I honestly never thought the word “woke” could apply to conservatives, but welcome to 2025, I guess.
For a while, the term “woke” was what us conservatives used in reference to the blue-haired Lefties screaming on street corners about how Trump will kill us all or something, and for the most part, still is. However, in the past few years, we’ve seen more and more political/social commentators that would typically lean right on the political spectrum starting to adopt stances that are less conservative and more woke, especially as it pertains to the Israel/Hammas war. We’ve seen this most potently in political commentator, Candace Owens’s, stance on Israel and her defense of people like Kanye West and Andrew Tate. In fact, she is so antisemitic that it actually earned her the crown of “Antisemite of the Year” in 2024, edging out such morons as Greta Thunberg, Hasan Piker, and Rashida Talib, something she happily bragged about.
But what gives? Why are so many conservatives becoming the sister of the thing they swore to destroy? Why are so many of them becoming almost, if not just as, deranged as the woke Left?
I think the biggest reason for this is because we’ve become so fed up with the Left that many of us, whether it be for social clout, virtue signaling, etc. are willing to do whatever or follow whoever seems to be the most anti-woke, even if it means being stupid. Besides seeing this in Candace Owens, we see this in the conservative movement’s happy acceptance of influencers like Andrew Tate, who’s a professional womanizer, narcissist, abuser, giver of bad advice, and overall waste of food and oxygen. Even though many of his views are completely antithetical to traditional conservative values, for some reason many young conservative men (and some women) still see him as a bastion of masculinity and conservative morals.
Why? Because he says some things about Leftism that conservatives agree with, even though the rest of his views are incredibly detrimental to society (such as his blatant misogyny).
Another reason why I think so many people on the Right have gone to the woke Right is because we’ve begun to question absolutely everything. Now, this isn’t to say that questioning things is bad. It absolutely isn’t. However, what the woke right has been doing is they have been questioning things so far that the questions become illogical, causing them to fall into conspiracy theories that are ridiculous. An example of this is – once again – Candace Owens, who famously does not believe that we actually sent men to the moon, even though all the evidence says otherwise. This level of questioning doesn’t seem like it’s trying to find real answers but rather seems like it’s there to transgress what we know as fact for the purpose of gaining social clout and attention.
Furthermore, because of this unfortunate tendency to fall into conspiracy theories on the woke Right, they become just as unstable as the Left when you call them out. Just like the woke Left, they like to say that they’re being oppressed (woke-Right version: censored) when they share their views and receive backlash and then label the rest of us as the true bigots (conspiracy theorists). This then perpetrates a cycle of illogical thinking that traps people in these circles. It’s all very disturbing and lacking in substance.
The last reason why I believe so many young conservatives are going to the woke Right is because even if many of us conservatives identify as Christians, most of us do not truly understand the Gospel thanks to the crappy pastors that are ubiquitous in our culture. Thus, instead of putting their hope in God, these woke Right conservatives are unfortunately putting their hope in politics and whoever says is on their side. Before you say that that’s not true, just look at how many people seem to put their unwavering hope in Trump. While I can agree with some of Trump’s policies and would’ve voted for him last year if I could, I recognize that he is a flawed human being who often makes ridiculous decisions. (Like tariffing an island full of penguins. What are we charging them for? Cuteness? Will they have to pay us in fish? Rocks?) Because of this, it’s easy to see how many young conservatives can become almost as radicalized and regressive as their Leftist counterparts.
Because of all of this, a large chunk of the conservative movement has sadly lost the plot of what the conservative movement is all about. The conservative movement is not just about being “anti-woke.” It’s about preserving tradition, common sense, and the things our founding fathers laid out in the constitution. So, what do we do to fix this problem?
I think the first thing we need to recognize is that we should not be putting our hopes completely in a certain ideological basket or political party. People will always let you down. Politicians will often say things to gain your vote and then won’t do them. Because of this, the safer bet is to put your trust in God first, as He will not fail you. Then vote according to your conscience.
The second thing to do is learn how to think properly. Just because someone says they’re “anti-woke” doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re conservative or even worth listening to. Just because someone says they’re a historian or researcher doesn’t mean that they know what they’re talking about. Use your brain and the commonsense God has given you to research what people are saying to form your opinions. Recognize that there are some things that are rooted in fact and that there are other things that are just conspiracies made out of a want for attention, groupthink, or sheer ignorance.
Third, if what someone is saying does not line up with what else they claim to believe in, then question them. Going back to the Candace Owens and Andrew Tate example, Candace has made her stance very clear that she is anti-porn and anti- “hoe culture” as she calls it. However, she still supports Andrew Tate who has bragged about distributing pornographic material and ruining lives with it and supports Kanye West when he released Vultures, which had a picture of his half naked wife on the front. If she were consistent, she would be condemning both of them, but she isn’t. That’s usually a good sign that you should not listen to someone.
Fourth, ask yourself if what these people are promoting actually line up with your values. For example, if you’re anti-Hamas, then maybe you shouldn’t be listening to “conservatives” that make the false claims that Jews are all evil and deserved October 7th. If you aren’t a fan of misogyny, maybe you shouldn’t listen to people that are misogynistic, though they vote Republican.
Fifth, learn what nuance is. Unfortunately, many people on both sides of the political spectrum have forgotten that not everything is a black and white issue. Some things have gray zones that aren’t necessarily bad. Sometimes, there’s more information there that we’re not seeing. One recent example of this is the tradwife vs. boss-babe argument that’s been raging on X. On the Left, a lot of people are advocating for a total boss-babe lifestyle, while on the Right, there’s sadly quite a few people arguing for the acceptance of a 1950s tradwife lifestyle where the husband is the breadwinner and the wife stays at home with the kids and does nothing outside of that. While there are certainly perks to both sides, what most of these people aren’t seeing is that no lifestyle is one size fits all, and that’s where nuance comes in.
Basically, the gist of all of this is, please use your brain. Don’t just follow the current thing when you don’t know what you’re supporting.
Until next time,
M.J.
The Tanuki Corner 