CHICAGO, IL. (THECOUNT) — Former President Barack Obama, while speaking in front of a group of young people in Chicago, warned them that they should “quickly” get over trying to be “woke” because the world is a complex place and “If all you’re doing is casting stones,” Obama said, “You’re probably not going to get that far.”
Obama also warned of the dangers of “online outrage mobs” and a prevailing “cancel culture.”
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“This idea of purity and you’re never compromised and you’re politically woke and all that stuff — you should get over that quickly,” Obama told an audience at the Obama Foundation Summit.
“The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws,” Obama continued. “People who you are fighting may love their kids and you know share certain things with you.”
“One danger I see among young people particularly on college campuses — Malia and I talk about this — I do get a sense sometimes now among certain young people, and this is accelerated by social media, there is this sense sometimes of the way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people and that’s enough,” Obama continued. “Like if I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right, or use the wrong verb then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself, ‘Cuz man, did you see how woke I was? I called you out! Let me get on TV, watch my show, watch Grown-ish,’” reported DailyWire on Wednesday.
“That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change,” Obama concluded. “If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far. That’s easy to do.”
WATCH:
Former President Obama to young people: “This idea of purity and you're never compromised and you're politically woke, and all that stuff — you should get over that quickly”
Obama goes on to slam people who engage in cancel culture and who look to create constant online outrage pic.twitter.com/qQPdeJb7nV
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 30, 2019
Geo quick facts: Chicago, on Lake Michigan in Illinois, is among the largest cities in the U.S. Famed for its bold architecture, it has a skyline punctuated by skyscrapers such as the iconic John Hancock Center, 1,451-ft. Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower. The city is also renowned for its museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago with its noted Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works – wikipedia.