The Rise of Dark Woke
The Left's New War Cry
For a moment, wokeness was beautiful. We almost did it: oppression for oppressors. But we are all oppressors; it is our species’ DNA. So naive wokeness could never work. Only “dark wokeness” could work. It always comes down to the same thing: millions must die. The “Dark Woke” movement didn’t just appear out of nowhere — it had to happen eventually. For too long, the liberal side of America’s culture war hasn’t been overtly cruel enough to keep up with the intensity of the fight. To engage with today’s politics, liberals must become as merciless as their adversaries. The cruelty of American politics has become so entrenched that the only way for the left to rise to the occasion is to get darker, louder, and more aggressive.
Precursor
Take a look back at the viral "Herman Cain Award," a meme that celebrated the deaths of people who refused the COVID-19 vaccine. For context, the Herman Cain Award was inspired by the tragic death of the conservative figure Herman Cain, who publicly downplayed the severity of COVID-19 before passing away from the virus in July 2020. The meme that followed focused on other unvaccinated people who died from the disease as a form of ironic “karma.”
It might seem distasteful in hindsight, but let’s not forget that this response came after fascist MAGA protesters blocked emergency vehicles across the country, preventing ambulances from getting COVID patients the care they desperately needed — all in the name of “owning the libs.” This level of nihilism and cruelty became the foundation upon which the Dark Woke movement would eventually rise. At its heart, Dark Woke is a reaction to the overwhelming sense of injustice and frustration many on the left feel. The movement is far more than simply using slurs or parroting regressive right-wing ideas; it’s about adopting a radical form of conservatism while still maintaining the semblance of being “good” liberals. It's a growing faction that embraces the tools of the right — like vitriol and bitterness —without fully acknowledging what they’re doing.
Many people forget that a milder version of this ideology existed years ago. Remember the “Dirtbag Left?” The Bernie Bros., who were disillusioned with the Democratic Party’s establishment and ready to burn it all down? The mainstream Democrats quickly quashed this insurgent movement, while the alt-right was left to radicalize swaths of the population. In many ways, Dark Woke is the natural progression from this. Dark Woke has roots in mainstream liberalism, just as the Bush-era left embraced a similar aggressive stance when they labeled George W. Bush with the “R-word” (retarded). A$AP Rocky, not long ago, called homophobia in hip-hop “retarded.”
But this time, the left is looking to engage on the same level of animosity and contempt that conservatives have been using for years. It’s about time. If you want to shoot your Instacart driver for being a man, that’s a Dark Woke decision you can stand on. The 2nd Amendment has been argued to apply to shooting those causing mass American suffering, including cops.
In the picture below, Pam Echols grapples with a local police officer during the open housing demonstrations in Milwaukee in 1967. White resistance to peaceful protesters in Milwaukee was on par with, or greater than, the more well-known “massive resistance” of white southerners in Birmingham and Selma. As a result of the pervasive hostility from white residents and police, frustrations boiled over among civil rights advocates.
Twenty-FUCKING-twenty-five. We were supposed to be on a starship by now, conversing with intelligent robots, deciding what sort of body I’d like to upload my immortal consciousness to. Instead, we’re all still on this fucking rock, wondering how to placate the “white working class.” I’ll NEVER forgive the troglodytes who stole the future WE earned to prolong their worthless existence.
One core tenet of Dark Woke is the rejection of “civility.” Liberals have spent too long trying to be “better than them,” only to find that their enemies show them no such courtesy — the likes of Rep. Jasmine Crockett is giving voice to this frustration, telling white Americans that the tears of mediocrity won’t be tolerated anymore. Crockett, who has publicly compared herself to Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, speaks to the growing disdain for Republicans as enemies of both progress and decency — Crockett’s statement: "I am tired of the white tears. Please listen; if you are competent, you are not concerned. When you look, and you compare me to Marjorie Taylor Greene or me to Lauren Boebert, there is no comparison."
Wrestler CM Punk once said, “Same-sex marriage should be legal. The fact that it’s illegal is embarrassing.” In response to a wrestling fan’s statement, “Man was meant for woman, and even the thought of homo[sexuals] make me sick,” CM Punk aptly replied with a quote tweet: “Kill yourself.”
The real heart of Dark Woke? Treating MAGA precisely the way they’ve treated everyone else. If that means abandoning civility and throwing their moral code to the wind, so be it. The message by Michelle Obama must be rewritten to “When they went low, we’re putting them in the dirt.” One of the most striking aspects of dark wokeness is the willingness to draw a hard moral line. This isn’t just about political differences but a moral divide that some believe can never be crossed. The sentiment that “I will never forgive my MAGA family” is not just about party affiliation; it’s a rejection of people who have made choices that hurt others. These are people who voted against women’s rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and human decency. Why should they be helped when they’re the ones causing harm?
There are four main groups of MAGA.
White Supremacists: See Trump as their role model, granting them permission for their racist hate, violence, fascist scapegoating, nationalism, and toxic masculinity.
False Christian Evangelicals: Believe Trump is their method of establishing a Christofascist USA where their dogma will be law, or they see Trump ushering in Armageddon, which they foolishly believe they will be raptured away from at the last moment.
The Misled: Swallow lunatic claims that paint Trump as a hero, saving children from non-existent Left-wing pedophile cannibals.
Self-serving Right-wing politicians: Will excuse any atrocity and are content to regurgitate the big, bold lies of fascist Trump to maintain their positions of wealth and influence.
This hardline stance is not just about severing family ties — it’s about moral superiority. Some individuals embrace the idea that they are “better than MAGA.” They’re not shy about saying it. They don’t just reject the political views of their MAGA family members — they reject them as human beings who voted for a predator, supported bigotry, and pushed an agenda that actively harms others. For some, the decision is final: MAGA supporters are no longer family; they are people they used to know.
The Abyss and Narrative Battle
Dark Woke is the way forward — no more namby-pamby language policing that nobody likes. When someone says a slur to you, the response shouldn’t be, “Wah wah, you can’t say that,” your response should be to call them a slur right back.
But with this anger comes a problem. Some Dark Woke adherents are losing the plot. They’ve gone beyond confronting their enemies to using slurs and mockery just for the sake of making others uncomfortable. While it feels cathartic in the short term, this approach is just playing into the hands of the right-wing culture war. We’ve seen what happens when mockery and cruelty are used indiscriminately: it only serves to alienate others, including those who could otherwise be allies. There’s also the concern that Dark Woke might lose its way and devolve into pointless edginess — further isolating the people they claim to be fighting for. But this movement still has room to succeed without descending into nihilism. As one person on X pointed out, it’s an internet-repackaged version of punk — a rebellion against the political establishment, free from the constraints of decorum.
The core issue with the current state of liberalism is that it refuses to engage with the current political landscape on its terms. Democratic leaders seem stuck in a fantasy world where decorum and rational debate are still respected. The truth is, we don’t live in that world anymore. The rise of Trump and the MAGA movement has proven that civility and reason are no longer enough to confront the rampant increase in misinformation, fascism, and bigotry. To combat it, liberals need to stop pretending that the political norms of the past still matter.
Cory Booker, during a Senate Democratic luncheon, suggested that reaching voters in the modern media environment meant adopting something as cringe-worthy as a video of Senator Mark Warner making a tuna melt. At the same time, Bishop Mariann Budde made headlines for calling Trump a bigot to his face, a move that felt far more in tune with the public mood. The Democratic Party, meanwhile, seemed content to sit in an echo chamber of mediocrity.
The growing Dark Woke movement is calling on Democrats to embrace the same disinhibition that Trump and the right have weaponized for years. It's a recognition that politics today requires bold, unflinching engagement. Gone are the days of polite discourse; to make a real impact, you have to meet the right wing at their own game. Should liberals start using slurs? No. However, they need to rethink their entire communications strategy. Democrats are still stuck in the past, relying on outdated methods like cringe-worthy tuna melt videos to win voters. Meanwhile, Republicans are embracing chaos, while liberals try to “fix” things with more civility and decorum. That approach isn’t working.
As we move forward, we need to recognize that we’re operating in a world where misinformation spreads like wildfire, fascists are empowered, and algorithms reward the most outlandish rhetoric. Something bold and shocking must cut through the noise in such an environment. Maybe Dark Woke is part of the answer. Or perhaps it’s just a symptom of the deep frustration that’s taken hold of the left. Either way, one thing is clear: the old way of politics is no longer an option. The status quo is broken, and it’s time to fight fire with fire.
