Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, women took to social media to express their fears for what the future will hold. With a vacancy in the Supreme Court and the possibility that Trump could have the power to select who will fill that seat, women in the United States felt that sadly all too familiar sense of hopelessness. Then Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Instagram to address Ginsburg’s death and revive a sense of hope.
“This moment is not the time for despair,” she said in the 40-minute video.“I got bags under my eyes — I know you got bags under your eyes…What we need to do is never give in.” She laid out a plan that included the “ABCs” of political engagement and encouraged people to not only register to vote, but to actually vote. She also encouraged everyone to get involved in community activism, but to also focus on personal relationships to make change when it comes to family members or friends who are undecided. “Get through to that person that only you can get through to,” she explains. “Feel your fear. Feel how it’s making your heart beat faster,” she said, thumping her hand against her chest, “feel the sweat, feel the antsy-ness, because it’s telling you to act.” She closed her speech by reiterating Ginsburg’s final request that her seat remain vacant until there’s a new president. Even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConell and President Trump have already said they’ll pursue a nomination, AOC is steadfast in her loyalty to ensuring Ginsburg’s vision. “If Mitch McConnell is not going to honor RBG’s final wish, we will.”
It’s this very strength and vision that had so many praising her words in the comments and it’s also part of the reason she has such a devoted following. Here we list some more of her most inspiring moments.
1.
In a debate with FBI’s Michael McGarrity on how certain crimes are designated domestic terrorism versus others as hate crimes, AOC highlighted the double standard of white supremacy in the U.S. She pointed out how the Charleston church shooting and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting were designated hate crimes, not domestic terrorist. McGarrity explained that domestic terrorists are affiliated with global organizations. She then asked if white supremacy was a global issue to which he affirmed and she responded with: “So why are they not charged with foreign terror?”
2.
Earlier this year Florida Representative Ted Yoho made headlines when he called AOC “crazy” “disgusting” “dangerous” and a “f*cking bitch.” He later issued an apology and mentioned he was a father and husband. She responded with a nearly 10-minute speech calling him out for using the women in his life as shields for his behavior.
“What I do have issue with is using women, our wives and daughters as shields and excuses for poor behavior,” she said on the House floor. “Having a daughter does not make a man decent, having a wife does not make a decent man,” she said, “Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man.”
3
After footage of her dancing during her college years was released and conservatives attacked her for it, AOC released a video of her dancing in front of her office. In the caption she wrote, “If Republicans thought women dancing in college is scandalous, wait till they find out women dance in Congress, too!”
4.
Last year challenged the House Oversight Committee to a “lightning round game,” to shine a light on how political corruption. AOC showed how current laws are set up so that corrupt politicians can come into power and manipulate laws to benefit them and their investors. “It’s already super legal as we’ve seen for me to be a pretty bad guy so it’s even easier for the president of the United States to be one, I would assume,” she said, which Ethics Office Director Walter Shaub confirmed. Mic drop.
5
Recently an ICE whistleblower revealed that a doctor at a detention center was performing hysterectomies without a patient’s knowledge or consent. AOC quickly took to Twitter to stand up for the voiceless on a pro-immigrant platform she’s held since she came into office asking, “Where is the line?” “It’s astounding that after a massive family separation operation, mass sexual assault of detainees, trapping immigrants in COVID-infected detention centers, and now reports of mass hysterectomies (which the US has done before), abolishing ICE is controversial.”
6
AOC famously worked in a bar to make ends meet before becoming a congresswoman. In June 2019, she gave a speech after announcing that she’s teaming up with Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, and Rep. Ilhan Omar to forgive student loans and make college tuition-free. “It was literally easier for me to become the youngest woman in American history elected to Congress than it is to pay off my student loan debt.”