Heroes of Liberty editor and Deseret News contributor Bethany Mandel responded to a viral video of her Tuesday appearance on The Hill’s Rising broadcast.
Mandel appeared on Rising to promote her new book, Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation, which she co-wrote with Karol Markowicz.
The Heroes of Liberty editor addressed what she referred to as a “brain fart” when asked to describe the term “woke” by Rising’s Briahna Joy Gray.
So, everybody's seen my viral brain fart from "Rising" this morning. I can see why it went viral, of course. For those who haven't, here it is: https://t.co/4rgFBy9SGB
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
Mandel continued detailing her experience behind the scenes of her Tuesday appearance.
“Just before we went on air, Briahna Joy Gray was on a hot mic. I heard her demeaning parenting in general in colorful and nasty terms, stating parents only have kids in order to perpetuate their own narcissism,” Mandel wrote Wednesday morning. [Co-host] “Robby [Soave] responded, ‘There are some good ones and some bad ones.”
“As a mom of six, including a newborn, this threw me off just a bit. Not an excuse, just a reality. I’m human!”
As a mom of six, including a newborn, this threw me off just a bit. Not an excuse, just a reality. I’m human!
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
Mandel clarified by providing what she referred to as an “actual definition” for “woke.”
“A radical belief system suggesting that our institutions are built around discrimination, and claiming that all disparity is a result of that discrimination. It seeks a radical redefinition of society in which equality of group result is the endpoint, enforced by an angry mob.”
A radical belief system suggesting that our institutions are built around discrimination, and claiming that all disparity is a result of that discrimination. It seeks a radical redefinition of society in which equality of group result is the endpoint, enforced by an angry mob.
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) March 15, 2023
In Tuesday’s segment, Gray and Soave discussed Mandel’s new book. The Heroes of Liberty editor referenced a “woke reimagining” of society several times, prompting Gray to push back on Mandel.
“What does that mean to you?” Gray asked Mandel of her use of the term. “Would you mind defining ‘woke’ cause it’s come up a couple times and I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
Mandel attempted to answer Gray’s question, but stammered before replying, “This is gonna be one of those moments that goes viral.”
“Woke is something that’s very hard to define,” she said, referencing the fact that her new book spends an entire chapter defining the concept. “It is sort of the understanding that we need to totally reimagine and redo society in order to create heirarchies of oppression.”
“Sorry, it’s hard to explain in a 15-second sound byte,” Mandel continued, to which Gray insisted the Heroes of Liberty editor could take her time responding.
“It’s one of those things that … everybody is weighing in against wokeness,” Soave said. “You know what it is when you see it.”
Gray, in turn, asked Soave to define “woke,” which the co-host defined as a “tendency to punish people for language,” though noted the term was better described with examples including using incorrect pronouns or other typically liberal talking points.
Mandel clarified her definition by suggesting that another component of wokeness includes the introduction of sex and gender to children in public schools.
“The forced conformity that a lot of people on the left, sort of on the woke side, are forcing on parents and children to say, ‘This is acceptable content, and if you do not think that this is acceptable content, you are therefore a bigot,'” Mandel said.
Gray and Mandel lightly sparred over children’s education in regards to teaching about sexuality throughout the rest of the segment.
