In one of her patented meandering Instagram posts, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) claimed that “southern states are not red states.” They are, according to the Congresswoman, “suppressed states,” for which the “only” solution is “liberation … from economic, social, and racial oppression.”
“That’s what we got to do. We got to organize. And I think what we saw in Georgia is a really good example with black women leading the way, with multiracial and multicultural organizations leading the way, um, they proved that southern states are not red states,” she claimed. “They are suppressed states. Which means the only way that our country is going to heal is through the actual liberation of southern states, the actual liberation of the poor, the actual liberation of working people—from economic, social, and racial oppression. That’s the only way. That’s the only way.”
This short excerpt from Ocasio-Cortez’s rambling monologue is actually perfectly indicative of the way coastal elites who reside in cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco see the “red states” of the south. Namely, that all southern states are the same, and that their traditional conservative leaning is a form of oppression kept in place by unquestionable racism. If only the enlightened Left could liberate these “suppressed” southern states from their “economic, social, and racial” chains, they would suddenly realize that their way is stupid, and that the Democrats were right all along.
Firstly, let’s debunk the absurd notion that southern states are all the same. Put two people in a room, one from Texas and one from Georgia, and ask them to discuss which state is the true home of football, for example. Only one — at most — will emerge. Each state across the vast south is different in countless ways, historically, demographically, economically. Implying that southern states are a monolith is as ignorant as the claim that Brooklyn is the same as Manhattan.
Secondly — and far more importantly — let’s focus on the central assumption made by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and so many of her “informed” colleagues and comrades. They assume that conservatives are only conservatives because of some external and — luckily — curable factor.
You’re a conservative? Are you stupid? Are you oppressed? Are you suppressed? Are you socially enslaved? Are you economically downtrodden? Are you a victim of racism?
The complete inability of many on the Left to understand that conservatism is not a symptom of an underlying condition — which, if removed, will trigger a sudden awakening to the glories of Leftism — is based on multiple factors.
Sometimes, it is the result of existing solely within an elitist bubble of “educated” superiors, for whom any state West of Vermont and East of California is an agricultural and intellectually-devoid wasteland. Sometimes, it is the result of deep and generational propaganda fueled by Leftist educational institutions which mischaracterize conservatism as fascism or Nazism. Sometimes, it is simply the result of failing to empathize with one’s political enemies as human beings who have the same fundamental desires and morals.
Regardless of the reasoning, this logic espoused by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others flies in the face of the “unity” the incoming Biden administration supposedly wants. How is unity possible if the “healing” that is first required to “cure” conservatism is incomparable to the eradication of suppression and oppression? Moreover, how can unity be achieved when the guilty and the innocent in this imaginary narrative are separated entirely by race, with “black women” and “multiracial and multicultural organizations” representing the heroes, and everyone else representing the villains?
The answer is simple. They don’t want unity. Not only because they could never unite with communities they don’t — and will never — understand, but because why would they want to unite with those who are — in their own words — evil?
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.