America is becoming less “woke”
Our statistical analysis finds that woke opinions and practices are on the decline
Regina Jackson and Saira Rao achieved a degree of fame at the height of the backlash in 2020 after police killed George Floyd, an unarmed black American accused of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 note. For a hefty fee, rich white women would hire the pair to help them confront unconscious biases at dinner parties that featured such ice-breakers as, “Raise your hand if you’re a racist.” Guests may often have broken down in tears when told that their claims to be colour-blind were simply another brick in the edifice of white supremacy, but there was lots of interest. The two women were featured in many news reports and made a film about their dinners, “Deconstructing Karen”, in which a guilt-stricken participant confesses, “I am a liberal white woman. We are absolutely the most dangerous women.”
Explore more
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Back to sleep”
Briefing September 21st 2024
More from Briefing
The right in Congress and the courts will reshape Donald Trump’s agenda
As dominant as the new president is, there is still life in Washington’s institutions
How far will Donald Trump go to get rid of illegal immigrants?
It is his signature policy, but the obstacles are daunting
Young customers in developing countries propel a boom in plastic surgery
Falling costs and converging beauty standards spur new habits
The Assad regime’s fall voids many of the Middle East’s old certainties
What if Syria abandoned its hostility to the West and stopped menacing Israel?
Syria has exchanged a vile dictator for an uncertain future
It is not clear how stable or how benign the new regime will be
Gambling is growing like gangbusters in America
Technology and legal changes are spurring a betting bonanza