Former President Barack Obama blasted the keyboard gangsters in modern American culture as he resolutely renounced what is termed as “call-out” and “cancel” culture.
Barack Obama appeared with his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, at the Obama Foundation event in Chicago on Tuesday. The Obamas, huge advocates of young people and level-headed activism, nevertheless slammed new millennials for what he perceives to be a desire to prove how “woke” they are by judging and slamming others online, but doing nothing to bring about change.
“This idea of purity and that you’re never compromised and you’re always politically woke — you should get over that quickly,” Obama said as the audience laughed, according to The Guardian. “The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids, and share certain things with you.”
Obama then elucidated what does not define activism in the age of the information superhighway.
“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. If I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right or used the wrong verb, then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself. Did you see how woke I was, I called you out. Then I’m going to get on my TV and watch my show … That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far.”
Check out Obama’s speech at the Obama Foundation event after the break.
