Published 14:02 IST, July 24th 2020
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tears into Republican Congressman for ‘sexist slur’
US House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tore into a Republican congressman Ted Yoho who allegedly hurled a sexist slur at her after an argument.
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US House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tore into a Republican congressman Ted Yoho who allegedly hurled a sexist slur at her after an argument. Ocasio-Cortez, a rising figure in the Democratic Party and often a target of Conservatives, took to the House floor to admonish Yoho, adding that she wasn’t asking for an apology but wanted to highlight the wider issue of problematic attitude towards women.
Describing the incident, the Democratic leader said that she was minding her own business, walking up the steps when Rep. Yoho put a finger her my face and called her disgusting, crazy, and dangerous. She added that she walked ahead to cast her vote after recognising his comments as rude.
"I walked back out and there were reporters in the front of the Capitol, and in front of reporters representative Yoho called me, and I quote, ‘a f***ing b***h’,” Ocasio-Cortex told the House.
The 30-year-old lawmaker, popularly known as AOC, said that she first thought about the incident as just another day but Yoho’s decision to make excuses for his behaviour on the floor of the House changed her mind. Ocasio-Cortex said that having a daughter or wife doesn’t make a decent man but treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man.
“And when a decent man messes up, as we all are bound to do, he tries his best and does apologise,” she said.
The Democrat highlighted the past incidents when US President Donald Trump told her to go home, implicating that she doesn’t belong to the United States. She said that the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, called her a “whatever that is” even before she was sworn in, saying the “dehumanising language is not new”.
Netizens laud the lawmaker
Ocasio-Cortez was hailed on social media by several public figures and politicians, including Elizabeth Warren, for calling out the sexism. Check out some of the reactions:
First: Watch this. She's right.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 23, 2020
Second: Imagine what we could get done if women didn't have to deal with things like this on top of doing their job. https://t.co/msz9QWq6I2
Call it out.
— Catherine McKenna (@cathmckenna) July 24, 2020
We need more women in politics. https://t.co/nlPSJ9P1hY
‘Mr. Yoho’ is rightly eviscerated for the world to see.
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) July 24, 2020
I disagree with her strategies at times, but not today. As she describes, @AOC gifted our daughters - and our sons - this morning. Tough woman. Big up. https://t.co/hrdSLO9Hrc
In @AOC’s powerful response to Yoho, she calls out the old trope of hiding behind his wife and daughters, as if their existence makes him incapable of disrespecting women. It also suggests women exist only as they relate to men. How about respecting women because they are human? https://t.co/gd27pV7LQF
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) July 23, 2020
14:02 IST, July 24th 2020