Opinion about the article “Stay Woke,

But Stay Kind”

BY: Kate Aguinaldo

"The Stay Woke, But Be Kind" was an intriguing story about a man named Kevin and the
immature people who claimed to be "woke" on social media. The title actually accurately describes its
body, though it was kind of confusing to me at first, and I thought that there was just something
wrong with the phrase in the title. But, as I read through the article, I realized that the title actually
makes sense and it perfectly indicates what’s in it. The story focuses on the people who are arguing on
the internet about social issues that are filled with complete animosity. They actually think that their
harsh words and social animosity will actually solve a certain social problem. Like, for example, in
the part of the article where it said that a bullying incident involving a student beating up another at
Ateneo de Manila High School sparked public outrage. It was indicated by the author that a great
number of social media users, including Kevin, were out bashing the bully. Some of them are below
the belt, like the grown man mentioned in the article and those who put up with his obnoxious
behavior. They also got to the point where they started challenging and threatening the boy's life, as if
all of those wrongful doings were actually the solution to the problem. They think it is for the good
and justice, but it was obvious that these so-called social justice warriors were exacerbating the
situation. My point here is that they are actually trying to solve the violence by using another type of
violence. Isn’t that pathetic? They are literally fighting against bullying without being aware that what
they are doing is also a kind of bullying. At this point, there isn't much of a distinction between the
bully and the social warrior. I understand that these "woke people" are trying to defend justice, but
what they are doing is showing immaturity, insensitivity, and injustice. They are supposed to think
more maturely in these situations because, according to the definition of "woke," which is "alert to
injustice in society," they should be the ones who act and speak responsibly and maturely.
They self-proclaimed that they are "woke" or "social warriors." People expect they are aware
of justice and they already know what justice is, but what is happening now is completely the opposite
of what we expected. They fight for justice, indeed, but as we clearly see from their behavior, they
themselves are the ones who are being injusticeed. Isn't that a little bit confusing? How could they
fight for justice if they themselves are being unfair? It is a completely pointless and useless thing.  It is
not bad to be "woke" or a "social justice warrior" as long as you know your limits and don’t exceed
them. Being woke was actually a good thing. What only makes its definition worse is the people who
are self-proclaiming that they are woke but are clearly not. Our world now is full of toxic people with
immature mindsets. Social media is becoming a bad influence now, especially on teenagers. It teaches
us to be a war-freak person, pointing out harsh and pointless things. People think we can improve in
this kind of society, but I believe that toxicity will never be a medicine in our chaotic humanity. What
this generation is doing is like trying to put off a fire by adding fuel to it. They are all trying to solve
problems but end up making them worse.
This article taught us a lot of lessons that we can use in the future. The author who wrote this
makes me realize something that I hope other readers also realize, and that is to be a woke person with
kindness and maturity. We should now start opening our eyes to see what is really happening in our
world. We are being filled with complete animosity. We aren’t defending justice anymore. What we
are doing today is promoting injustice in our society. Stop risking the future in a bad situation. Our
generation had a big impact on the next generations, and there is a great possibility that they will
become like us someday. Imagine a world full of toxic people. Do you want your child to be toxic as
well? No right? So, we should all start to promote real improvement and development in our
community. Let's stop being toxic and immature people. We should start to learn to be responsible for
every action we take. Keep in mind that justice can be obtained in a lot of good ways; don’t use
justice to promote injustice; use justice in a good way. Let’s all be responsible citizens for future
generations. Let’s all change for a better future.