay people were disadvantaged at interviews regardless of whether they were the best candidate, and it was considered unnatural if a boy wanted to do cookery at school or a girl wanted to do woodwork. When you think back to the 1960s, when humans were making plans for space travel, landing on the moon, and wiping out diseases with vaccines, today’s world makes it look as if the world has gone back 30 years.
I loved the laundromat story. What a way to go, yet we still have people in power who consider oil, gas and coal to be the future while saying climate change is fake news. I believe things will get worse before they get any better. One day, somewhere in our world, someone will plant the seed to turn things around. Yes, I’m ending this comment on a positive note.
Hi Hugh. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post.
Yes, sadly “weapon” is a fitting word to describe how many individuals use the term woke these days. I feel like certain people in positions of power want to roll back the clock and erase the hard-fought progress we’ve made over the years. It’s sad because I truly believe diversity makes workplaces, communities, and society better.
As for fossil fuels, we only need to look at what’s happening in Venezuela right now to see how powerful the fossil fuel lobby is. It’s sickening when there are other, more viable, and more affordable alternatives. It’s all about the money. Greed and thirst for power seem to win out every time.
It’s hard to stay positive sometimes, that’s why I always try to highlight pieces like the laundromat story in the Sunday Spark. We need to focus on the good in the world, because it’s there! That’s one of the reasons I love our blogging community.
Thanks again for reading!
You’re welcome, Michelle. It’s important to focus on the positives when the negatives seem to always grab the headlines. Greed is a weapon far more destructive than anything else. I only wish that the stories that show compassion, kindness, and being nice got more attention. One day, hopefully that will happen.
Great Post, Michelle with so many topics that I’d say are on my list of priorities. Hope you’re well
Thank you Brenda!
Time for leaders to be leaders and stop being divisive — yes! You are so right about when people spit out the word woke. Such a good sign to stop listening!
And solar panels for a laundromat?! That’s awesome!
It’s just an automatic reflex for me, Wynne. I hear the tone and the word and feel I no longer want to hear anything the person has to say.
I know. I loved the laundromat story too. What a great example of how doing the right thing pays dividends!
Thanks for reading. Enjoy your Sunday. 🤗
I have had the same feeling about the use of the word “woke” for a long time. It has become a catchall-phrase for anything people disagree with. Recognizing climate change? Woke. Awareness of social injustices? Woke. Using vaccines to combat illnesss? Woke. Cancel culture (as long as it doesn’t follow one’s political agenda?) Woke. I’m so tired of the phrase. I was raised to respect everyone. If that makes me lesser in someone else’s eyes or “woke” then I’m okay with that.
I agree totally that woke has become a catch-all, Pete. Imagine the good that could come about if we stopped labelling and started listening. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Great topics, as usual, Michelle!
I understand where you’re coming from. To play devil’s advocate, DEI is meant to ensure fair access and representation, but in practice, it can sometimes miss the mark. I’ve seen situations where hiring seemed more about meeting diversity targets than finding the most capable candidate, which can cause frustration and undermine DEI’s real purpose — creating genuine inclusion and opportunity for qualified people from all backgrounds. I’ve had to take on the workload of unqualified token DEI hires before; and my partner was told to his face at two med school interviews that he was a strong candidate, but they had “already met their quota of white males,” which felt disheartening, especially since disability is seldom considered part of DEI. I think the key is making sure organizations strike that balance without compromising standards.
I’ve been following longevity medicine closely for 15+ years. So far, the research only shows small lifespan gains—maybe a few extra months—through expensive experimental treatments, or lots of discipline in highly specific diet and fitness regimens. People with more education often have the resources for the pills/monitoring, but sticking to those routines is tough for anyone. With clinical trials still decades away from market, the gap will likely keep growing unless we start teaching people now how much lifestyle really impacts longevity.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Erin. I’m not suggesting that DEI programs are the answer to all our woes, and I’ve seen examples of the same things you’ve seen. Ultimately, I do agree that we should NEVER hire an unqualified person just to meet a target. But I fear that all this anti-woke rhetoric will put us back to the days of the “old boys club” where anyone who isn’t a white male doesn’t have a chance no matter how qualified they are.
And I agree 100% on lifestyle. More and more research shows our lifestyle has a much bigger impact on our longevity than genetics. Beyond lifespan, though, is healthspan. And that’s where I think lifestyle choices can have the biggest impact. You and I both know all too well that a longer life isn’t a gift if you’re not healthy enough to enjoy it.
I hope I didn’t come across as combative; my intention was simply to offer a different perspective. I completely agree with your point about the rhetoric. Since I read The Four Agreements as a teenager, I’ve tried to live by its teachings, especially the first agreement: being impeccable with your word. This means speaking with integrity and using our words to uplift and express truth, while avoiding negative self-talk or gossip. I truly believe the world and political climate would improve if people thought more carefully before they spoke.
Lifestyle is so important. I wish there wasn’t so much controversy around RFK Jr., because beyond the vaccine debates, he is doing some great things that I hope will help America heal and live longer. He’s using a local cancer center that combines standard medicine with natural therapies addressing patients’ physical, emotional, and nutritional needs as a model to improve care and reduce costs for Medicaid and Medicare patients. I also volunteer with food assistance for local O’otham, Piipaash, and Yaqui tribes, and there are efforts at the federal level to deliver farm-fresh produce to tribal members without easy access. And this is just in my own neighborhood. I think there is finally recognition of how sick North Americans are, and I hope these kinds of efforts are taking root everywhere. 🤞
Not combative at all, Erin. Healthy discussion and debate is good. We’ve lost that art.
Have you read Whealthspan by Scott Fulton? The book is all abiut the link between healthy aging and finances in retirement. Among other things, he talks a lot about the ridiculous cost of Healthcare in the US and how the general population is not getting payback for the dollars spent. I think you’d find it an interesting read.
I have not heard of Whealthspan, but that sounds right up my alley. I’ll see if my library has a copy. Thanks for the recommendation, Michelle!
I’m not a fan of the use of far right groups of the word either. It needs to stop.
It’s the disparaging tone they use when they say it that gets me, Ab. I will never understand how treating another human being as “less than” makes sense in anyone’s mind.
Love, love, love your support and encouragement about libraries, Michelle. They continue to feel like safe havens for so many folks right now. xo! 💝
Right. There are so many things to love about the library. Enjoy your Sunday Vicki! 🤗
You, too Michelle! 🥰