Former President Barack Obama slammed “woke” culture and “purity” tests Tuesday, calling out far-left views such as “cancel culture” as unproductive and ineffective “activism.”
When asked how to be an effective political activist, Mr. Obama decried “woke” culture and said anybody who believes it works “should get over that quickly.”
“You know, this idea of purity and you’re never compromised and you’re always politically woke and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly,” Mr. Obama said during his foundation’s third annual summit in Chicago. “The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws.”
“Like if I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right or used the wrong verb or then, I can sit back and feel good about myself: ’You see how woke I was? I called you out,’ ” he said, “You know, that’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change.”
Mr. Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama fielded questions about race and raising the next generation of change-makers during the Obama Foundation Summit, which empowers “ordinary people” to “change history,” according to their website.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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