"Mini" Decoding of Konstantin Kisin's Oxford Union speech

Recently the Oxford Union (based in Oxford but distinct from the university) hosted a debate on "whether woke culture has gone too far". A very fresh question, and it's been good to see people finally discussing this important issue. Former guest, comedian, and host of the Triggernometry podcast Konstantin Kisin argued for the proposition, and his 10 minute speech has gone viral, garnering over 20 million views (and counting). Kisin has received lavish praise for his compelling talk from across the interwebs for what has been broadly described as a masterful demolition of woke culture, leading to broadcast television appearances with Piers Morgan and Tucker Carlson.

Well, a video of the speech crossed our path on Twitter, and it seemed to us to be an interesting case-study on the effective use of rhetoric, so here is our decoding. As is our want, we are slightly more critical in our assessment than Piers Morgan Tucker Carlson, but we are able to identify points of concordance as well.

Enjoy!

Links

The original speech

Konstantin Kisin | This House Believes Woke Culture Has Gone Too Far - 7/8 | Oxford Union

Coverage

Konstantin Kisin’s Important Message LIVE on Tucker Carlson

Konstantin Kisin and Piers Morgan Discuss The Problems With Woke Culture

Background

Global Concern about Climate Change, Broad Support for Limiting Emissions