Irony

Roger Daltrey, lead singer and one of the founding members of “The Who” recently drew attention when he spoke about the current “Woke” generation, and suggesting they are making the World a miserable place to live in.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not criticizing Roger Daltrey or co-member of the Who, Pete Townsend.  Their music has brought joy to millions for the last fifty years, and the world would be a poorer place without their songs.

And please don’t criticize me for even daring to mention it, I’ve paid my dues and built a few good bike frames over the years. Allow me to add my two cents.

I do find Roger D’s comment a little ironic as the Who had their first hit with “My Generation,” speaking of their generation of the 1960s and basically telling the older generation of that time, not to put them down. The Who then went on to have another huge hit with "Won't get fooled again.” The lyrics go.

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide, and the shotgun sings the song.

To me this sounds exactly like the current situation, with fighting in the streets, lead by those “Who sit in judgement of all wrong.” Then the chorus implies that it really doesn’t matter who is in charge, nothing changes, and everything stays the same.

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again.

The next verse continues with the sentiment, “Nothing Changes.”

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war.

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again, no, no

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie.

“The hypnotized never lie.” There’s a quote to mull over.

There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again, no, no

Yeah
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss. 

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. This time last year there was different President in the Whitehouse, and I sat here writing my blog, just as I am doing today. Because I remain neutral, my life remains the same. 

In my view Roger Daltrey is a little off when he says “The Woke generation is making the world a miserable place to live in.” Not my life, not in the place where I live. I was young once, believe it or not. “We wanted so much to be different than the previous generations.”

We wore the fashions of the day, so we all looked the same. We had the same musical tastes, we did everything our friends did, we wanted above all to fit in. Our cry was, “We want to change the world,” our motive was to remain popular. It was all about me and look at me. 

No different than the current generation. The big difference is today we have the Internet and Social Media, everyone has a voice and whatever trends on Facebook and Twitter ends up in the news, so it is non-stop, in your face.

The phrase, “Stay Woke” meaning Stay awake, or be aware, was first coined by black writers and musicians, and came into popular use by the African American community, as a slogan for the “Black Lives Matter” movement. 

What happened next is best described by writer Franklin Sinner. @NovaFrankly who also wrote about irony on Twitter last September: 

Ironic, Black folk made “Woke” to represent awakening from evil centuries old racist conditioning, now look. Y’all highjacked and twisted it into some hollow caricature, devoid of all meaning, that you ridicule and fight over it just like everything else we create.

Man sincerely, Fuck all y’all.

This brought a comment from none other than John Cleese. (British Monty Python star.)

A lot of woke behaviors seem to me posturing; striking attitudes that allow them to experience the lovely, warm glow of moral superiority, while justifying their own aggression by using denial-and-projection.

So, you see it really is a case of nothing changes, you just pick up your guitar and play, just like yesterday. Nothing changes because nothing ever really gets done, and if by chance next week there is a young people's revolution in Russia, (Just for example.) there will be some new Hashtag trending on Facebook and Twitter as everyone rushes to fix that injustice.

Here is excellent reading on the meaning, history and evolution of Woke.

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Comments

[Anthony J Taylor]

Very well said, Dave.

[Steve]

"And when you feel you're near the end
And what once burned so bright is growing dim
And when you see what's been achieved
Is there a feeling that you've been deceived?"

-Dave Gilmore, "About Face" album 1984

Some of us grow more conservative as we mature, as we age. I take care of what I have, including myself, not to preserve but to use. On looking back, I am the same, just older. It would have been worse trying to keep up with others' expectations.

"Some things never change, no don't ever change
And I'm feeling the cold
Thinking that we're getting older and wiser
When we're just getting old"

I remember a few other events in the year 1984, the year Dave's album came out. Another Dave was a part of those.

Thank you Dave.

[Dave Moulton]

Steve,
Your thoughtful and well written comments are always a nice addition to my blog posts.
Thank you,
Dave

[Steve]

You are welcome.

And even though it is actually David Gilmore, and I call you Dave, the irony is that you are known as David to many. I don't think David (Gilmore) would mind, just as I know you don't mind if I call you Dave.

It is indelible memories that remain, until the end.

[Tom]

Dave, from a previous blog post you mentioned you moved to the Greenville, SC area. My son lives there and all I can say is that it is the most UN-woke place I visit. If you lived in a woke area you might change your opinion. We can go down to the Reedy Creek area of downtown and have a great time. No begging(street music and preachers maybe), no boarded business windows, no graffiti, no de-fund the police, no statues coming down(confederate is ok as they lost), but Christoper Columbus, shopping centers being renamed because the name was a family that had slaves, university buildings being renamed because they were slave owners. And then you drive through million dollar plus homes on the golf course, with BLM signs in the front yard. What kind of social justice is that? I think the saying goes, until you live in it, you do not understand it. Since you admit you do not live in it, understanding a woke area/city will not happen for you.