Opinion | Did Woke Go Too Far?

Did woke go too far? “It might be one of the most overused words of the last decade.” “Wokery is profoundly authoritarian.” “That woke shit’s out the window.” I’ve noticed people are saying the R-word again. “Retard comes flying out of these kids’ mouths.” “Five years ago, people were being crucified for saying ‘retard.’” “What is the R-word?” “Retard.” And pronouns in emails no longer feel so obligatory. “Starting off with A.O.C., she has apparently removed pronouns from her X profile.” “Sadiq Khan removing pronouns from his Twitter bio.” “Does a blatantly cis-het 30-year-old white woman need to have ‘she/her’ in her Instagram bio?” Lately, it feels like we’re being a little less careful about what we say and who we might offend, both on the right and now maybe also on the left. So where are we with language policing? And are we done being politically correct? To find out, I talk to my friends, writer and culture critic Aminatou Sow and New York magazine writer Brock Colyar. Find us on YouTube at New York Times Opinion.