"Woke," when aligned with empathy and compassion, is defined by many as being aware of social, racial, and political injustices, aimed at fostering a more caring, inclusive, and equitable world. It emphasizes understanding the human behind every story, listening deeply, and actively working to alleviate suffering.
• Awareness & Action: Originally rooted in awareness of racial injustice, "woke" has evolved to represent a broader consciousness of marginalized groups and systemic inequalities.
• Empathy as Strength: Proponents argue that empathy—feeling the pain of others—is not weakness, but rather a strength that guides a desire for a fairer society.
• Compassion in Action: While empathy is feeling the suffering, compassion is the desire to relieve it, and kindness is the action taken to do so. Supporters see this mindset as leading with love and humanity.
Ultimately, being "woke" is a conscious, ongoing effort to recognize one's own biases and to care for the well-being of all people, regardless of their background.
Now, who could possibly oppose such a beneficent course of action? Possibly only those who are filled with anger, hatred, jealousy, envy, paranoia and ignorance.
I’ve had a few people object to the word, but liked the concept and wanted a different term. Two that I thought of were, highly evolved, or enlightened, both of which maga would have a field day, calling them elitist.
"Woke" CAN b evolved into one's learned understanding of its concepts. I for one have no idea what it's like to become "enlightened" toward the dynamics of racism later on in life. I learned about it in childhood via a particular "teaching-moment" experience: the 1967 Detroit Rioting.
I was a 7-yr-old, raised in a suburb that was only 2 miles north of the 8 Mile Road borderline. Sometime during the 5-day rioting, my Pop said to me: "Follow me into the backyard! Where's your brothers...go find 'em now: I wanna talk to u guys!"
My brothers--Eric, age 10...& Dana, age 5, & I all followed behind as he led us to the farthest part of the backyard for privacy.
I was scared shitless! Pop had a look usually sported only when we were in trouble--which resulted in a spanking that hurt like hell from his big hands.
I was running the past few days' activities thru my mind, hoping nothing that I'd done was bad-enough to merit a spanking.
During this time, my Pop--a former Marine--was puffing-away on a Parliament, while pacing back-&-forth, looking down at the ground...working on whatever it was that he wanted to say.
"You do anything wrong?", I murmured to Eric. He shook his head "no".
Then Pop dropped his cigarette butt...rubbed it with his foot...&looked at us & began.
His eyes were wider than I'd ever b4 seen them: lots of white!
"U guys r gonna begin hearing your friends use a certain word that I do not wanna EVER hear u say! I've never used this word before, because it's the UGLIEST word there is...one that's filled with HATRED...toward black people...& it disgusts me to have to tell you this word--which I never thought I'd ever have to use...especially with my kids. But I have to tell you the word so that you know what it is...because I NEVER-EVER wanna hear u say this word!"
He then told us the "N-word"...& only once.
"It's so ugly, that I had to force it out--& only because I need u guys to resist saying it--despite any pressure you get from your friends to say it.
Do you understand me?!"
We nodded enthusiastically: "Yes sir!", we all said--as was protocol whenever he's in a serious mood.
After that day, we quickly heard the ugly word that I had never heard before. Just about all my friends used the word--which I asap responded back that I wasn't to say that word. They seemed puzzled.
"Why not?", they initially asked.
I told them that my dad said that it was the worst bad-word there was.
They responded casually: "My dad doesn't care if I say that word! But NOT any other swear-words!"
Lets be clear -- here in the US - there is only one type of person that things "woke" is bad -- the Modern Conservative", i.e, the present Republican Party Voter.
It is through their repeated vote - that the rest of us are having to deal with the Republican Party, it's elected politicians and "Their Leader" - the Lizard Eyed Orangutan- sculpted by two real pieces of work -- Fred Trump and Roy Cohn.
His Royal Heinous and many of his henchpeople look to me like lizard creatures from another galaxy, in human form. Especially kushner, musk, gabard and Krusti Gnome.
Good grief. You define wokeness in the most anodyne, angelic terms imaginable and then claim that anybody who finds this beatific disposition problematic must be truly evil. Instead of indulging in your little act of self-worship, try to grasp those ACTUAL aspects of wokeness that give so many people (many being traditional liberals) pause. Wokeness is a programmatic approach to dissecting social ills that focuses on identity to the exclusion of almost all else, all while presupposing an often distorted chain of causes and effects. Just to give one example, any correlation that supports their model of victimization is automatically declared causation. Their explanations for what produces certain outcomes range from mildly off to completely delusional. I would go on, but my experience is that talking to the self-congratulatory Woke is as pointless as arguing with MAGA stalwarts. Both types assume that they have exclusive access to truth and virtue.
I spoke to my husband about this. His take was, "It's a scary bad world out there. There's nothing we can do about it." "Oh yes there is!" I said. "We can hit them in their pocketbooks."
Not only can we do that - but we can also go further and orchestrate a total boycott - and boy can it have positive effects — if we come down on the people that won’t join in.
Martin, I have become a fan over the past year. You are surfacing things that need a place in the public space and more importantly the light of day. I guided tour of the best journalism on the international criminal cabal of corporations, security services and organized crime would be a gift to all thinking, caring people. As I have observed elsewhere, this particular triumvirate has plagued Russia since the rise of Putin, causing Russia to become a nation state in name only. It is a societal disease now spreading to the rest of the world through US agency, as you note.
Thanks Mike, this is such a tangled web. What’s interesting is that different journalists have looked at different angles. I think it’s time to join up the dots.
It has the potential though to take up LOTS of time to get it right.
The older boomers who were fortunate enough to b of age to take on the establishment is shaming the hell out of Millennials--or whatever they call themselves now! They're so STUPID!
I guess this is why Milenls despise Boomers so much!
I had a college class requiring essays to be written for answers, & 7 students--out of 21--had no clue how to write an essay! The prof warned that when answering the exam questions, they had to use correct constructions of: 1. A THESIS statement explaining their intetpretation pertaining to the question; & how they will provide support in the body of the essay.
2. Restating the thesis, then providing the supporting claims you made in the essay's BODY.
3. Summarizing the claims u made in the thesis...& following up with how u provided support for your claims.
Instead the students wrote: 1. 1. "Macbeth was a man who killed people.
2. He killed people not because they deserved it. He was just crazy.
3. Macbeth was a madman who killed people because he was crazy.
HTF these illiterates got into college should b investigated!
Millennials obviously never were taught how to do a BOOK REPORT in Grade School--which is a travesty, because they'll NEVER learn how later in life!
Blame goes to a republican-Bush: "No Child Left Behind", which was mandated by Feds to require Grade School teachers to teach subjects only within the parameters of a particilar testcreated by a republican!
Teachers were shaking their heads in disbelief at how screwed the kids were gonna b regarding the SAT's & ACT's--not to mention college.
Another example of republicans dumbing-down everything!
I agree 100%. 1990 I was in a discussion with a few friends about this scenario and I was afraid that we were going to have a civil war or uprising in the next 30 to 40 yrs. They all thought I was crazy. Now they are all Trumpsters and I only have 1 of my original friends left. They can't see the Peter Thiel's of this world. It's like they have lost their ability to comprehend anything now!
Thank you for meeting the moment with this work. I admire your commitment and integrity. I will be forwarding this article. It’s a painful grieving process.
No one is coming to save us. The checks and balances were a lie. There is no rule of law. Those around me can’t see the big picture. Your work serves as a reminder that I’m not crazy and I’m not alone.
Thank you for your kind words Juliette. I thought someone MUST look at this beyond the sex trafficking. There are many accomplished people working on that angle, so this gives me an opportunity to look at the much bigger picture.
It’s imperative someone does this, because I think we are living through the realisation of the coming of age of the ‘Epstein class’ and it’s terrifying. I’m a safe pair of hands who will hopefully be able to make some sense of this for Americans seeking the truth in a moment of tyranny.
About 25-30 years ago my husband and I picked up a woman hitchhiking in winter on a lonely road in Maine. Her attire was very out-of-place—fur jacket and hat, knee high leather boots, etc. On the half-hour ride to Bath (nearest large town) she told us the story of how she came to be hiding out in a friend’s isolated cabin from her uber-wealthy husband who had absconded with their six-year-old son who he was using in the child pornography business in California and New York. She told us about a cabal of wealthy men in the US and Switzerland that she said were part of the New World Order. It sounded too strange to be true, but somehow we believed her. She even gave me the business card from a lawyer in Connecticut that was helping her get her son back. It was an unforgettable experience for us and the more we learn about Epstein and everything you’ve discussed here, the more I think she was telling the truth…
Martin 😳…. now I’m so intrigued…. I am going to schedule a block of time to watch this podcast. Since the international names have been announced, I thought it seemed the sex trafficking was a side hustle for power players … and the real objective was black mail for business “ favors “ and political influence… the old saying money and power …. On a very large scale. Now after speculation on my part , I’m ready to hear the raw ugly truth. Better pour a stiff one on the rocks, get comfy and prepare myself . Happy Friday Y’all . And
Happy Valentines Day tomorrow . ❤️ kiss your wife , then the dog and cat .
Ok 👍🏼 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Addendum to above . Just watched beginning to end . The interview is frightening… but I find her research and analysis well done and solid work. Her brain is flooded with facts and details 👍🏼. There were so many threads that weave together the entire picture of world wide corruption , financial controls , and influence on international policy.
When the US embraced the concept of “the global market place ” during the Clinton years it was promoted as a concept to sell products into developing nations and emerging markets… the vision was to improve the global economy for all . Impoverished nations would get access to new industries and gain economic freedom and prosperity by international companies investing and developing raw material products. China has implemented global investments quite effectively while also flooding those same countries with Chinese exports . But what appears to be emerging on the US side is market dominance by the technology sector and wealth domination over political parties and political policy .
Billionaires dictate to politicians about favorable government policy . But this is the “Citizens United “ impact . It is the SCOTUS ruling that has undermined the power of the people . Money and corporate influence has corrupted our democracy.
Our democracy is top heavy … power and money from the top does not trickle down… greed is an integral part of capitalism. The solution…
End Citizens United . Term limits and age limits on the SCOTUS. End dark money in campaigns . It’s time to take big money out of our politics.
Spending limits on campaigns. Term limits on Congress. It’s time for rehab for our country.
I'm normally adverse to most things conspiracy oriented. But we're not in normal times and it seems obvious that Trump is not nearly smart or in any manner capable of orchestrating all of the mayhem he has purposely unleashed. It does seem that while much of that may serve it's obvious stated purpose, but it also distracts our failed press as well as the rest of us from keeping our eyes focused on the Epstein ball.
As an aside, in as much as Trump likes his name emblazoned on things, along with his name appearing in the files, as reported, perhaps a million times, why don't we rename them the Trump files?
Thank you for sharing such a deeply personal and far-reaching piece Martin. The weight of what you’ve written — particularly regarding your daughter’s experience — is profound. I am truly sorry for the pain your family has endured. This goes far beyond a mere news cycle, representing a fundamental betrayal of the trust that should exist between a citizen and their government.
The way you’ve connected the 'Epstein class' to broader foreign policy and the dismantling of sovereign statehood provides a sobering context for the current political climate. Your determination to connect these disparate threads — despite the personal toll — is both brave and necessary for any real understanding of what's unfolding.
Again, thank you for the work you do here Martin. It is deeply appreciated.
Woke is a good thing
"Woke," when aligned with empathy and compassion, is defined by many as being aware of social, racial, and political injustices, aimed at fostering a more caring, inclusive, and equitable world. It emphasizes understanding the human behind every story, listening deeply, and actively working to alleviate suffering.
• Awareness & Action: Originally rooted in awareness of racial injustice, "woke" has evolved to represent a broader consciousness of marginalized groups and systemic inequalities.
• Empathy as Strength: Proponents argue that empathy—feeling the pain of others—is not weakness, but rather a strength that guides a desire for a fairer society.
• Compassion in Action: While empathy is feeling the suffering, compassion is the desire to relieve it, and kindness is the action taken to do so. Supporters see this mindset as leading with love and humanity.
Ultimately, being "woke" is a conscious, ongoing effort to recognize one's own biases and to care for the well-being of all people, regardless of their background.
Now, who could possibly oppose such a beneficent course of action? Possibly only those who are filled with anger, hatred, jealousy, envy, paranoia and ignorance.
Say it loud,
I’m woke
And I’m proud!
THEY should try it.
I consider being " woke" an evolved state. I have deep respect for it's origins.
I’ve had a few people object to the word, but liked the concept and wanted a different term. Two that I thought of were, highly evolved, or enlightened, both of which maga would have a field day, calling them elitist.
I hear ya'!
"Woke" CAN b evolved into one's learned understanding of its concepts. I for one have no idea what it's like to become "enlightened" toward the dynamics of racism later on in life. I learned about it in childhood via a particular "teaching-moment" experience: the 1967 Detroit Rioting.
I was a 7-yr-old, raised in a suburb that was only 2 miles north of the 8 Mile Road borderline. Sometime during the 5-day rioting, my Pop said to me: "Follow me into the backyard! Where's your brothers...go find 'em now: I wanna talk to u guys!"
My brothers--Eric, age 10...& Dana, age 5, & I all followed behind as he led us to the farthest part of the backyard for privacy.
I was scared shitless! Pop had a look usually sported only when we were in trouble--which resulted in a spanking that hurt like hell from his big hands.
I was running the past few days' activities thru my mind, hoping nothing that I'd done was bad-enough to merit a spanking.
During this time, my Pop--a former Marine--was puffing-away on a Parliament, while pacing back-&-forth, looking down at the ground...working on whatever it was that he wanted to say.
"You do anything wrong?", I murmured to Eric. He shook his head "no".
Then Pop dropped his cigarette butt...rubbed it with his foot...&looked at us & began.
His eyes were wider than I'd ever b4 seen them: lots of white!
"U guys r gonna begin hearing your friends use a certain word that I do not wanna EVER hear u say! I've never used this word before, because it's the UGLIEST word there is...one that's filled with HATRED...toward black people...& it disgusts me to have to tell you this word--which I never thought I'd ever have to use...especially with my kids. But I have to tell you the word so that you know what it is...because I NEVER-EVER wanna hear u say this word!"
He then told us the "N-word"...& only once.
"It's so ugly, that I had to force it out--& only because I need u guys to resist saying it--despite any pressure you get from your friends to say it.
Do you understand me?!"
We nodded enthusiastically: "Yes sir!", we all said--as was protocol whenever he's in a serious mood.
After that day, we quickly heard the ugly word that I had never heard before. Just about all my friends used the word--which I asap responded back that I wasn't to say that word. They seemed puzzled.
"Why not?", they initially asked.
I told them that my dad said that it was the worst bad-word there was.
They responded casually: "My dad doesn't care if I say that word! But NOT any other swear-words!"
And I never have since!
💙 Your Dad sounds like he was a very good man and father. Thank you for sharing this story.
Lets be clear -- here in the US - there is only one type of person that things "woke" is bad -- the Modern Conservative", i.e, the present Republican Party Voter.
It is through their repeated vote - that the rest of us are having to deal with the Republican Party, it's elected politicians and "Their Leader" - the Lizard Eyed Orangutan- sculpted by two real pieces of work -- Fred Trump and Roy Cohn.
His Royal Heinous and many of his henchpeople look to me like lizard creatures from another galaxy, in human form. Especially kushner, musk, gabard and Krusti Gnome.
You have good eyes.
Good grief. You define wokeness in the most anodyne, angelic terms imaginable and then claim that anybody who finds this beatific disposition problematic must be truly evil. Instead of indulging in your little act of self-worship, try to grasp those ACTUAL aspects of wokeness that give so many people (many being traditional liberals) pause. Wokeness is a programmatic approach to dissecting social ills that focuses on identity to the exclusion of almost all else, all while presupposing an often distorted chain of causes and effects. Just to give one example, any correlation that supports their model of victimization is automatically declared causation. Their explanations for what produces certain outcomes range from mildly off to completely delusional. I would go on, but my experience is that talking to the self-congratulatory Woke is as pointless as arguing with MAGA stalwarts. Both types assume that they have exclusive access to truth and virtue.
A hybrid of capitalism and socialism. Regulated Capitalism. Limited Socialism.
That's a century away!
Piece of advice: Make the combined term start with--& sound like--"Capitalism"! You put any sound in even hinting at the sound of
"C O M Y U N I Z I M"
it's DOA!
I spoke to my husband about this. His take was, "It's a scary bad world out there. There's nothing we can do about it." "Oh yes there is!" I said. "We can hit them in their pocketbooks."
You should divorce your husband. He's too stupid to be your partner! You can do SO much better!
Not only can we do that - but we can also go further and orchestrate a total boycott - and boy can it have positive effects — if we come down on the people that won’t join in.
Martin, I have become a fan over the past year. You are surfacing things that need a place in the public space and more importantly the light of day. I guided tour of the best journalism on the international criminal cabal of corporations, security services and organized crime would be a gift to all thinking, caring people. As I have observed elsewhere, this particular triumvirate has plagued Russia since the rise of Putin, causing Russia to become a nation state in name only. It is a societal disease now spreading to the rest of the world through US agency, as you note.
Thanks Mike, this is such a tangled web. What’s interesting is that different journalists have looked at different angles. I think it’s time to join up the dots.
It has the potential though to take up LOTS of time to get it right.
The realizations have indeed produced some dark days for me...not yo mention anger...We old rebellious hippies from back in the day were right!!!
The older boomers who were fortunate enough to b of age to take on the establishment is shaming the hell out of Millennials--or whatever they call themselves now! They're so STUPID!
I guess this is why Milenls despise Boomers so much!
I had a college class requiring essays to be written for answers, & 7 students--out of 21--had no clue how to write an essay! The prof warned that when answering the exam questions, they had to use correct constructions of: 1. A THESIS statement explaining their intetpretation pertaining to the question; & how they will provide support in the body of the essay.
2. Restating the thesis, then providing the supporting claims you made in the essay's BODY.
3. Summarizing the claims u made in the thesis...& following up with how u provided support for your claims.
Instead the students wrote: 1. 1. "Macbeth was a man who killed people.
2. He killed people not because they deserved it. He was just crazy.
3. Macbeth was a madman who killed people because he was crazy.
HTF these illiterates got into college should b investigated!
Millennials obviously never were taught how to do a BOOK REPORT in Grade School--which is a travesty, because they'll NEVER learn how later in life!
Blame goes to a republican-Bush: "No Child Left Behind", which was mandated by Feds to require Grade School teachers to teach subjects only within the parameters of a particilar testcreated by a republican!
Teachers were shaking their heads in disbelief at how screwed the kids were gonna b regarding the SAT's & ACT's--not to mention college.
Another example of republicans dumbing-down everything!
Lose not Loose ….
I agree 100%. 1990 I was in a discussion with a few friends about this scenario and I was afraid that we were going to have a civil war or uprising in the next 30 to 40 yrs. They all thought I was crazy. Now they are all Trumpsters and I only have 1 of my original friends left. They can't see the Peter Thiel's of this world. It's like they have lost their ability to comprehend anything now!
I read a brief take on Thiel a few months back
… & he sounded like a very confused person!
Don’t know how he manages to have influence.
$$$$$$$ talks
1: I ever had any faith in it to start with. I knew from age 10 that it was all a con by the righ to screw the people.
2: It's "lose" not "loose".
Thank you for meeting the moment with this work. I admire your commitment and integrity. I will be forwarding this article. It’s a painful grieving process.
No one is coming to save us. The checks and balances were a lie. There is no rule of law. Those around me can’t see the big picture. Your work serves as a reminder that I’m not crazy and I’m not alone.
Thank you for your kind words Juliette. I thought someone MUST look at this beyond the sex trafficking. There are many accomplished people working on that angle, so this gives me an opportunity to look at the much bigger picture.
It’s imperative someone does this, because I think we are living through the realisation of the coming of age of the ‘Epstein class’ and it’s terrifying. I’m a safe pair of hands who will hopefully be able to make some sense of this for Americans seeking the truth in a moment of tyranny.
About 25-30 years ago my husband and I picked up a woman hitchhiking in winter on a lonely road in Maine. Her attire was very out-of-place—fur jacket and hat, knee high leather boots, etc. On the half-hour ride to Bath (nearest large town) she told us the story of how she came to be hiding out in a friend’s isolated cabin from her uber-wealthy husband who had absconded with their six-year-old son who he was using in the child pornography business in California and New York. She told us about a cabal of wealthy men in the US and Switzerland that she said were part of the New World Order. It sounded too strange to be true, but somehow we believed her. She even gave me the business card from a lawyer in Connecticut that was helping her get her son back. It was an unforgettable experience for us and the more we learn about Epstein and everything you’ve discussed here, the more I think she was telling the truth…
My husband has lamestream
Media on this morning , and they were all about who is having “sales” when… keep
NOT SPENDING “ unless local and a real need folks!!
Martin 😳…. now I’m so intrigued…. I am going to schedule a block of time to watch this podcast. Since the international names have been announced, I thought it seemed the sex trafficking was a side hustle for power players … and the real objective was black mail for business “ favors “ and political influence… the old saying money and power …. On a very large scale. Now after speculation on my part , I’m ready to hear the raw ugly truth. Better pour a stiff one on the rocks, get comfy and prepare myself . Happy Friday Y’all . And
Happy Valentines Day tomorrow . ❤️ kiss your wife , then the dog and cat .
Ok 👍🏼 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Addendum to above . Just watched beginning to end . The interview is frightening… but I find her research and analysis well done and solid work. Her brain is flooded with facts and details 👍🏼. There were so many threads that weave together the entire picture of world wide corruption , financial controls , and influence on international policy.
When the US embraced the concept of “the global market place ” during the Clinton years it was promoted as a concept to sell products into developing nations and emerging markets… the vision was to improve the global economy for all . Impoverished nations would get access to new industries and gain economic freedom and prosperity by international companies investing and developing raw material products. China has implemented global investments quite effectively while also flooding those same countries with Chinese exports . But what appears to be emerging on the US side is market dominance by the technology sector and wealth domination over political parties and political policy .
Billionaires dictate to politicians about favorable government policy . But this is the “Citizens United “ impact . It is the SCOTUS ruling that has undermined the power of the people . Money and corporate influence has corrupted our democracy.
Our democracy is top heavy … power and money from the top does not trickle down… greed is an integral part of capitalism. The solution…
End Citizens United . Term limits and age limits on the SCOTUS. End dark money in campaigns . It’s time to take big money out of our politics.
Spending limits on campaigns. Term limits on Congress. It’s time for rehab for our country.
Economic boycotting = using your $ power
My sincere thanks and abundant thanks to you for making a “useful contribution to the conversation”.
I have just become a paid subscriber. Grateful to be able to.
I am in awe of her also; and I am very rarely even close to awe.
So glad you agree. I’ve got two of her books too.
I'm normally adverse to most things conspiracy oriented. But we're not in normal times and it seems obvious that Trump is not nearly smart or in any manner capable of orchestrating all of the mayhem he has purposely unleashed. It does seem that while much of that may serve it's obvious stated purpose, but it also distracts our failed press as well as the rest of us from keeping our eyes focused on the Epstein ball.
As an aside, in as much as Trump likes his name emblazoned on things, along with his name appearing in the files, as reported, perhaps a million times, why don't we rename them the Trump files?
👏
Thank you for sharing such a deeply personal and far-reaching piece Martin. The weight of what you’ve written — particularly regarding your daughter’s experience — is profound. I am truly sorry for the pain your family has endured. This goes far beyond a mere news cycle, representing a fundamental betrayal of the trust that should exist between a citizen and their government.
The way you’ve connected the 'Epstein class' to broader foreign policy and the dismantling of sovereign statehood provides a sobering context for the current political climate. Your determination to connect these disparate threads — despite the personal toll — is both brave and necessary for any real understanding of what's unfolding.
Again, thank you for the work you do here Martin. It is deeply appreciated.