Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) responded to widespread mockery this week that she faked being placed in handcuffs and claimed that she is a victim of a “misogynistic late stage capitalist society.”
Ocasio-Cortez was one of 17 Democrat lawmakers who were arrested yesterday for blocking traffic by the U.S. Supreme Court during a pro-abortion protest.
She and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) were widely mocked for appearing to fake being placed in handcuffs as they were escorted away by police.
Ocasio-Cortez responded to the mockery on Instagram in answering a post that stated in part: “Why the publicity stunt with acting like you’re being arrested? It’s just foolish and makes you look silly … acting like you’re cuffed and like you’re some sort of hero was just too much for me.”
Ocasio-Cortez claimed that what she did was not a “publicity stunt … for a headline” because it was “an activist-led civil disobedience” event. “So why join disobedience at all?” she continued. “Because media cycles go FAST and the attention and urgency on Roe can easily fade. We must keep eyes on the issue. Civil disobedience is a highly effective way of accomplishing that, and it is a trained discipline.”
“If I didn’t or refused to participate in an activist request, people also would have burned me for that too,” she continued. “They have in the past. I understand and accept that I operate in an environment that will not cast my actions in a positive light almost no matter what & from all angles. If I’m not there, people criticize, if I am there they still do. So I’m just going to do me. I accept being branded as ‘too much’ in a misogynistic late stage capitalist society that is totally insufficient for the present moment and propagandizes its people to tear down any who challenge it.”
She noted that she was “arrested, charged, and fined,” but then claimed that holding her hands together behind her back “is a best practice when under arrest, whether you are handcuffed or not, because it can help you prevent more serious charges like resisting arrest.”
AOC was also seen raising her fist after pretending to be in handcuffs.
AOC PRETENDS to be *handcuffed* in fake arrest protesting Supreme Court — then raises her fist, breaking her fake handcuffs
CLOWN WORLD LOL pic.twitter.com/nlvrDHV2Tj
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 19, 2022
“I do think it’s important to unpack the often unquestioned, knee-jerk assumption made by many on the right AND the left that a woman politician ‘just wants attention,’” she continued. “As if that alone is a compelling enough motivation to do anything. Do you really believe that? Could there be anything else motivating a decision she makes? The ‘just wants attention’ assumption is often a deeply false and misogynistic one that people readily adopt about women quickly and without much critical thought.”
AOC claimed that just wanting attention “hurts herself and her career” and that she “actually hate[s] it but understand[s] that this fixation was never my choice to begin with, so I might as well use it to strategically uplift the causes and movements that need it.”
“Why would a woman just want attention if doing so hurts herself and her career? For me personally I actually hate it but understand that this fixation was never my choice to begin with, so I might as well use it to strategically uplift the causes and movements that need it,” she claimed. “Attention means my life is threatened more and makes my job harder internally. Sometimes I don’t do things because it wears me to exhaustion and in moments when I’ve considered leaving politics, it’s precisely because of it. But if that’s really who you think I am, I can’t really change that and I don’t care to change myself for the approval of others. If you don’t like me that’s okay!”
AOC responded to the "fake handcuffs" video in an Instagram Stories post yesterday.
"Putting your hands behind your back is a best practice when under arrest, whether you are handcuffed or not," said AOC, who was filmed fist-pumping supporters while being detained by police. pic.twitter.com/Rq0Be3ncmb
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) July 20, 2022