As we’ve documented here, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez loves to tout her girl-power badassery while simultaneously playing the victim card at every opportunity. But maybe we’re wrong to place all the blame for that solely on her. Can we really expect her to act like an empowered woman when she’s got journalists like Quartz’s Leah Fessler running interference for her?
what @Ocasio2018 critics don't understand is that the obsession with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's finances only amplifies her power. as I write for @qz, young, scrappy Americans see ourselves in her savings account, and admire her all the more for it ?: https://t.co/4JphJz1xkR
— Leah Fessler (@LeahFessler) November 20, 2018
Fessler’s piece includes this bit:
Ocasio-Cortez, like so many millennial Americans, has experienced these problems. Yet she refuses to indulge in a victim narrative. She defines herself as a survivor and as a change-maker. As she wrote on Twitter in response to Scarry, “Dark hates light—that’s why you tune it out.”
I mean she worked for Ted Kennedy and lived. That counts as being a survivor. https://t.co/B1TINQWBlX
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) November 21, 2018
Heh.
But seriously, “survivor” seems like a reach on its face. Federalist deputy managing editor Liz Wolfe took issue with Fessler’s phrasing and tried to understand what Fessler was getting at.
Liked this article, but what does this mean? Where does she define herself as a survivor, and as a survivor of what? pic.twitter.com/HOKsx6XGJt
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
a survivor of the system of economic and social/racial injustice in america, especially nyc where she was raised
— Leah Fessler (@LeahFessler) November 20, 2018
That's very unclear, in my editor-y opinion. Also, Yorktown Heights, where she lived from roughly ages 5 to 17/18, is not in NYC. Not trying to be a dick, just trying to be factual here.
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
you're entitled to your opinion!
— Leah Fessler (@LeahFessler) November 20, 2018
Yeah, the Yorktown Heights thing ain't an opinion, that's just fact.
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
the patriarchal and racial systems of injustice in america are not limited to any city, district, state, or town.
— Leah Fessler (@LeahFessler) November 20, 2018
Fessler didn’t seem terribly interested in discussing the matter further.
Look, folks. I am more than happy to have discussions about capitalism vs. socialism, about wealth inequality, about racial injustice. I am more than happy to remind conservatives that we should dig into Ocasio-Cortez for substantive things, not things like her wardrobe…
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
I personally disliked this writer's word choice of "survivor" because––especially in the MeToo era––it has a sexual assault-oriented connotation. Or, imo, it has the connotation of a near-brush with death or some other violent situation. It was imprecise and confusing word choice
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
But I forgot, it's the internet age, and I'm an evil right-wing media member™ which means I'm undeserving of respect or grace (oh yeah, never mind all the libertarianism and all those Playboy bylines…nuance, folks). God, why can't reporters act their age?
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
And all this aside, isn't it important that we, as reporters and editors, don't exaggerate or use words in an imprecise way? I think about this all the time when people use the word "trauma," which seems like it's being used…generously and imprecisely.
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
So Leah blocked me, but yeah, I agree she was born in NYC and spent the first five or so years there (I have written about Ocasio-Cortez for Playboy & done my research). Then the next 13 years were spent in Yorktown Heights. No?
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
Fessler eventually came back to the conversation:
I have no intention to "slip spin past you." I have far better things to do. have a great night! ??
— Leah Fessler (@LeahFessler) November 20, 2018
Oh, you unblocked me. How nice.
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
ha! I did not block you. why don't you let @Ocasio2018 speak for herself? https://t.co/JcPq1rkKgn if someone is born in the Bronx, and identifies as being from the Bronx, don't think it's your place to tell them they're not.
— Leah Fessler (@LeahFessler) November 20, 2018
Well, either you blocked me or Twitter sporadically and momentarily glitched…I wonder.
Wait, so now it's about where you identify as being from, not where you grew up? So you could feasibly identify as being from anywhere, right?
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
where you got the "from NYC claim" from is my response to your tweet, asking what she survived. I noted that the patriarchal and racist systems of injustice are strong in NYC, where Ocasio was born and raised until she was 5, and where she returned to live.
— Leah Fessler (@LeahFessler) November 20, 2018
"especially nyc where she was raised"
That part is not true.
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
Nope, it’s not. “Girl from the Bronx” Ocasio-Cortez grew up in Yorktown Heights, which is in Westchester County. But Fessler says that doesn’t count, because it’s all about how you identify. You can be trans-city, apparently.
as someone who lives in NYC (brooklyn) myself, and has lived all across the city, I can tell you, lizzy, that the systems of patriarchy and racism are alive and well. if you don't think of @Ocasio2018 as a survivor, as I mentioned, you're entitled to that opinion. the end.
— Leah Fessler (@LeahFessler) November 20, 2018
Apparently you can now identify as being from wherever you want.
FYI I would much rather discuss substantive things, but this silly logic rather baffles me. Why is it so common? Why don't people push back on it? pic.twitter.com/aOZgrfiXUd
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 20, 2018
Because they’re lazy?
Survivor is an odd term but certainly she overcame the death of her father and limited means / limited advantages to emerge as the youngest ever elected House member in the history of the land. A true credit to her character and drive and talent to overcome all that.
— Henry (@Fdr1942) November 21, 2018
I completely agree with that (the death of a parent requires such emotional strength to deal with). That's the thing, here: I'm more than down to talk about parts of Ocasio-Cortez's character that are admirable. But this reporter was not doing that, she was making things up.
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 21, 2018
I mean, "survivor" has a particularly clear and serious connotation, if not denotation, and "victim of institutionalized racism and classism" isn't it. Regardless of whether or not I agree with the author's assessment, I think it was very poor word choice.
— Eric (@Chronomor) November 20, 2018
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. None of this is to say Ocasio-Cortez *hasn't* had challenging circumstances to overcome; despite not being as Bronx-born-and-raised as this reporter claimed, it is worth noting that you can still live in Westchester and be poor.
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 21, 2018
But I do think it is important to be clear and precise about what is meant by the term "survivor." And to not fumble basic facts (i.e. she wasn't raised in NYC). This kind of thing drives me nuts and I expected better from Quartz, a publication I tend to enjoy.
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) November 21, 2018
It shouldn’t be so difficult to do better.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member