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The Democratic congresswoman for New York’s 14th District (who is one of the leaders of the American progressive movement), socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, gave an interview to GQ Magazine in which she showed, yet again, all her resentment, her hatred for the United States and, with the generous help of the interviewer, revealed her most ridiculous image: that of a victim.
The AOC interview begins by making the overturning of Roe v. Wade a novel drama, in which the congresswoman stars as a socialist pseudo-heroine who uses a borrowed megaphone to encourage protest and embraces women who are alleged “so scared” of the risk of not being able to have an abortion in conservative states. Ironically, she is portrayed as a woman “constitutionally opposed” to participating in the “patriotic play-theater of Washington.”
Presenting GQ's October cover star: @AOC. The congresswoman opens up on the critical need for men to join the fight for abortion rights, whether she believes she'll ever be president, and much more https://t.co/uwWSexYB8h pic.twitter.com/UqOnSNwZ2y
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 7, 2022
Prior to the events of January 6, which the interviewer, Wesley Lowery, insists on calling an insurrection, AOC reportedly used to walk from her home to her job in Congress. Traumatized by the events, the “certified celebrity” of the left, the “revolutionary on the rise” who represents “the future” of American progressivism, decided to buy a $35k+Tesla to get to work, and thus avoid the risk of victimizing herself when some white, unscrupulous, right-wing male attacks democracy.
Throughout the text, AOC is a victim. A victim of the culture, a victim of Americans, a victim of sexual abuse, a victim of her constituents, a victim of the Republicans, and even a victim of her own party. The young socialist seems to be under the impression that everyone who opposes her ideas or confronts her in Congress hates her or wants to assassinate her.
“Others may see a person who is admired, but my everyday lived experience here is as a person who is despised,” the congresswoman told her die-hard fan, Lowery. “Imagine working a job and your bosses don’t like you and folks on your team are suspicious of you. And then the competing company is trying to kill you.”
For Lowery, AOC is one of two extremes: a respectable and acclaimed celebrity of progressivism, “The right wing’s night terror in the flesh,” heir to the leadership of the Socialist Democrats, or an absolute victim of the establishment, patriarchy and the detestable culture of misogyny.
The text recalls moments when Ocasio-Cortez was confronted by Republican counterparts as genuine threats. When Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene challenged her to debate, when eccentric comedian Alex Stein made her the butt of jokes outside the Capitol, or when Paul Gosar tweeted a video montage of the Attack On Titan anime in which she faces Biden and AOC in an epic battle. All, threats against her integrity, vicious targeted attacks against her untainted savior image.
AOC’s presidential aspirations
Despite the fact that one of the purposes of the interview is clearly to hype a possible Ocasio-Cortez national candidacy and sell her as the victimized hope of the progressive movement, which in turn will be the savior of threatened American politics and protector of what little is left of the environment, AOC always finds a way to be downtrodden.
When Lowery talked to Ocasio-Cortez about running for president, the vulnerable millionaire “buried her gaze in the arm of her chair” and “tears pooled in the corners of her eyes,” confessing to her interviewer the real reason she believes she would not win.
AOC does not take into account the possibility that Americans reject the socialism she represents, nor that there are better candidates, nor that she is simply not as popular as she would like to be (or as she should be if she aspires to lead the free world). The motive is, once again, victimhood. This time, all the supposed horrors of American culture (misogyny, racism, extremism and hate, lots of hate) are coming together to keep her from the presidency.
“My experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women,” AOC said. “And they hate women of color. People ask me questions about the future. And realistically, I can’t even tell you if I’m going to be alive in September. And that weighs very heavily on me. And it’s not just the right wing. Misogyny transcends political ideology: left, right, center. This grip of patriarchy affects all of us, not just women; men, as I mentioned before, but also, ideologically, there’s an extraordinary lack of self-awareness in so many places. And so those are two very conflicting things. I admit to sometimes believing that I live in a country that would never let that happen.”
Far from debating that position, even for the slightest journalistic value, Lowery elaborates on the congresswoman’s argument.
“There would be other impediments—obstacles about which Ocasio-Cortez is practical, if not exactly optimistic,” the interviewer wielded. “Even were she theoretically to become president, then what? She’d face a system—from the Senate to the Supreme Court—both empowered and inclined to thwart her most sweeping ambitions.”
The propaganda interview ends by touching romantically on Ocasio-Cortez’s personal life and, perhaps unwittingly, exposing her racism. Referring to her partner, Riley Roberts, about whom Lowery makes sure to clarify that he is white, the parliamentarian states that she “wasn’t positive that an intercultural, interracial relationship” was right for her, but had been surprised by the fact that race did not influence their relationship.
In his closing remarks, Lowery lays bare his already evident bigotry: “Sure, Ocasio-Cortez’s political project would see us fundamentally restructure our society. But is that any less realistic than the hope that we’ll one day eradicate misogyny, racism, or homophobia?”
For both Lowery and AOC, America is a nation represented by guns and “capitalist greed,” and the socialist project is nothing more than a “fantasy” that seeks to replace all evils with virtues.
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.