Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a wonderful spokesperson for the real America.
America On Compassion displays the full diversity of us. She shows the different, and sometimes, clashing colors, and shades of she in all of us. She is the first politician in my lifetime about whom I can honestly say, “She gets me.” She gets it that women have for much too long tolerated transgressions both teensy and whopping. She gets it that it is so normal we have become desensitized both to sexist language and behavior.
Just as with racism, we internalize sexism, and even go to great lengths to make sure that guy isn’t made too uncomfortable. But, with courage and tact, AOC has revealed a core rot we all need to see.
AOC has something to address all that: compassion. She doesn’t call names. She patiently explains her own lived history and indignities. A clear picture emerges in every working woman’s mind of the indignity of just living in female skin. She knows that having daughters, wives or sisters doesn’t make you a better man. Being a better man does.
Men want to be better men, so this if for them, too.
She has respect for working women. When I say working women, I mean women who work. Not necessarily women who are paid for that work. Women put food on the table. They even shop for it and cook it. They take care of young and old. They educate and they serve. That’s the system we were given: low or no pay for what those most agitated that women are in the labor force called “the most important job in the world”. They may regard motherhood and homemaking as essential and even holy roles, but let’s not reimburse that job. Then, the ladies may just get too uppity, upset the apple cart, and start to throw out all the bad apples.
COVID-19 and a Climate crisis are about to change all that. We need leaders with compassion like never before.
What rights and comforts we go without within the system we tolerate have come at a cost, at times, of tremendous sacrifice. AOC mentions the people of her family often. It is evident that whether being a wage earner herself, or a caregiver, she has had to deal with men who don’t respect such work. She did a fine job of upsetting the apple cart with Florida Representative Yoho, who called her a Ef’ing B word.
She cut right to the rotten apple core, so to speak, when she revealed such language is not a bit unfamiliar to most women. Just ten minutes ago I got a B word in my comments. I was not even where or when the guy seemed to assume that I was in my story about trucks. (He claimed I was at a truck stop!? Say what??)
Most women love their partners and families and do the emotional social work of keeping relationships on track. As they do, we are routinely belittled, harassed, criticized, and even assaulted.
You can be the most educated and experienced professional for the job — look at Hillary Clinton or Elizabeth Warren — but you have to suffer hugely for any mistakes in your professional career such as having the audacity to get pregnant, or having a hound dog husband.
Even the most highly paid female CEO in the world is the rare token one out of a thousand men who earn the same, and do so without being expected to be polite, professional, personable, and/or in kitten heels and a very smart suit that costs more than his to dry clean.
To see compassion for women is relatively new. But her compassion extends to immigrants of all sexes and genders, and to all people of every class from working to her co-workers in congress and elites who may not be working so well for our country, after all.
Let’s hope AOC never makes even the tiniest error, or she will be accused of not being as American as apple pie, which she totally is.
For a woman, until we fix it, such a transgression will be unforgivable, whereas for a man contaminating the whole barrel, it’s a Tuesday.
AOC is really eloquent, elegant and professional even as she dumps the rotten apples before our eyes.
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Previously published on “Equality Includes You”, a Medium publication.
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Photo credit: Portlandia (Portland, Or.) has also been called “disgusting” Christyl RIvers