Socialist congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez provoked some backlash on social media Saturday when she made fun of Brooklyn for being overrun by white people.
The brouhaha started when well-known technologist Anil Dash tweeted that “2019 is gonna be the Bronx’s year” because of the success of foul-mouthed rapper Cardi B and congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. Both were born in the Bronx, and their success apparently bodes well for the community.
The congresswoman, who was born in the Bronx but spent the majority of her childhood in an upscale suburb in Westchester County, responded by first claiming the Bronx is “seizing the throne” and then poking fun at Brooklyn for its abundance of white hipsters.
“YUP,” she tweeted. “BX is seizing the throne, now that Brooklyn has been taken over by bespoke quiche spots or whatever you weird L train people did down there.”
Look:
One thing is already clear: between @iamcardib, @desusnice, @THEKIDMERO & @AOC, 2019 is gonna be the Bronx’s year. Calling it right now.
— Anil Dash ? (@anildash) January 2, 2019
YUP.
BX is seizing the throne, now that Brooklyn has been taken over by bespoke quiche spots or whatever you weird L train people did down there ? https://t.co/yZctYTI4Dg
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 5, 2019
While she didn’t specifically write “white people,” that’s likely what she meant. Residents of Brooklyn and other New York City boroughs have long complained about white people moving into and “gentrifying” their neighborhoods. The very notion of “gentrification” is itself highly racist.
So is the left-wing media’s portrayal of so-called “gentrification”:
The White People Are Coming! 6 Signs Your Neighborhood Is Being Gentrified @michaelharriot https://t.co/s6H92kKOJL via @TheRoot
— bisiklet ve gündem (@bisikletgundemi) September 10, 2018
AOC’s tweet received a bevy of different responses.
Some people slammed her acting like she’s a member of the Bronx community when in reality she spent only five years there before her father located her to a neighborhood where the average family earns $95,523 per year or nearly $50,000 more than the average Bronx family.
Your neighbors from Yorktown are precisely the type of white hipsters that gentrified Brooklyn & will help do it to the Bronx. Stop fronting like you grew up in the BX cuz you had extended family there, your dad bought your childhood house in the Burbs when you were 2.
— OBC (@KDudeJames) January 5, 2019
Bronx? ? just cause you had a friend there doesn’t mean you’re from there. Should be proud your parents were smart and did good things with their lives to give you a better one. But all you care about is this false image you’re projecting
— MinnesotaPaNDa (@PaNDaSNiP3R) January 6, 2019
Shut up with the Bronx crap!! You aint from the Bronx!! LMFAO
— Paul Webster (@PaulWeb20657046) January 6, 2019
…Bronx. Are we pretending that she’s from the Bronx. Because she’s not. She’s using the connatations of being from there as storyline.
I love what she’s doing. I love her potential in government. But the false storyline is kind of Trumpish.
— Justin (@SoCalJCred) January 5, 2019
Others pummeled her for making light of “gentrification”:
Don’t do that. Don’t say that. Gentrification fucks every borough and every station. You posting this might kickstart in your hood.
— Amanda Schultz (@TheHappyHibou) January 6, 2019
You went to school in Long Island? Seizing what throne, exactly? As you are laughing about gentrification.
— ? (@SassaPea) January 5, 2019
Us Brooklynites didn’t ask for this, we don’t want this. It’s the gentrification that went rampant in the hood.
— Jacqui (@melo_chromatic) January 5, 2019
@AOC Right Alexandria. I hope Malata Market survives gentrification caused by you. New lawyers cannot afford to live in Brooklyn; they move to the Upper West Side. You alone could be reason enough to transform Bronx into a hipster borough. https://t.co/AGlI5sJMcJ via @nypmetro
— Dr. Krittibas Ray (@DrKrittibas) January 6, 2019
Some took her to task for forgetting her campaign promise to fight “gentrification,” not joke about it:
@AOC Dancing while our community is being sold off to the gentrifiers? Holding you to your promise to stop gentrification! https://t.co/Rfk0gEqewo
— jdrlcsw.com (@JdrlcswC) January 6, 2019
@AOC dont forget your campaign promise to stop gentrification in our neighborhood
— jdrlcsw.com (@JdrlcswC) January 6, 2019
Others accused her of being a hipster:
She’s a hipster who is full of shit but many like her love her because they’re frauds themselves . Remember ” when they go low, we go high ” GTFOH
— That Guy (@Just1guy65) January 5, 2019
Lol! Spoken like a hipster from Yorktown Heights, Westchester. Brooklyn exists beyond Bedford Avenue on the L train.
— Arthur Peeples (@ArthurAnpeeples) January 6, 2019
And a large, large, large group of others slammed her for dumping on her own supporters:
How bitchy and unnecessary. Brooklyn was cheering you on but you’re more interested in silly clap backs than starting a movement. pic.twitter.com/cGFn8LsSMv
— Melissa (@rrg211) January 6, 2019
Now you’ve gone too far. I’ve supported you through all this and defended your brash attitude to older people who think you need to pay your dues. I say you’re under attack and seizing your platform to speak out on issues and stay on message.
But insulting Brooklyn is the line!!
— Professor Kittens (@contfromprev) January 6, 2019
Insulting fellow New Yorkers now? Weird L people from Brooklyn? #SandyFromTheBlock or #IvyLeagueBrat pic.twitter.com/KOUT76Q1vL
— ThePoliticalScientist (@ThePoliticalSc1) January 5, 2019
Attacking Brooklyn and calling them weird. Have you looked in the mirror? pic.twitter.com/AWsuUir5jP
— Bartusa (@Bartusa1) January 5, 2019
All in all, the tweet did not appear to be well-received. In fact, almost every single silly tweet that she’s posted over the course of her short political career has not been well-received.
Word to the unwise: To succeed in politics, you should abstain from making fun of people, particularly people who happen to be your supporters. Just saying.
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