Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has denied the existence of cancel culture, suggesting it is an invention of privileged moaners who can’t handle criticism. Her thesis prompted speculation that the powerful lawmaker has no self-awareness.
The rookie New York congresswoman, whose ‘woke’ Twitter takes have made her a hero to many on the Left, attempted to debunk the concept of cancel culture in a series of profound posts.
“People who are actually ‘cancelled’ don’t get their thoughts published and amplified in major outlets,” she argued, adding that the whiners who complain about being ‘cancelled’ are actually just entitled and hate being “held accountable” or “unliked.”
To prove her point, she claimed that “an entire TV network” is dedicated to “stoking hatred” of her, and that a “white supremacist [with] a popular network show” regularly misrepresents her “in dangerous ways,” but that she never complains about it. (The congresswoman may be referring to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who is white and undoubtedly not a fan of hers.)
According to Ocasio-Cortez, the people who “actually” get cancelled are anti-capitalists and even abolitionists – apparently a hat-tip to activists who campaigned to end slavery, which was formally abolished in the United States in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
Her airtight dissertation received poor marks from many on social media, however. Countless comments accused her of being part of the very movement which she claims doesn’t exist.
“You and your mob have been destroying careers and reputations and livelihoods on a whim. Now you’re being hoist by your own petard,” quipped actor James Woods.
You and your mob have been destroying careers and reputations and livelihoods on a whim. Now you’re being hoist by your own petard. Those of us blacklisted, libeled, and falsely maligned have zero sympathy. You all started it. May you be devoured by it. https://t.co/PGzMzNa0ku
Others argued that AOC was technically correct. Instead of having their views broadcast by mainstream outlets, ‘cancelled’ individuals are often “fired from their jobs… and have their livelihoods threatened.”
Correct. Instead, they are often fired from their jobs, harassed by twitter mobs, & have their livelihoods threatened. And so since they cannot speak up, we who have a platform choose to use our power responsibly to speak up on their behalf. You should do the same. Join us, AOC https://t.co/lQ5yiuKFq6
There was similar disillusionment with the lawmaker’s assertion that she is being maliciously smeared by news networks and “white supremacists.”
“You’re not a victim, you’re a United States congresswoman,”observed an unsympathetic Twitter user.
However, her remarks also garnered applause from social media users, who dismissed cancel culture as a right-wing talking point.
Cancel culture is fake. It’s a right wing framing of social accountability and people need to stop giving the term any credence.
Whether AOC wants to acknowledge it or not, a seemingly endless internet crusade has ruined the lives of countless individuals (many of them private citizens with little or no power) accused of holding politically incorrect views or of expressing insensitive remarks.
An open letter published by Harper’s Magazine which criticized the “vogue for public shaming and ostracism” among journalists, academics, and other figures ended up backfiring spectacularly after several signatories of the document rescinded their endorsements. They explained that they’d been unaware that ‘problematic’ people had also signed the letter.
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