Getting a woke housemate a birthday gift

I need some advice. My friend's birthday is coming up soon but she's really woke and loves to read, so I don't know what to buy her. She's quite political so I'm thinking of getting her something of that genre. Idk much about David Baddiel but I think the book 'Jews Don't Count' may be interesting, as she may relate to the prejudices and experiences mentioned in the book as she's Jewish herself. However idk if Baddiel is woke or among those woke comedians. Has anyone got any suggestions? Good idea or not?

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Reply 1

RealLifeJoker

Original post by JosephCiderBwoy

she's really woke

Who would want a friend like her? Don’t bother mate

Reply 2

JosephCiderBwoy

Original post by RealLifeJoker

Who would want a friend like her? Don’t bother mate

sure wokeness is annoying af but there's a person behind his political views.

Reply 3

JosephCiderBwoy

good suggestion haha!

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Your title had me in stitches, but as for a book I think you should get her man's search for meaning by Dr. Viktor Frankl. It's a really powerful because and it is almost a showing of the bases of which logotherapy was formed. Just to phrase in an extremely loose nature "When there's a why there's always a how"

Reply 5

username4910484

I'd probably just buy her a bag if fair trade coffee.
Most lefties I know love coffee and fair trade products (I am not taking the mick out of fair trade BTW).

What about something by Mr Woke Mc Woke Owen Jones?

Reply 6

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

You could just get her a random normal gift you would get anyone instead of trying to patronise her and frame her as being "woke" as if that's a) a personality trait and not just being a decent person and b) the only personality trait she has.

Reply 7

username4910484

I can't stand coffee, except as part of a tiramasu perhaps.

But as for discovering how much better high quality foods are, I brought myself a pestle and morter, freshly ground black pepper is a whole different level.

Reply 8

harrysbar

Original post by JosephCiderBwoy

I would be wary of buying someone woke any present for fear of offending them. Maybe Birthdays themselves are a capitalist stucture, or maybe the wrapping paper has plastic in it :hand:

I would give them some chutney from your allotment, or somebodys allotment.

Reply 9

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by harrysbar

I would be wary of buying someone woke any present for fear of offending them. Maybe Birthdays themselves are a capitalist stucture, or maybe the wrapping paper has plastic in it :hand:

I would give them some chutney from your allotment, or somebodys allotment.

OP should build them a space safe for the gift

Spoiler

Reply 10

Anonymous #2

Give the money you would have spent to a homeless person so they can spend it on drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. She'll love the gesture.

Reply 11

spanker

Am I the only one who doesn't have a clue what woke means?

Reply 12

username4524630

Original post by artful_lounger

But that wouldn’t work with the circlejerk on here. It’s sad to see people forgetting that there’s a person behind their views. All that scrolling online got to their minds

Reply 13

username4524630

Original post by spanker

Am I the only one who doesn't have a clue what woke means?

It’s a buzzword for anything left of centre. Every lefty gets it whether they deserve it or not

Reply 14

gjd800

Mary Beard's Women and Power is cheap and also a nice, short read

Reply 15

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by BiggestLoser21

But that wouldn’t work with the circlejerk on here. It’s sad to see people forgetting that there’s a person behind their views. All that scrolling online got to their minds

Yeah most of the subsequent replies here are disappointing, to say the least.

Original post by JosephCiderBwoy

Incidentally OP, this actually was troubling me after I replied and I spent a little bit more time thinking about why that was. One of the real issues with your suggested gift I think is the idea of getting a book about anti-Semitism to give to a Jewish person is pretty tone deaf at best, and somewhat offensive at worst. Would you get a black person a book on anti-black racism? Or a book about slavery? It seems really poorly thought out as a gift, unless she has specifically indicated she wanted to read that particular book previously (which you have not indicated to be the case).

That gift could be seen by her to imply you only see her as being Jewish, and not really anything else, and so you just got her a gift that was somehow related to that. In that sense it would at best feel like a gift with very little thought put into it, a gift which is ironically is about anti-Semitism while you are basically profiling her for being Jewish (which is also something that is historically um, questionable). If anything, if she hasn't specifically indicated an interest in reading that book or requested it, I might suggest you should read the book, and get her something else.

Altogether, the entire phrasing of this thread, your approach to getting her a gift, and your choice of gift so far, makes you seem like not a very good friend to her, and that you don't really know or care to learn about her interests and are quite happy to just label her as "Jewish" and "woke" and leave it at that (and again, essentially reducing her entire identity to "Jewish" because she is Jewish, is pretty bad in a historical context). It's not really a good look, in my opinion.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 16

A Rolling Stone

Original post by JosephCiderBwoy

a Little Britain DVD box set

(edited 3 years ago)

Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levit :yep:

. trust me it's a good read, educational and interesting no matter who you are.

Reply 19

Trinculo

Original post by JosephCiderBwoy

For Gods sake, don't get anything by David Baddiel- he's an absolute thunderhunt, and one of the biggest hypocrites around when it comes to anti-semitism. And I'd hate to think that anyone is putting money in his pocket.

There's nothing you can get the woke. They're beyond help, and nothing will ever be enough. They're offended by everything and ashamed of nothing.