The apparent thought-leader of today’s Democrat Party, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), came out Thursday solidly in favor of mob-induced censorship when she strongly supported one of the Left’s favorite weapons in their managed destruction of political discourse — cancel culture.
Quickly described, cancel culture is the essence of the school-yard mentality of today’s Democrat Party. The mainstream media and social media are closely monitored for any hint of an opinion that leftists consider “offensive.” When someone expresses a non-leftist opinion, tells a joke that does not fit the leftist orthodoxy, or says something pro-American, the leftist mob pounces, and issues calls for the offending person to be banned from social media platforms, to be doxxed, and to have their businesses boycotted.
The best recent example of cancel culture is that of Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue. On Thursday, Unanue — an Hispanic man — ran afoul of the cancel culture mob by saying: “We’re all truly blessed — to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder.”
That’s all it took and the mob, which includes Democrat politicians, attacked and called for Goya Foods to be boycotted. Julian Castro, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Barack Obama and one of the failed Democrat presidential candidates, urged the mob on with a tweet.
“Goya Foods has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations. Now, their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products. #Goyaway.”
AOC quickly jumped on the destroy-Goya bandwagon by tweeting, “Oh, look, it’s the sound of me Googling ‘how to make your own adobo,’” a Spanish sauce and a popular Goya product. The New York congresswoman then shared a friend’s recipe for adobo.
So, according to AOC, it’s just fine to attempt to destroy a generations-old, immigrant-founded, Hispanic-owned business if the CEO makes a public comment praising President Trump.
Thus far, despite tremendous pressure, Unanue has steadfastly refused to apologize for his comments in praise of the president. Unanue bluntly told Fox News, “I’m not apologizing,” and he called the boycott and pressure from the Left “suppression of speech.”
Besides the Goya incident, Ocasio-Cortez vehemently defended the idea of cancel culture in general. “People who are actually ‘canceled’ don’t get their thoughts published and amplified in major outlets. This has been a public service announcement,” she tweeted.
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 congresswoman further explained: “The term ‘cancel-culture’ comes from entitlement – as though the person complaining has the right to a large, captive audience, and one is a victim if people choose to tune you out. Odds are you’re not actually canceled, you’re just being challenged, held accountable, or unliked.”
Ocasio-Cortez went on to tweet: “Many of the people actually ‘canceled’ are those long denied a fair hearing of their ideas to begin w/ … not spicy ‘contrarians’ who want to play Devil’s advocate w/ your basic rights in the NYT [New York Times].”
Replying to AOC’s absurd claim was film blogger Sasha Stone who echoed what those who believe in free speech were thinking. “This is patently false and easily disproved — we also have a government official here advocating for censorship and shutting down a public letter standing up for free speech and open debate. That is hardcore overreach.”
Stone nails it when she calls out Ocasio-Cortez for “advocating for censorship.”
Ocasio-Cortez would love a world where her awful ideas could never be countered and where speech that she considers unacceptable would be subject to government restrictions. That’s why she’s pushing her socialist/communist vision on the rest of us.
Until she achieves her socialist utopia where she can control our speech with the force of the government, AOC has her online mob, which she can call on to destroy people at her whim. The cancel-culture that congresswoman defends so vehemently is not unlike the Antifa and BLM rioting — it’s meant to intimidate people into silence. It’s nothing short of cyber-terrorism.
Photo: Aquir/iStock/Getty Images Plus
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects. He can be reached at [email protected].
