Last year, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was making cocktails behind the counter of the Flats Fix tacos and tequila bar. The college educational director was forced to take up this second job after the recession hit her family badly and they faced foreclosure. After her father had passed away, she and her Puerto Rican mother (who cleaned houses and drove buses) were struggling to make ends meet.
She was the poster girl for the struggling middle class American. In 2017, disillusioned by what the Democratic Party had become in America, she took a long shot and challenged Congressman Joe Crowley for the seat of New York's 14th congressional district.
To give you some background:
It was not a bloody campaign simply because Crowley did not see Ocasio as a threat. A cocktail bar waitress with no money taking on one of the mightiest of a grand political party does not end well in real life, no matter how many fairytales we come across in fiction and celluloid.
He was not alone. Most leading newspapers failed to even cover her story during the lead up to the elections, dismissing her chances outright and deeming her unworthy of a single story. Imagine that. An election being held for the first time in a decade against a prominent leader and the media did not even deem it fit to talk about the challenger prior to the elections.
If Ocasio-Cortez was insulted, she did not show it. She focused on her grassroots campaign, going from door-to-door to spread her message. Taking into account the diverse population of her area in New York, the campaign was individualized to include languages like Bengali, Mandarin and Spanish. If the newspapers did not have time to feature her, several progressive websites did, giving her space to showcase her views.
Her liberal views challenged the Democratic ideologies that, while more open-minded than Republicans, still fell short in many aspects. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stood for:
She fought publicly too, leaving her own campaign in between to join protests at an ICE detention center in Texas against families being forcibly separated.
Before this campaign began too, she had been part of the progressive activists at Standing Rock who had protested the Trump-led construction of the pipeline that traversed Native American land.
At the end of the day, her policy of not taking any funds from corporate companies would seem to come back to bite her, with her overall funds being less than 1/10th what her opponent Crowley spent, even when he 'wasn't trying' against the Latina woman challenging him. But it didn't.
On Tuesday night, the results were announced. Taking 58% of the votes, Ocasio - who was working 18 hours a day as a waitress last year - defeated the man the Democratic Party of America had considered their next leader and perhaps even Speaker of the House this November if the Democrats were to win.
At a time when politics across almost all the major nations has come down to money, long-standing political careers (often with far too few inspiring contributions to society) or religious ideologies (with tragically, far more divisive contributions to society), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' win is the victory not just America but the world needed.
With no money in her account, no media to lift her up, gender and cultural biases holding her down and nothing but her beliefs that focused on humanity, this beautiful David just slayed Goliath and showed the world that change is possible, even in the dark seemingly narrow rules that have defined politics for decades.
She is not the only one. Other young women have stepped forward too over the last year, looking to force the political parties to introspect on their values by challenging those who took their political seats for granted.
Where, over a decade ago, Barack Obama was the defining hope for all black men to believe that someday an 'African American could actually consider running for President', Ocasio-Cortez' win provides hope to young men and women of all races and economic backgrounds, disillusioned with the stands of the main political parties and media, to stand up and be the change they want to see in their country.
And by country, I am not restricting it only to America either. Her win should serve as an inspiration to the youth across the world looking for change from politics based on ideologies that should have been outdated ages ago.
She was the poster girl for the struggling middle class American. In 2017, disillusioned by what the Democratic Party had become in America, she took a long shot and challenged Congressman Joe Crowley for the seat of New York's 14th congressional district.
To give you some background:
- Joe Crowley has been a 10 term representative for the Democrats with no challenger for a decade.
- Ocasio-Cortez was eight years old when Crowley first became the U.S. Representative for the 7th district in 1999.
- Above all this, Joe Crowley is the person rumoured to be the next to lead the House of Democrats.
- He has the funding and backing of the entire national Democratic party at his disposal.
It was not a bloody campaign simply because Crowley did not see Ocasio as a threat. A cocktail bar waitress with no money taking on one of the mightiest of a grand political party does not end well in real life, no matter how many fairytales we come across in fiction and celluloid.
So unworthy did Crowley deem her that he did not even come to the city debate scheduled between them, sending a 'woman of similar race' to deal with his opponent instead.I'm speechless ...@JoeCrowleyNY doesn't attend debate with @Ocasio2018 and sends @NYCCouncil member @PalmaAnnabel in his place— Michael Corley (@MichaelCorleyNY) June 19, 2018
Why would she agree to do this?
This is the ugly side of the Democrats on full display, pitting one woman of Latin descent against another #NY14 pic.twitter.com/2xaWOTg8PW
He was not alone. Most leading newspapers failed to even cover her story during the lead up to the elections, dismissing her chances outright and deeming her unworthy of a single story. Imagine that. An election being held for the first time in a decade against a prominent leader and the media did not even deem it fit to talk about the challenger prior to the elections.
If Ocasio-Cortez was insulted, she did not show it. She focused on her grassroots campaign, going from door-to-door to spread her message. Taking into account the diverse population of her area in New York, the campaign was individualized to include languages like Bengali, Mandarin and Spanish. If the newspapers did not have time to feature her, several progressive websites did, giving her space to showcase her views.
Her liberal views challenged the Democratic ideologies that, while more open-minded than Republicans, still fell short in many aspects. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stood for:
- Abolition of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) that has been repeatedly deemed to use fascist methods to enforce laws.
- Universal healthcare.
- Tuition-free college.
- Pushing for a federal jobs guarantee for all.
She fought publicly too, leaving her own campaign in between to join protests at an ICE detention center in Texas against families being forcibly separated.
The child detention camps are here - I confronted the border officers myself.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) June 24, 2018
Using their names, I told them exactly what they are responsible for.
One of them made eye contact with me.
I spoke directly to him.
I saw his sense of guilt.
We can dismantle this.#AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/QLyc9MAnkt
Before this campaign began too, she had been part of the progressive activists at Standing Rock who had protested the Trump-led construction of the pipeline that traversed Native American land.
At the end of the day, her policy of not taking any funds from corporate companies would seem to come back to bite her, with her overall funds being less than 1/10th what her opponent Crowley spent, even when he 'wasn't trying' against the Latina woman challenging him. But it didn't.
On Tuesday night, the results were announced. Taking 58% of the votes, Ocasio - who was working 18 hours a day as a waitress last year - defeated the man the Democratic Party of America had considered their next leader and perhaps even Speaker of the House this November if the Democrats were to win.
Challenger @Ocasio2018 toppled one of the top Democrats in Congress, @repjoecrowley, Tuesday night in their primary in the 14th District. The victory stunned even her, live on our channel. #NY1Politics https://t.co/fnK1O0bacz pic.twitter.com/RjuqHJpn1p— Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) June 27, 2018
At a time when politics across almost all the major nations has come down to money, long-standing political careers (often with far too few inspiring contributions to society) or religious ideologies (with tragically, far more divisive contributions to society), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' win is the victory not just America but the world needed.
With no money in her account, no media to lift her up, gender and cultural biases holding her down and nothing but her beliefs that focused on humanity, this beautiful David just slayed Goliath and showed the world that change is possible, even in the dark seemingly narrow rules that have defined politics for decades.
She is not the only one. Other young women have stepped forward too over the last year, looking to force the political parties to introspect on their values by challenging those who took their political seats for granted.
Where, over a decade ago, Barack Obama was the defining hope for all black men to believe that someday an 'African American could actually consider running for President', Ocasio-Cortez' win provides hope to young men and women of all races and economic backgrounds, disillusioned with the stands of the main political parties and media, to stand up and be the change they want to see in their country.
And by country, I am not restricting it only to America either. Her win should serve as an inspiration to the youth across the world looking for change from politics based on ideologies that should have been outdated ages ago.
Authors note:
This is my take on the prompt “The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of them all.” – Mulan set by WriteTribe for their Festival of Words June 2018.
You can see entries by other bloggers for the prompts of Day 5 here.
My other entries for this festival are:
Have you tried Blue Tea? (Food)
In My Defense (Short Story)
10 people who failed in life... before becoming Legends (Inspirational)
Movies That Take Place Over 24 Hours (Fun Lists)
Absolutely inspiring story. More strength to her.
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring story. I really love reading about women who struggle and fight to create their own destiny.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderfully inspiring tale Doc.. For a moment its hard to believe thats its a real story for I always thought such things happen in fairytales
ReplyDeleteI admire her perseverance..you always write inspiring stories. No wonder I love coming back to your blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely inspiring story, Roshan! I cannot think of another blogger who could have brought these stories the way you do. May her tribe increase! More power to her resolve and her grit.
ReplyDeleteI think it's time for the younger generation to bring their ideas to the front. All the best to her. Thanks for bringing us this story.
ReplyDeleteAn extremely inspiring tale of a young girl fighting real demons to achieve success. Roshan I need to take a lesson from you on how to hunt for the stories that you bring to the table.
ReplyDeleteYour posts always leave me in awe Doc Roshan. This one is absolute delight to read, sharing it.
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring take on the prompt. More power to her.
ReplyDeleteWow! Although I know this is a real incident, I cannot help but feel it is something right out of a story! And what a resounding success this story has ended in :) Or should we say, the story has just begun
ReplyDeleteThis felt like a a scene straight from the movies. Only that this time it was real. Wish politics was that clean in our country too.
ReplyDeleteWow! That was so inspiring. Something right in a world gone wrong
ReplyDeleteKudos to her for her outstanding courage, will power and zeal. And kudos to you for bringing out the whole topic so wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's such an inspiring story of grit, determination and courage. This is such a fabulous take on the prompt, Roshan!
ReplyDeleteSuch a powerful woman she is. When you don't fear your actions and believe in yourself, the world recognises you
ReplyDeleteSuch an inspiring woman! We need more such women and progressive men like you who talk about talent first and gender later.
ReplyDeleteShe is such a powerful woman. A true example of stand for the right and voice against the wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful woman,really inspiring !
ReplyDelete