Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reveals Chilling Morning Ritual In Face Of Death Threats
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) hit back at a minor league baseball team that depicted her as an “enemy of freedom” in a Memorial Day tribute clip by revealing a regular morning ritual she goes through to ensure her safety.
The lawmaker on Tuesday responded to a controversial video that the Fresno Grizzlies aired at Chukchansi Park with a Twitter thread explaining how her life has changed due to “the flood of death threats” that those kind of “hateful messages” inspire.
“I‘ve had mornings where I wake up & the 1st thing I do w/ my coffee is review photos of the men (it’s always men) who want to kill me,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
What people don’t (maybe do) realize is when orgs air these hateful messages, my life changes bc of the flood of death threats they inspire.
I‘ve had mornings where I wake up & the 1st thing I do w/ my coffee is review photos of the men (it’s always men) who want to kill me. https://t.co/hiYbPghad7— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 28, 2019
“I don’t even get to see all of them,” she added in a follow-up tweet. “Just the ones that have been flagged as particularly troubling.”
Ocasio-Cortez said the number of threats against her increases whenever the widely watched conservative cable network Fox News gets “particularly aggressive + hateful” with its rhetoric toward her.
I don’t even get to see all of them. Just the ones that have been flagged as particularly troubling.
It happens whenever Fox gets particularly aggressive + hateful, too. Young interns have to constantly hear hateful messages (far beyond disagreement) from ppl we don’t even rep.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 28, 2019
It’s a link she’s made before.
“It’s very clear that when right-wing media starts to heat up, that’s directly correlated to the amount of violent targeted threats we get,” Ocasio-Cortez told the New York Daily News in March.
She concluded with a warning about the significance of language use and a question for people who support free speech:
All of this is to say that words matter, and can have consequences for safety.
For those who believe in “free speech”: whose free speech do you believe in?
Bc some folks using free speech to defend racism are also supporting folks passing laws to allow running over protesters.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 28, 2019
The Grizzlies have apologized for not properly vetting the pre-produced video:
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We're embarrassed we allowed this video to play without seeing it in its entirety first. We unconditionally apologize to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) in addition to our fans, community and those we hurt. It was a mistake and we will ensure that nothing like it ever happens again.
— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) May 28, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez revealed in February how her office tackles anonymous threats:
Yep. Our offices are flooded with bigoted calls too - so much so that we have to put energy into searching for actual constituents.
We forward all the threats to Capitol Police to build files. For all those who think your bigoted calls + digital threats are anonymous: Enjoy! https://t.co/Tw0LWnpmDh— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 1, 2019
She ended the day on a lighter note, however, by teasing a return to bartending in her congressional district “to promote a national living wage.”
“Let’s see if my margarita+mocktail game is still on point,” she wrote.
To the silver spoon classists saying they’re going to “make AOC bartend again”:
You’re in luck! I’ll be bartending in NY-14 this week to promote a national living wage.
So there you have it, ya bunch of milk drinkers🍼😉 Let’s see if my margarita+mocktail game is still on point https://t.co/zO7YBA0LCL— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 29, 2019
At the event I will also unveil my newest platform policy: Abolish Sour Mix 2020 😉
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 29, 2019
Use real citrus juice for your sours, people!
You deserve so much better than what you’re settling for 😭— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 29, 2019
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