Why I Don’t Want To Be Called “Woke”

I just want to be a good person.

I had an ex girlfriend who told me she wasn’t cynical, just a realist. She was black and lived within an accumulation of life experiences that spoke to her about the nature of people. Not all of it was racism, but that was certainly a big chunk of it. I think about her often and her acquiescence to the idea humans are just bad. If she didn’t raise expectations, she wouldn’t be hurt or disappointed.

Image: Daly, Bill. “What Have I Wrought?” July 24, 2015. Photograph. https://flickr.com/photos/thefreerangekid/19044495680.