Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex (D-NY) took to Twitter on Thursday evening to mock complaints about “cancel culture,” one of the left’s most potent weapons in the ongoing American culture war.
The term refers to the practice of forcing people out of their jobs, or otherwise ostracizing them, because of their political opinions — usually conservative ones.
President Donald Trump took on the “cancel culture” directly in his speech at Mount Rushmore last week:
Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our Founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities. Many of these people have no idea why they are doing this, but some know exactly what they are doing. They think the American people are weak and soft and submissive. But no, the American people are strong and proud, and they will not allow our country, and all of its values, history, and culture, to be taken from them. .
One of their political weapons is “Cancel Culture” — driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters, and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees. This is the very definition of totalitarianism, and it is completely alien to our culture and our values, and it has absolutely no place in the United States of America. This attack on our liberty, our magnificent liberty, must be stopped, and it will be stopped very quickly. We will expose this dangerous movement, protect our nation’s children, end this radical assault, and preserve our beloved American way of life.
A few days later, 150 left-wing intellectuals signed a letter in Harper’s that criticized cancel culture on the left. Some, ironically, faced attempts at “cancelation” simply because they signed it.
But to Ocasio-Cortez, complaints about “cancel culture” are merely the product of “entitlement,” as she argued on Twitter:
People who are actually “cancelled” don’t get their thoughts published and amplified in major outlets.
This has been a public service announcement.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 10, 2020
The term “cancel culture” comes from entitlement – as though the person complaining has the right to a large, captive audience,& one is a victim if people choose to tune them out.
Odds are you’re not actually cancelled, you’re just being challenged, held accountable, or unliked.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 10, 2020
I have an entire TV network dedicated to stoking hatred of me. A white supremacist w/ a popular network show regularly distorts me in dangerous ways, & it’s a normal part of my existence to get death threats from their audience.
You don’t see me complaining abt “cancel culture”
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 10, 2020
Many of the people actually “cancelled” are those long denied a fair hearing of their ideas to begin w/:
Palestinian human rights advocates
Abolitionists
Anticapitalists
Anti-imperialistsNot spicy “contrarians” who want to play devils advocate w/ your basic rights in the NYT
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 10, 2020
“AOC” failed to distinguish between criticism of a politician on the one hand, and “woke mobs” attempting to silence free speech, on the other.
She also did not provide any evidence of “Palestinian human rights advocates” or “Abolitionists” being “canceled.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, is available for pre-order. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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