The modern right has its own trigger words (diversity, dialogue, social justice, community organizer), its own safe spaces (Fox News) and its own wokeness. The problem with wokeness is that it doesn’t inspire action; it freezes it. To make a problem seem massively intractable is to inspire separation — building a wall between you and the problem — not a solution. Coates is, of course, well known for seeing the problem of racism in maximalist terms. For example, it is certainly true that racism is the great sin of American history, that it is an ongoing sin and the sin from which many of our other sins flow.

Source: New York Times June 07, 2018 23:26 UTC