The instilling of fear into the bones of the Serbian people from the new specter, called woke culture, began in New York, at the Summit on the Future of the United Nations. In his address, the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić he said that "Serbia is a modern country, but it is not ready to sacrifice its own traditional values."
He continued by mentioning the woke culture, which he believes "imposes itself as the highest possible value and as a state that we must reach in the future."
Woke Culture and the "Euthanasia of the Family"
The statement of the Minister for Family Care, Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, contributed even more to the negative connotations.
After calling on the citizens to start the "demographic restoration of the nation", the minister began to speak about the importance of preserving the traditional family.
"The strategic commitment of the state is to preserve the traditional family against the attempts of the woke culture to euthanize the family as it has always existed," said the minister.
They added that it is about "suffering the present" and "losing the future", thereby introducing additional confusion among the people, who are already insufficiently informed about the meaning and origin of the woke movement.
What exactly is woke culture?
Woke, i.e. "awakened" culture, refers to awareness and sensitivity towards social injustices, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of discrimination.
The term "woke" comes from African American slang and originally referred to awareness of racism. However, the meaning of the term has expanded and is now used to spread awareness of all kinds of social inequalities.
The term suddenly came to life with the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the main slogan of the movement was "Stay woke".
Some, however, use this term to denote extreme political liberalism and progressivism, as excessive political correctness and hypersensitivity to criticism or even jokes.
Woke in everyday life
Cafes with prominent LGBT flags, gender-neutral toilets, TV shows in which almost all minorities are represented, are just some of the ways in which the woke culture manifests itself in everyday life.
The concept of recognition of privilege has also been included in this movement since recently, and it refers to a situation in which a person recognizes that they enjoy certain privileges because of their racial, sexual or gender identity.
Many companies have also introduced so-called "safe spaces", where members of minorities can feel safe and discuss their problems.
This includes the Me Too movement, which fights against sexual abuse and empowers victims to share their experiences, with a special focus on these forms of workplace violence.
The phrase "Me Too" was originally used in this context in 2006 on the social network My Space, by sexual harassment victim and activist Tarana Burke.
And Kamala woke up
Conservative politicians, including former President Donald Trump, rallied against the movement, deepening the rift in an already divided American society.
A 2017 video of current Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris saying "everybody needs to be woken up" has resurfaced and caused a stir.
She made the statement while she was in the position of a senator, regarding the issue of migration policy and environmental protection.
Harris said during the interview that "it's good for democracy," that people from all sides are getting involved in what's going on.
She urged Americans to be active and "awakened." She later posted on her social media: "We have to be active." We have to stay awake."
