Woke paradoxes now abound in American public discourse, as John Murawski reports for RealClearInvestigations. What strike many as illogical ideas are being pushed by activists, causing confusion, frustration and moral whiplash in a swiftly changing society. Case in point: “White flight” from cities and its exact opposite, “gentrification,” are both condemned as racist.

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But that’s hardly the only example of rhetorical contradiction, Murawski reports:

• Activists such as Ibram X. Kendi contend that to be “antiracist” is to see all cultures “as equals.” Yet it’s impossible to read Kendi’s work as anything but loathing of prevailing “racist” culture.
• Kendi and others also argue that color discrimination is forbidden, except if it is done in the name of “antiracism.”
• After deciding that “Black” should be capitalized when referring to African Americans, some news outlets refused to do the same for “White” on the ground that people of European descent do not have shared cultural values. Yet these same outlets routinely include references to white culture and white supremacy as sources of “systemic racism.”
• Social justice advocates continually appeal for an honest conversation about race, where all perspectives are respected. But the public is also getting the inverse message: Be quiet so marginalized voices can be heard.
• Murawski quotes critics who argue these paradoxes are rhetorical traps that cause confusion and moral paralysis; and defenders holding that the paradoxes are resolved once one recognizes racist power structures that must end.

Read Murawski’s full article here.