Ocasio-Cortez: There are ‘rules’ against what happened to Crockett

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) defended her response to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after the Georgia Republican accused Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) of being unable to read because her eyelashes were too long in an oversight House committee hearing last month.

In an interview with the podcast “Continuing with Kara Swisher,” Ocasio-Cortez said she understands some may not be happy about the incident, but remains adamant that Crockett deserved to be defended.

“I completely understand people looking at this and saying, ‘Oh, this is terrible. Look how low we’ve fallen, etc.,” she told host Kara Swisher. “And I want people who say that to just hold some space for what it means to be a black woman in a 70-year-old body. percent male and overwhelmingly white.”

On May 16, Greene stirred up a firestorm when she asked whether any Democrats on the panel were employing the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who was overseeing former President Trump’s trial in Manhattan.

Crockett, a first-term lawmaker, responded: “Please tell me what this has to do with Merrick Garland. Do you know why we are here?

“I don’t think you know why you’re here,” Greene responded. “I think your false eyelashes are getting in the way of what you’re reading.”

Although Crockett defended herself, asking if it was inappropriate to talk about “the muscular, poorly built body of a bleached blonde,” Ocasio-Cortez rushed to Crockett’s defense.

The New York Democrat called Greene’s comments “disgusting” and demanded they be removed from the record. She also pressured Greene to apologize for attacking Crockett’s physical appearance, which Greene refused to do.

“There are rules against what happened to Jasmine Crockett,” Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday. “There are rules against it, and the rules are there for everyone but you. They apply to protecting everyone but you.”

“And so, Black women who are often seen or considered unprofessional, etc., in times like these, it’s because you have to choose between accepting the indignity of your treatment because the institution won’t protect you, or standing up for yourself and being vilified because defending oneself is then equated with the original offense,” she added.

Crockett and others pointed to the racial undertones of Greene’s comment. The Texas Democrat is the only black woman on the committee, a point highlighted by Ocasio-Cortez.

“It’s no coincidence that she was chosen specifically for this, especially for her as a freshman,” she said. “What I saw happen to her, I got to a place where I was constantly eating my first year. I was ridiculed, singled out by Democrats and Republicans. Nobody ever defended me.”

“So while I have empathy, I understand that what I want people to feel ashamed of is that I want them to feel ashamed that there was a vote to allow this treatment,” she continued. “And I want people to feel shame that I allowed this to happen, that the offense was allowed.”

Ocasio-Cortez added that she knew it wasn’t a “big moment” but that it was a necessary moment.

“I know when I go home, a lot of what I hear is black women saying, ‘Thank you for standing up for us, because no one else does, and usually it’s just us who have to stick up for each other.’ ” she said.

“Marjorie Taylor Greene’s selfishness and narcissism are part of what is holding up the Republican Party,” the lawmaker added. “And while it may be good for her, in some ways, she is an embodiment of their core values ​​that they are trying to distract the public from.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story