Former NFL player Burgess Owens, who won the election in Utah for Congress in November, is already starting to establish himself as a nemesis of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and “The Squad” of radicals identified with pushing socialist ideas.
AOC wants to mainstream the concept of there being a “human right” to socialized medicine. To that end, she said that comparing radical white supremacist conspiracy theories with calling healthcare a human right was false.
Owens, a safety for 10 years in the NFL, knows what white supremacy is and didn’t need a lecture from AOC.
Imagine growing up dealing with the horrors of actual white supremacists, only to eventually see that term just become a way for "woke" Democrats to gaslight anyone who doesn't agree with them. https://t.co/m00J8jdavG
— Burgess Owens (@BurgessOwens) February 1, 2021
Owens has frequently criticized Ocasio-Cortez and other “Squad” members in recent months. He has touted a group of first-term Republican lawmakers as a “Freedom Force” that would serve as a check against progressive political rivals.
Ocasio-Cortez has stepped up her criticism of the Republican Party after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6. In an appearance on MSNBC last month, Ocasio-Cortez said there were “legitimate white supremacist sympathizers” among Republicans in the House.
The Democrat has also criticized Republican leaders for failing to reprimand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory.
I don’t know anyone who has tried to downplay white supremacist conspiracy theories by claiming that the idiotic notion of access to health care being a “human right” is just as bad. AOC has set up (another) strawman to topple with the power of her brilliant analysis.
But Burgess’s larger point — that terms like “white supremacist” and “racist” have lost their power to shame, to humble, to destroy — is the real tragedy. It’s not just overuse that has diluted the power in those terms. It’s using them out of context in politics for the specific purpose of cutting off debate and trying to debase your political opponent. People don’t accept someone being called “racist” without proof. It’s no longer good enough for someone with “moral authority” — usually someone of color — to simply hurl a charge of racism.
As the definitions of “racist” and “white supremacist” change — usually to suit the exigencies of the moment — it not only loses power but any meaning at all. The rants of hysterics like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez become an incoherent jumble of code words and platitudes with no meaning or relevance.
But AOC and the “Squad” are not out to convince the world of anything. Their audience is the like-minded, brain-dead lefty radicals who sagely nod their heads in agreement and cheer her on.
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