Taxpayers in the UK are questioning the allocation of over £750,000 for academic research on topics like “Comics and Race in Latin America” and “the Europe that gay porn built,” The European Conservative reported this week.
People in the UK are starting to get upset as new reports reveal that millions of pounds are being directed towards what is being labeled as “pointless woke academic research,” drawing criticism from various quarters.
The UK government’s non-departmental body, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is responsible for distributing funds amounting to £8 billion annually, with some controversial projects receiving substantial sums. Examples of research titles that have received significant funding include “Decolonizing South East Asian Sound Archives,” “Screen Encounters with Britain,” “Queer Music, Queer Theory, Queer Music Theory,” and “Trans Performance Now: Glitching cisgenderism.”
“[The] UKRI should be using taxpayers’ money to fund academic research, not political activism,” said Dr. Joanna Williams, author of the book How Woke Won.
UKRI defended its funding decisions, stating that they undergo rigorous peer review by independent experts, although questions have been raised about the political affiliations of these reviewers.
Most American Greatness readers know that woke ideology is spreading in corporate America.
Planet Fitness faces a $400 million market value drop due to a controversy involving a woman being banned for confronting a biological man in the women’s locker room, we reported last month. Patricia Silva’s membership was terminated after she confronted a man who was shaving in the ladies’ room, with the company citing a mobile device policy violation as the reason for her termination. Despite backlash, Planet Fitness defended its policy allowing transgender members to use facilities based on their gender identity, emphasizing that discomfort is not a reason to deny access.
Conservatives are criticizing Big Pharma for serving as a financial supporter of left-wing causes and promoting woke ideologies within its ranks and in society. Despite Democrats often appearing to oppose Big Pharma, the industry heavily favors them in terms of political donations, with a significant amount of money going to Democratic candidates.
Big Pharma extends its influence beyond political campaigns by funding left-wing organizations like the PBM Accountability Project, which aims to limit the power of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate lower drug prices. The industry’s support for left-wing causes includes endorsing movements like Black Lives Matter, implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, and promoting gender ideology through initiatives like the Healthcare Equality Index.
Woke ideology in California classrooms is nothing new.
Grassbrook Elementary School in Hayward, California, invested $250,000 in federal funds to implement “Woke Kindergarten,” a program focused on instilling far-left ideologies in kindergarten students. Despite the school’s intention to boost attendance through the program, student test scores have declined over the past two years, with math and reading scores dropping by 4%. Only a small percentage of students, less than 12% for reading and less than 4% for math, are performing at grade level. Hayward Unified School District Superintendent Jason Reimann defended the decision, emphasizing the program’s focus on creating a safe and inclusive environment rather than solely improving academic performance.
Kids inside classrooms aren’t the only targets of woke activism.
The parents of the young Kansas City fan sued Deadspin’s parent company over an article that falsely accused their son of racism. The article by Deadspin’s Carron J. Phillips claimed the boy was wearing “blackface” and a Native American headdress during a Chiefs game, leading to online backlash and threats towards the family. The boy, who is of Chumash-Indian heritage, had his face painted half-red and half-black to support the Chiefs, not in blackface as alleged.