To be fair, he does say the above, which is close enough. The problem with asking "what if they're right" is that there's no single formulation of beliefs shared universally by such large and diverse group, so you can't consider whether they are right or not, only whether each individual expression is.
> Racism, for example, is a genuine problem. Not a problem on the scale that the woke believe it to be…
The whole idea of woke (in the non pejorative sense) is that you’ve done the work to perceive the actual problem.
That statement shows that he hasn’t, which I think undermines the good parts of the essay.
Rich, coming from a rich white male. Hey, we're not lynching people anymore!
The whole point of "wokeness" is being legitimately aware of these issues and not just sweeping them under the rug with an "it's a problem, but not as bad as they say".
You're sounding like someone in the 60s saying "yeah, equal rights is a problem but not as bad as they say". The majority of white Americans at that time didn't think there was a problem with equal rights. In 1963, 60% of Americans had an unfavorable view of MLK's march on Washington. In 1964 a survey showed that a majority of New Yorkers felt that the "Negro civil rights movement had gone too far". etc. etc.
If you're not aware that there's a problem, __that's__ the problem.
Correlation != causation. Evidence of inequity is not evidence of inequality.
White and Asian men were systemically discriminated against for college acceptance up until a recent Supreme Court decision. That was an ongoing systemic and widespread social issue that was easily manifested through statistical evidence and therefore not dependent on my belief or your belief.
>I'm old enough to remember the 80s and no, this is not something like the "Satanic panic" and other similar panics. Not even close.
For sure, this time around it's even more detached from reality.
>You're sounding like someone in the 60s saying "yeah, equal rights is a problem but not as bad as they say".
Not at all, they were de jure discriminated against. Laws on the books, they clearly did not have equal rights, unlike now.
>If you're not aware that there's a problem, __that's__ the problem.
You haven't proven there is a problem, or that the problem is systemic, pervasive, or outsized. You believe that is the truth, and like the good Christians during the Satanic panic, you're clutching your pearls at the sight of people who don't believe your religion.
Of course you don't, you have faith.
>One day you might want to try opening your eyes.
They're wide open, and I can clearly see you're not touching enough grass.