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Wokism and progressivism are different things. The latter has enabled the conquest of several extremely important rights across the Western world, such as same-sex marriage and access to abortion, to give just two small examples, rights we now take for granted but which were far from guaranteed not long ago. Wokism, on the other hand, is nothing more than a distortion of progressivism, totally incapable of dialogue, leading to greater polarization and prompting a more aggressive counter-reaction, which escalates the other side, and so on, in a loop that can only end badly.

Progressivism is pragmatic, wokism is dogmatic, and this makes all the difference. First and foremost, humans are individuals; we are all different, with different life experiences, circumstances, and opinions. When wokism, through its dogmatism, tries to force people from a certain group to behave in a certain way, to define what truth is, ostracizing all who think differently, it generates a reaction of rejection in people who do not see themselves reflected in everything that is preached. They might agree with 80 or 90%, but when there's no possibility of redemption without being labeled all sorts of things, it can push people to the opposite extreme. The wokes might then be happy to point the finger and say, “See, they're all Nazis, I told you so,” but the truth is they're pointing fingers from within a concentration camp, and unlike other religions, there's no heaven reserved for woke martyrs.

Being pragmatic, progressivism seeks to listen and dialogue, leading to the progress of humanity. It doesn't aim to ostracize those who think differently but rather to convince them to think otherwise or at least to find compromises.

No, Black men in the U.S. are not all incorrigible misogynists who hate women so much that they'd rather elect a fascist than a Black woman; Latinos aren't dumb and sexist to the point of voting for their own deportation just to not elect a woman; white women aren't all transphobic and patriarchy worshippers.

We won't win over an immigrant from Mexico who has lived through the violence of cartels and doesn't want the same in the U.S., or a Venezuelan immigrant who, unfoundedly fears the U.S. turning into a far-left dictatorship, or the white man who can barely afford food and housing yet is daily accused of being responsible for all the world's evils, or the Black man who constantly feels used and wants agency in his own life, not just to be considered a victim of society because of his skin color.

To conclude, we must focus on what's essential; we urgently need to reduce polarization, to see others as human beings. The most nefarious effect of polarization is that we stop seeing others as human beings; there's a total dehumanization, and if we don't stop, the consequences will be dramatic.