Obelisk of Wokeness? Stop giving them ideas! Tom Cotton mocks cancel culture mob & inspires petition to rename Washington Monument

Senator Tom Cotton has accidentally kicked off an effort to rechristen the Washington Monument after mockingly dubbing it the “Obelisk of Wokeness.” Inspired netizens soon ran with the idea, however, even starting a petition.

The Republican lawmaker laid into what he called the “woke child mob” in a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, taking aim at a “cancel culture” that seeks to tear down anything not in line with fashionable progressive attitudes, from movies to monuments.

“So, where does this cancel culture take us? What is the logical conclusion? What is the end of the cancel culture?” Cotton asked. “It is right here, in this city, Washington, District of Columbia. That's where it will end, if we don't put an end to the madness now.”

Just up the mall is the Washington Monument. Are we going to tear the Washington Monument down? Are we going to rename it the Obelisk of Wokeness?

Though not his intention, the senator’s speech immediately prompted sarcastic (or not?) calls to rename the monument just that, inspiring a hashtag campaign, its own Twitter handle and even a Change.org petition to enact Cotton’s ‘proposal.’

Wikipedia’s entry on the iconic monument was quickly changed to reflect the new moniker, while netizens also rushed to inform Google Maps of the name change.

Cashing in on the wave of interest, an entrepreneurial-minded netizen rolled out obelisk-themed merch, with willing customers already creeping out of the woodwork.

Cotton’s suggestion kicked off a re-naming craze, with one commenter suggesting every monument in DC be given a new title.

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