The Way We Live Now: Woke Bae Speed Dating

Cuffing season continues apace, and as any number of thinkpieces (or conversations with friends where, we must admit, all of us are half-listening at best) will tell you, things are rough all over. Not least when it comes to the dating jack-in-the-box that is one’s personal politics in this moment, this alternately righteous/gleeful/heart-of-darkness cultural moment. One group in Philly (sadly not a band of woke yentas going door to door, trying to get people together, starring Cher and Judith Light in the season’s feel-good comedy) is trying to address it head on with something called Woke Bae Speed Dating. In their intro copy, they ask:

"Are you an organizer looking to mingle? Trying to find a revolutionary honey to help tear down the patriarchy? Searching for your very own woke bae?"

Now that you hear it, perhaps it’s an idea whose time has come. The event, to be held on February 10 at La Fusion Lounge, is organized by the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, who describe themselves as an org “committed to organizing with and for the people most directly impacted by the racist system of mass incarceration, criminalization, and policing.” Lest you feel this is off-mission, ask yourself this: Is there a greater human prison than that of loneliness? Consider it, at least, before you swipe left on this post.