When I worked in Corporate America, I was quite puzzled by the frequent bragging on the part of management about valuing diversity which was juxaposed by management’s emphasis on employees being a good fit. The two statements just did not compute for me. A couple of places where I worked had managers who would fire a good employee practically every month because he or she, in the course of doing the job, dared ask an uncomfortable question or point out a predictable problem in a proposed course of action that managers interpreted as meaning the person “was not a good fit.”
The men and women from different races in those workplaces were all terrified of losing their jobs. They knew they were all required to be the same in their thinking. I realized that, in fact, the employees in these workplaces were not diverse- not where it mattered. 1
Jerry Coyne, Ph.D. just wrote about the illogical contradictions and extreme bias in the positions of the editor-in-chief of Science, Holden Thorpe. Vinay Prasad, M.D., M.P.H refers to Thorpe as being “partisan” which is decidedly not compatible with being an editor-in-chief of a major scientific journal.2
I wonder: Is this tribal behavior in corporations, science and politics symptomatic of de-evolution or perhaps a cultural regression? Or is it some sort of overactive survival mechanism, the equivalent of how autoimmune disease is symptomatic of an overactive immune response?
Let me explain.
IMMUNITY: A well-regulated immune system naturally attacks foreign substances that it identifies as a threat and leaves innocuous substances which include that which it recognizes as “self” alone. The dysregulated response of an overactive immune response in attack mode worsens the overall health of the individual, sometimes to the extent of causing a premature death.
TRIBALISM: Our survival mechanism wires us to identify with our “tribe” for reasons of safety. Abraham Maslow puts physiological needs (food, shelter, etc.) at the bottom of his pyramid, with safety and belonging occupying the steps above that foundation - but in fact, without belonging to a tribe or strong family, there is no safety or survival. These three steps fit hand-in-glove. Moreover, others who are not part of the tribe are seen as potential enemies.
It is my opinion that “wokism” is the opposite of what it claims, just like the corporate posturing about diversity disguises the real intent of management to find the “good fit” who are members of their tribe. If we must think and behave alike and not step out of line with the views of those upon whom we depend for our livelihood, then our true selves are being invalidated by a narcissistic entity.
Everyone who must walk on eggshells is suffering psychological abuse. Period.
The militant 21st century woke attitude about literally everything (vaccines, masking, isolation, scientism3, fluoridation, gender politics, climate change) strips people of their jobs, excludes them from real-world and virtual conversations, and otherwise shuns them. Wokism is a brutal return to apartheid, caste systems, feudalism, and re-education camps that were associated with genocides and death camps.
Wokism patterns of speech and behavior are consistent with narcissism. They share the same control mechanisms, such as, virtue signaling an image, invalidation of others, stonewalling, and dysregulated rage.
Instead of bringing us to the upper levels in the Maslow pyramid which include a secure sense of self-esteem, personal accomplishment, self-actualization, tolerance, and lack of prejudice which implies the generativity that is part of the psycho-social model of psychologist Erik Erickson, wokism is antagonistic and exclusionary. 4
Wokism stages are the narcissistic stages of love-bombing, devaluing and discarding. Wokism even includes hoovering (inserting themselves where they don't belong) and triangulation (involving third parties in an attempt to control the behavior of the target) which are narcissistic behaviors.
AGES & STAGES
Maslow and Erickson realized that life includes stages that are physical, cognitive, and psycho-social. They also realized that not everyone reaches full maturity. Narcissism and wokism represent a stunted personality which lacks perspective.
Remember how we were instructed in the first grade to find the item on a worksheet that “doesn’t belong” and put a big X through it? How about those worksheets with two columns where we were told to match each item in Column A with a single item in Column B - remember those? These lessons that taught early math and language skills were comfortably compatible with the early stages of psycho-social development and our success often was rewarded with gold stars.
The harder lesson for some of us was to be kind and tolerant of everyone, and not to exclude anyone from birthday parties. It seems the woke crowd who gives lip-service kindness and tolerance didn’t really learn that more important lesson. It seems they are hung up on the cognitive lesson of putting a big X through anyone or any behavior that they feel doesn’t belong.
Wokism isn’t an attempt to realize a dream of kindness and tolerance. It’s an illusion that disguises stunted and warped personalities. It is the same illusion that motivated the prosecutors at the Salem Witch Trials.
Narcissists in positions of power have used the dream of utopia in the past to lead societies into hell. That narcissists in positions of power have learned to corrupt the concept of tolerance and inclusivity in the modern world to one that is actually extreme intolerance that excludes and harms classes of people does not bode well for any of us.
Maggie Russo is the author of “Dance with the Devil: Love in the Age of Covid”
While writing the introductory paragraphs, I was struck that my use of pronouns and reference to genders suggest that I am apparently not “woke.” Frankly, I don’t care about the gender identification of any person or his/her/their preferred pronouns. I respect and will honor their choices, but I’d like them to respect use of traditional grammar.
“Holden Thorp, editor of Science, goes after our merit paper’ May 12, 2023. (accessed May 14, 2023)
Scientism is a cult-like and slavish devotion to the language of science. Scientism has more in common with faith-based religion and superstition than with the actual scientific method.
The top levels in Erik Erickon’s 1950 psycho-social model involve nurturing others and leaving a positive legacy for future generations.
"What and Why is Woke?" by Paul Frijters, Gigi Foster, & Michael Baker (Brownstone, June 2, 2023) identifies 5 parts to wokism. Allow me to relate those five parts to narcissism:
1 - Identity theft: Narcissists assume a false self-image in order to assume power & prestige. They also will mirror their targets in the love-bombing phase.
2 - Illiberalness. Narcissists play zero-sum games. They gaslight in order to support their world view. For them to win, someone else has to lose.
3 - Cancel culture: Invalidation and perspecticide are vital to narcissists in order to control their targets. It is psychological abuse akin to brainwashing.
4 - Victimhood: Whether the narcissist is vulnerable, grandiose, malignant or communal - they always revert to raging that they don't get sufficient respect or due recognition.
5 - Alarmism: Intimidation, threats, and preying on their target fears in order to force compliance is routine day-to-day operations for narcissists.
The authors also discuss the "parasitism" of wokism. I wish I had thought of that word because narcissists are nothing if they aren't parasites. The "supply" that narcissists demand of their targets is not only emotional, but also tangible assets in the form of money and other support. Ultimately, narcissists leave their targets bankrupt.
See: https://brownstone.org/articles/what-and-why-is-woke/