6 Second News Response in Book Five: Working Through the Maze 2018

  • Nov. 17, 2018, 1:30 a.m.
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A Republican tweeted a photo of Youngest Woman In Federal Office Ocasio-Cortez saying basically “Look, she wears a suit! Proof that she isn’t struggling!!”

The tweet was called sexist as the Republican was commenting on a woman’s appearance and, in his follow up tweet, suggested since that was the narrative being discussed, he took the tweet down.

But I want to discuss the original intention of his tweet because he should be called out for that, too.

If a middle-class man wore a suit to a congressional event after discussing financial struggle and the opposing party said: “He owns a suit! He’s not struggling!” How would you respond?

This, I would argue, further shows how painfully and ridiculously out of touch our “career politicians” are. They still say things like, “You own a cell phone and a suit but you have trouble paying rent? FAKER!” Dude? You out of touch ass?
(1) In order to have a job or look for work many people require cell phones. Therefore, a person who otherwise struggles with Rent and other expenses is likely to maintain a phone. In my years as a lawyer the people who don’t maintain a phone are the ones so addicted to drugs that they spend literally all of their money on drugs. You want to mock a financially struggling person for having a phone? That’s dumb. And out of touch.
(2) A suit is a bridge too far for you? Really? We expect our criminal defendants in Jury Trials to wear suits if they can. We demand our Political Representatives look “professional and appropriate” often in a suit. So, if a newly elected politician is wearing a suit? MAAaaybe a stupid dick move to say, “Suit!!! J’accuse!”
(3) And lets look at things with an intentionally critical eye, here. It costs millions to run a campaign. Ocasio-Cortez claimed she was struggling to gather the personal funds to rent a DC apartment (where a studio apartment rent averages to over $1600 a month). This guy snapped a picture of her wearing a suit that could have come from Kohls… even if it was a friggin’ Jos A. Banks number, we’re looking at maybe an investment of $500. SO… after raising and spending millions to get elected, a woman states that she is saving up so she can have enough money to live and work in Washington DC (while still maintaining a residence in New York, per federal law)… and some asshole says, “She’s not struggling, she owns a suit!” Really? Do you want to break down the budget on that one? RENT in DC & NY… several thousand dollars a month, totaling no less than $40,000 a year. Buying a suit: anywhere from $200 to $1,600.... and an expected, required “uniform” of a campaign, politician, or working adult.

Just… bugs me. That is like taking a picture of a working mother struggling to get by buying a new shirt and saying ‘You’re not struggling to get by! You’re wearing new clothes!!” Yeah… cuz for all you know… the woman works a reception job and her 7 month old just destroyed her only work shirt and she thought it better to buy a new one.


hippiechica15 November 17, 2018

Talk to most Republicans and they complain about poor people having iPhones...what else would you like them to have? And the double standard of you must LOOK poor to be deemed poor juxtaposed with you need to look NOT poor to get ahead...ridiculous.

Rhapsody in Purple November 20, 2018

I work for a charity that also works with the homeless and we definitely have volunteers who sometimes decide that someone doesn’t need assistance because they own a mobile phone or something similar. It’s so annoying. Even if you sold your phone (and some of them do to try and make some extra cash but not having a phone makes things tougher) it’s not enough to get you enough to pay what you need to get a rental. It’s a frustrating attitude.

I’ve been fascinated by the response to Ocasio-Cortez and no matter what she wore, people would have something to say about it. She seems to have upset a lot of people just by existing.

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