FWIW # 16 Someone Needs to Wake Up The Woke Crowd June 2021

Three weeks ago, a man died who was active in my community. He was a native of this county. Went to high school here, raised by a single parent for part of his youth, and then went off to college. He left college after one year, worked, and realized he needed the education and went back to school. After undergraduate college, he got a job, wanted more opportunity, and went back and received two advanced degrees. He returned to business. Through hard work, some luck I’m sure, and a thoughtful and positive attitude applied to everything he did, he rose to the top of his profession, retiring as CEO from a public company that was taken private.

Last week, there was a television program about a nationally recognized museum, and its internship program focused on giving people of color exposure to art and the museum world. They paid the interns selected for their services. In the broadcast, one intern did a walking tour around the facilities with his phone showing a friend watching on the phone the special features and variety of beautiful artwork. As the tour progressed, he made a comment. While I don’t remember exactly all his words, I remember him saying something about it was good for someone other than “rich old white guys” to enjoy the art. Two thoughts came to mind when I heard his comment.

First, he was a paid intern because some donors gave the museum $5,000,000 to cover the salaries of the interns. Likely, the money can trace back to rich old white people, both male and female. Second, going to the museum shouldn’t be such a unique experience for him or any of the woke crowd since anyone who lives in the Tri-state area around the museum can enter for free, particularly students.

The death of the gentleman and this student are more connected than first appears. The gentleman spent much of his fortune and time helping communities, health care entities, and educational institutions that were part of his and his wife’s life. He and his wife through their foundation endowed programs and scholarships for needy students at our state university and local community college. His family were major donors for the local Boys and Girls Club for families needing after school care and guidance for their children because the parents’ work.

Living in the state capital, he was a prime backer to save a major hospital that served indigents and poor citizens of that community. These were just some of the

community-oriented actions focused on improving the lives of all the citizens, not just rich old white people.

This one family has left their mark by giving access to education, medical, and leisure activities for many under-served and disadvantaged families. But this was only one family. All over this country, in large cities and small communities, there are individuals who have worked hard and achieved success beyond their dreams. They chose to give back to their communities in areas that are important to that community. Without rich old white people, there would be fewer opportunities for all of us to improving our lives.

No one has done a definitive study, but many of these rich old white individuals began with no special privilege, just their public-school education, their optimism, and their willingness to work hard. They came from two-parent families and single-parent families. Success is not limited to people with a certain skin color. The woke crowd needs to open their eyes and look around. Forget the number of minorities in political office in Washington and every community in the country. Forget about the minorities in the media at all levels. Forget about the gifted minority athletes in college and professional sport leagues. Look in each community at the small business owners or executives who the woke crowd classifies as “minorities” instead of what they are: Americans. There are too many successful people of all colors to give validity to the woke crowd’s lament. The woke crowd should look at the single-parent families struggling to provide for children, and the success those single parents achieve by giving those children the optimistic perspective that nothing stands between them and success.

I’ve noticed the woke crowd is now defining their constituency as black and brown. That’s interesting, because the brown color is implying Hispanic. This essay isn’t about legal or illegal immigration. It is about what I observe every single day. Immigrants from Hispanic areas of the world have seen failed socialist communities riddled with crime and corruption. They have walked or rode in high-risk environments to get to the United States. What is clear in my community, and I suspect across the country, is these individuals, both male and female, are hardworking and willing to take on any task that will improve their life. Remarkably, the level of get-it-done attitude is high. There is no doubt in my mind that over time this wave of immigrants will follow the same path immigrants from Europe, Asia, and other parts of Latin America have blazed as they became new Americans. So, somebody better wake up the ‘woke’ crowd. Trying to infect the ‘brown’ community with their society-destroying hatred will not work.

There was a time when everyone learned that aspiring for success, coupled with an optimist attitude and hard work, was the path to achieving whatever a person wanted. That formula for individual success has worked for everyone who tried it, no matter what the color of their skin. It continues to work every day for anyone who wants success, no matter who they are. Somehow a negative, tribal attitude has risen to the forefront to challenge everything this country stands for. The woke crowd, financed by multinational corporations and others in and out of this country, are working hard to drive wedges between ethnic groups. Someone needs to wake up the woke crowd. America has faced internal and external forces bent on destroying the melting pot of opportunity in the past. Those forces of destruction have always failed. America is resilient because it still gives anyone wanting to succeed the success they desire if they have a positive attitude, courage to try, the work ethics to apply, and the communication skills to articulate how they can help their fellow citizens. This success formula is simple. It is available to anyone, even the woke crowd.

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