Rob Hersov: The woke insanity destroying America, and infecting South Africa
Key topics:
Woke ideology spreads division, undermining merit, biology, and free speech.
CRT, DEI, ESG, and identity politics fuel cultural Marxism globally.
Pushback rises: US bans CRT, ends affirmative action, SA resists woke.
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By Rob Hersov*
I want to summarise the ten most insane "woke" beliefs that the radical left is trying to shove down America's throat - this list is more ridiculous than a gender studies dissertation.
And these ten sick beliefs may start in America but the illness travels very quickly to our South African shores. We have been well and truly infected!
President Trump said it best: "Our country will be woke no longer." And thank God for that, because woke is broke—literally and figuratively. Even Piers Morgan called out for woke to die off.
Let's start with the granddaddy of them all: Critical Race Theory. This Marxist garbage teaches kids that America is fundamentally racist and needs to be torn down. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis nailed it when he called woke ideology "a form of cultural Marxism" that's "about taking individuality, merit, and achievement and subordinating that to a political agenda."
The Heritage Foundation exposed the truth: CRT divides Americans into oppressors and victims based on skin colour. It's literally judging people by the colour of their skin instead of the content of their character. Martin Luther King Jr. is no doubt rolling in his grave……….
Number Two: DEI Programs. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—or as I call it, "Didn't Earn It."
A bit like Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize - for what exactly? The colour of his skin? That was a DEI award if ever we have seen it.
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These DEI programs are reverse discrimination, plain and simple. They're telling qualified people—often white, coloured, Indian and Asian students—that they're not good enough because of their race. The US Supreme Court finally struck down affirmative action in 2023, and conservatives celebrated like they had won the Revolutionary War all over again.
And Donald Trump called South Africa “DEI as a country”, which says it all about us here…………
Number Three: The Transgender Madness.
Here's a statistic the mainstream media won't tell you: 67% of Americans—that's two-thirds of the country—support laws requiring trans athletes to compete based on their biological sex. Why? Because men have an unfair advantage in women's sports. This isn't bigotry; it's biology! Men are bigger, stronger, faster.
Jordan Peterson became a free speech hero when he refused to use made-up pronouns. And J.K. Rowling—a lifelong liberal—said she'd go to prison for two years rather than deny biological reality. When you've lost J.K. Rowling, you know your movement has really lost the plot.
Number Four: "Defund the Police."
This might be the dumbest slogan in political history. Only 18% of Americans support it, while 58% oppose it. Even many Democrats are running away from this disaster faster than Hunter Biden (in Camps Bay) hiding from a paternity test.
Crime skyrocketed in cities that cut police funding. Shocking, right? Who could have predicted that fewer police officers would lead to more crime? Oh wait—everyone with a functioning brain.
Number Five: Cancel Culture. The left's favourite weapon.
Bill Maher—a liberal comedian—has been slamming the "woke left crazies" for years. He compared their tactics to white supremacists. Let that sink in. Even the left's own people are calling them out!
Our very own export Elon Musk put it perfectly: "At its heart, wokeness is divisive, exclusionary, and hateful. It gives mean people a shield to be mean and cruel, armoured in false virtue." The richest man in the world just called you out, lefties. How's that feel?
Number Six: The Myth of Systemic Racism.
Ron DeSantis defined "woke" as believing there are systemic injustices in America. Here's the thing: America isn't perfect, but it's the greatest country on Earth. They elected a Black president—twice! America offers more opportunity for people of all races than anywhere else in the world. But the left wants you to believe they are living in 1950s Alabama.
Number Seven: White Privilege.
This concept is designed to make white people feel guilty for existing. It ignores the millions of white people struggling to pay their bills, working two jobs, and trying to give their kids a better life. But according to the woke mob, they are all privileged oppressors. Give me a break.
Number Eight: Identity Politics.
The Heritage Foundation is right: this garbage "weakens the public and private bonds that create trust." Instead of seeing each other as citizens, the left wants us divided into competing racial and gender groups. It's un-American, un-South African, and it's dangerous.
But the ANC loves division and have been adding more and more racist laws – anti-white, anti-coloured and anti-Indian – since 1994.
Number Nine: ESG Investing. Environmental, Social, and Governance—aka woke capitalism.
This is how the left tries to impose their agenda when they can't use democratic processes. They're using corporate boardrooms and investment firms to push climate hysteria and social justice nonsense. It's tyranny by another name.
And Number Ten: Open Borders Immigration.
The left wants unlimited illegal immigration in the USA because they think it'll give them more voters. Never mind that it's a slap in the face to everyone who came to America or South Africa legally. Never mind the crime, the drugs, the strain on our resources. The woke left cares more about virtue signalling than our own citizens.
I could have added an eleventh sickness and that is the Climate Change lies, and the NetZero madness that will make us slaves to China, but that is another topic on its own with Greenies being the useful idiots of Cultural Marxism.
Simply put, wokeness is a mind virus, as Elon Musk calls it. It's infected our schools, our corporations, our military, and the ANC government uses it to divide us and oppress us.
We are at last waking up—and I mean actually waking up, not the fake woke nonsense.
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DeSantis said, "woke needs to die," and he's right. This ideology rejects merit, achievement, and individual liberty. It replaces them with grievance, division, and Marxist propaganda.
And Gogo Helen Zille said, “Go woke, go broke” and she is right. Again.
The good news? We're fighting back. American States are banning CRT in schools. The US Supreme Court ended affirmative action. Companies are dropping DEI programs left and right. Trump declared America is "woke no longer," and he meant it.
And in South Africa peak woke is over and the pushback has begun.
The silent majority is silent no more. We believe in merit, not skin colour. We believe in biology, not fantasy. We believe in free speech, not cancel culture. And we believe in our wonderful country— not the dystopian nightmare the left is trying to create.
*Rob Hersov, South African businessman and patriot