Woke (/ˈwoʊk/ WOHK) is a political term that originated in the United States, and it refers to a perceived awareness of issues that concern social justice and racial justice. The object of attention is then Cancelled, silenced online by the masses.
It finally happened. The social media took away the only superpower of the orange moron. Talking shit on Twitter to his millions of ardent supporters and using it as a bully pulpit as the most powerful person in the world for the last 4 years is no more.
Day in and day out, he has hoarded the news media with newer and newer lows on how not to act presidential, acknowledging that he was untouchable. His loyal acolytes blindly follow him. They provided him with a protective shield by threatening any opposition voices with bodily harm even as the lies become more ridiculous. Grown men reduced to snivelling idiots who defend his every action as they breath and believe his alternative reality, calling everything else that is against them fake news. We saw a lot of these hardcore fans last week at the Capitol riot.
Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Snapchat and even Google started to shut down his bull horn platforms within a week after the 06 Jan Capitol riots. They have deemed that he is too dangerous to allow to continue even as he has only days left to leave the office on 20 Jan. Corporate sponsors avoided and cancelled their links with him so fast as if they just came into contact with a pariah. He tried to use official White House social media sources as an alternative and was shut down immediately too.
And then he was silenced… His supporters lost their communication channel with their great leader. There was eerie quiet from a man that was muted by the tech companies overnight. His only superpower was taken away from him, like taking the favourite toy from a naughty toddler.
Are the supporters still going ahead with new violent acts into the 20 Jan inauguration event or will they become headless chickens that will fade into the darkness? Riots in all 50 states and threats to the members of parliament are still possible as the crazies are now being rounded up by the FBI after the fiasco at the Capitol. We see so many seemingly normal people and ex-military personnel being sucked into the QAnon conspiracy rabbit hole. Driven by hate and anger, fueled by more lies, no one knows what they are capable of doing with the ammunition they have accumulated.
It feels so surreal this week when we suddenly had no new tweets from the orange moron anymore. The only video of him to condemn the violence he had egged on was also not widely broadcast in most news network. And he still refuses to acknowledge that he lost the elections, continuing to perpetuate the “Stop the Steal” conspiracy to rally his troops to remain angry and frustrated with their government.
We have returned to the days where every other news is not about him or linked to him anymore. It felt unusual and disquieting to return to a normal time where general news was about more important things that matter, like the virus situation. America is not out of the woods yet. With a worsening pandemic situation caused by inaction and made worse by false conspiracy theories and politicized, Biden has a tough road ahead. Not only has he got much work ahead, but he has to also be wary of the mess he is left with and the need to clean it up. Personal safety and those within the Capitol is now also an important consideration as there are enemies within them who had facilitated the riots by the protestors.
Based on new information, it could have been an inside job where some senators may have provided the organizers with a personal tour of the Capitol for a recce mission prior to 06 Jan. Some Democrats like AOC were rightfully fearful for their lives on what the protestors had planned to do if they were successful in locating and capturing their targets.
This is what America has descended to now. No better than a third world country with violent insurrections and no will to control a pandemic while everything is being politicized for political gain. The irony is so rich as they continue to try to tell other countries what to do. “Do as I say, not as what I do”.
Their comments on supporting the 2019 HK rioters now look so laughable as it is exactly the opposite of what is happening to their Capitol now. The moral authority to lead the world has been badly wounded by the orange menace. The double standards they apply – the rest of the world has seen through them, thanks to the current administration. Using the might of the whole government to bully a corporation using a motherhood statement like state security without any concrete proof is so pathetic. Tiktok videos can do that? What about Youtube, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram doing it to the rest of the world then?
The American social media platforms have suddenly woken up to the dangers they themselves pose into the new year. They had been ignoring the same threats which had been happening for years in many other countries where social media ecosystems have been used to push false narratives on citizens for political gain. We see that happening in Myanmar, India and the Philippines all the time and yet they did nothing. It’s all so hypocritical. And now the all-out push to cripple China’s tech advancement. Zero coherent strategies to punish, while executing punitive measures which don’t really make any sense at all.
It is only 2 weeks into 2021 and we have already seen so many things happening. It will shape the rest of the year as we figure out how we can navigate the pandemic. Vaccines are not a cure-all strategy. They do not last forever (3 months?) and without sufficient data, no one knows if asymptomatic cases can still spread the virus. More mutated versions also make it more complicated to address long term. Getting herd immunity is the best bet now but by the time we get there, which could be many months, will the people who had the shots early in the cycle still have the COVID19 immunity?
As we muddle through the rest of the year with 50 more weeks to go, I believe that it cannot get any worse than annus horribilis 2020. The coordination with the rest of the world should improve with the Biden administration, barring any other stupid actions form the Covidiot crowds. Stay safe and healthy my friends!
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