Erykah Badu Helped Define ‘Wokeness.’ Now She’s a Target.

It would be very entertaining to watch the Left devour itself- if it weren't so frightening. Every day, the Left becomes more and more reminiscent of Mao's Cultural Revolution.

She's right, of course. And certainly more evolved than most of us, mired as we are in that shouty, college-age ego-defining phase that she describes. Which is OK, because it's all part of righting our course as a species, and doing so requires giving the historically oppressed, marginalized and victimized their day. But true justice--the restorative kind that Ms. Badu describes--is meant to heal all of us, not just the victims or the villains, not just those whose morals happen to align with current sentiment. Ms. Badu espouses the kind of human ideal that we must constantly aim for and always fall short of. This is the job of the true artist. Respect!

We are all love. We're all living out, or though various stages or experiences of trauma. To love unconditionally only requires understanding this. And, with this understanding, we can also learn that to forgive is not to condone, but to provide access to healing. May we all choose to heal. May we all Be love, Be peace, and be free from suffering! Deep bows to Ms. Badu and Reggie for this piece! *Big props to Pocket media for putting this article on my homepage. I would not have sought it out.

Ms. Badu is entirely on point when she speaks about not following the angry mob. Mob mentality is taking over on all fronts, which is really the most frightening and sad thing about the human race today. Individual freedom of thought and individual expression of opinion or action seems to have become subsumed under the internet miasma of roiling masses demanding everyone follow what they say is "right" or be publicly vilified. This is not how free society functions, it is how authoritarian cultures take hold. Her refreshing comments about not judging--even those whose acts or words may be heinous and disgusting to most of us--is truly evolved. Unfortunately, the evolved people have always been in the minority. It's why humans are so very slow to advance.

I appreciate Ms Badu's thoughts, much admired. I am awakened/ I am wakened not woke.

You can find the same message of forgiveness in Jesus and Tich Nat Hanh. If you are going to attack or boycott her, you'll have to do the same thing with them.

Thanks to Erykah for voicing her process of awakening with such clarity. The key is to look into why the negative reactions come up. If you care about yourself you will do that.

Honestly, I had never heard of her before reading this, though I have seen The Cider House Rules many times. I've never heard her music that I know of but I'll take the suggestion below to check it out her NPR tiny desk concert on Youtube. I know many people are hating on her but she is in fact a very wise person. I don't agree with everything she has to say, but the human race could use a few hundred million more like her, I think. I wonder though, if it has ever occurred to her that her idea of the empathic personality type might very well be the inverse opposite type as that expressed by sociopaths like R. Kelly and psychopaths like Hitler? And that neither can ever truly imagine what goes on in the mind of the other because the former doesn't have that darkness inside and the latter truly doesn't have any light? That would be my only quibble with her otherwise very interesting world view.

Understanding a different point of view without losing your own is the benchmark for empathy. It's never been terribly popular, although Obama did quite a good job of leading from that direction. I appreciate the article, and Badu's stance.

Don't know the woman, don't know how to pronounce her name, wouldn't know her music or wokeness explained but her thinking about how to grow and live in the world was extremely interesting.

What drivel. The laws of the universe will take care of Hitler? So why do we have laws or mores. She’s a talented performer, and a good actress, (Cider House), but no philosopher to follow.

A firmer grounding in Ethics and Moral Philosophy might help her clarify her rather vague ideas around consideration, understanding and compassion.

Here's someone I can learn from. I love her attitude and also, her ability to let others disagree with her. I'll take that wisdom anywhere I can get it. Thank you.

I'm going to violate the ideal of nonjudgmentalism she holds up and say, wow. What an admirable person. She's not had the benefit, perhaps, of a course in humanistic ethics, but she's obviously reaching for them with moral courage and generous intent. Prior to reading this article I knew nothing of Erykah Badu (because I'm pretty disconnected from popular culture). Now, she can count me a fan.

What a beautiful and profound interview, one of the best artist interviews I’ve read. Erykah Badu is an enlightened soul. I’ve loved her music and fashion for years, but I never appreciated just how eloquent and “woke” (in her definition of the word) she is. She is an inspiration. I hope she will find material for more music soon, it seems like she has a lot of wisdom to share.

Metta, I bet this Person practices Metta, loving-kindness for all beings - a Buddhist meditation technique. If you truly cultivate compassion, like Ms. Badu obviously does, it cannot be partial or limited; it must be or become universal. As she says, most perpetrators have been victims themselves, and require a process where their wrongdoings can be mended for all parties involved, not just dispensing harsh judgement and taking useless revenge. If this mindset had already spread around the world, what do you think: would we be in a better or worse place right now?

Beautiful

She is marvelous. I had no idea she was so deep, or that she had talents outside of music and looking fabulous. Thank you for this.

This really is a beautiful and important interview. Thanks for giving us this conversation.

I appreciate Ms. Badu explaining her thoughts and approach to life. I would like to think I live a life driven by compassion for everyone but it’s hard for me to say this would always be the case. I can’t imagine the pain of R. Kelly’s survivors and expressing compassion for him feels disrespectful to them. All that said, I respect Ms. Badu’s unwavering honesty.

What courage and/or delusion for a celebrity to promote the truth of love in this era of invective: pointing at the mystical love that Buddha referred to as loving-kindness (metta) and Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. Opening to this love hinges on one little bit of re-definition: separating love from approval. A loving parent loves their child regardless of their bad behavior. So too, I can have compassion for someone whose behavior is abhorrent to me. I know that there are reasons for what they did. I know that, like me, they have limited control over the circumstances of their life, and can easily get carried away by destructive illusions. I can be very critical of their behavior, yet still love them and try to help them to change. "Judge thyself with sincerity, and thou wilt judge others with charity” — inscription on the front of the Walla Walla Washington courthouse (built 1916)

"Stay woke," isn't new. In fact, it dates back centuries to a very well-known man... Back in the day, it is what Jesus meant when he said, "Be in, but not of the world."

Her music is great. Her political opinions are abhorrent. Her comments on R. Kelly were not "misunderstood"... They were understood perfectly well. She was apologizing for a monster. She was diminishing the experience of real victims. It's outrageous but not surprising to see her try to pretend that she too, due to this supposed "misunderstanding," is a victim.

This is such a lot of navel gazing lol. I mean seriously, she’s basically not dealing at all with the issues the R Kelly situation throws up, just handing it off to the universe and avoiding anything challenging about victims and villains. The interviewer, sadly, lets her off scot free. No difficult follow ups about the music industry, additional trauma or even the simple concept of justice, etc. And yet Badu considers herself “evolved”! Lol. It’s reassuring to remember that “evolved” does not mean better or more sophisticated. Obviously not!

This is one of the best Times interviews I've read in a long time. I love Erykah and like her, I am often criticized for my contrarian views. I have been a journalist since 1986, so I tend to look at issues (political, social, economic etc) without emotion. I mix the information up in my mind and try to figure what's right or wrong.My opinions are often counter to the popular narrative. I always try to figure out the reasons why people do what they do. We are in a time of "Though policing" which I find to be dangerous. The millennial generation is very aggressive in shaming people ho have with opinions they don't agree with.

Peace, love, and democracy. Pop stars, no matter how enlightened, aren't reliable interpreters of reality. And please don't mistake celebrity for authority or for intelligence. In case no one noticed, the celebrity presidency isn't working out.

Yes of course,it is democracy. She is right. Nothing can stop her loving as she feels.

Ms. Badu is an absolute jewel. Thank you for this powerful interview.