The AOC Debate and Old School Feminism

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

By Regina Pickett Garson

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (affectionately known as AOC) has made the Times' List of Most Influential People for 2019. Now, that is something.

I know folks on both sides who both do and do not like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. To support her or not is a big debate. She is young, intelligent and outspoken, and she has been elected to the House of Representatives for New York's 14th Congressional District. Good for her.

I am proud to see young people getting involved in politics and getting elected to office. Being real, I think it would do this whole country some good if we had more young people involved in politics. Mostly though, I think it is good when all kinds of people are represented in our political system: all colors, all religions, all ages, all genders. You get the idea.

Also though, I am an old school feminist. I am not quite as old school as my Grandmother Cash was though. Back in the day, if a woman was on the ballot, Grandmother would vote for her. It did not matter which party that woman was from, if she was on the ballot, my grandmother and other women from all over the country would turn out in droves to vote for her. There were very few women in government back then and they all knew that it really was important that women's voices be heard in the decisions made by our government, most especially the ones that impacted them the most as women. Those are my feminist roots and I surely do understand that it took a whole lot of effort from a whole lot of folks for women to get the rights and representation that we have today.

Even after all this time though, there are still times when I know good and well that certain decisions would have been different if more women had been part of the decision-making process. We are not there yet. And I know it.






Years ago, on my first trip to DC, for a Women's Equality Summit, I talked a while to some of the older feminists who were there. I was offered funding if I would consider running for office. At the time, I knew that I could not cut it, being real, I was in no way ready for such. There was also the minor detail that "I inhaled," and I never did make much of a secret about it. I discussed that with them too; it would have knocked a woman out of the running in an instant back then. Times change though and I am actually pretty glad to see that. I do not do a whole lot of "inhaling" these days either. And I did eventually find my name on the ballot when I ran as a Democratic Delegate for the last presidential election.

But anyway, one of the core values in the fight for equality that I learned from those older feminists was that you can fight for folks to have equality, equal rights and fight hard for change that you know has to be, but no matter how hard that fight and how hard you work toward those changes, the one thing you cannot do is to tell folks what to do with those rights and that equality. Equality is not about control. It is about each and every individual having the same rights, the same right for their voice to be heard and the same opportunity for a place at the table.

I am well aware that the young folks today may not look at things the same way we did. In fact, if they did, I would think that we, as a generation, had failed to teach them to think. Grandmother would have voted for a woman no matter which party she was in. I do not doubt for an instant that she would have voted for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I am also pretty certain that she would have loved her outspoken candor. Grandmother did not have a whole lot of choices though. Today, we have the privilege of women being represented in both parties. That is progress. Real progress.

The young women today might not give a second thought to things that we thought were vitally important. Given the opportunity, they might not do anything that we ever even thought about doing if we had a seat at that table. However, one of the most important things is still that we all get a seat at that table. That we are represented.

That said, I am not saying that I agree with or support every single thing that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has ever done or said. I am not even going to go there. At the end of the day, I am an old school feminist. I am also old enough to have mellowed out in my expectations of youth. I love to see the raging young who question the system and are willing to roll up their sleeves and work toward the changes that they believe in.

AOC has made a lot of waves. She is young, intelligent, outspoken and brash. Being real, I am well aware that she has a lot of things to learn. I will not join in on that debate either. She is new at the job and finding her way. I do not fault her on that one little bit. She got in there, fought the good fight and she got that job. I am not going to trash talk her one little bit. From the best I can tell, she is making an effort to do a good job and to learn the ropes. One thing that she may be dealing with more so than some of the others is that instant fame has a way of doing a number on your head and it could be that she is dealing with some of that too. I am pretty confident that she is going to figure that one out too though.






I am well aware that, if they are lucky, even the youngest and the most outspoken among us eventually grow older. Despite some folks' fear of her hot headedness, I also realize that, at the end of the day, she only has one vote, just like everybody else in the House of Representatives.

With all of the above considerations, it does my heart good to see that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a seat at the table. I think it does the country good too. Before she is done, I think that she is going to do some good. I for one love to see the questioning youth, the ones who stand up and shout and question the system when they see things they do not like. The ones who work for change.

It could be that a lot of folks on both sides really are afraid of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and for what she stands for. It could also be that her raging youth is a reminder to some that their own youth is quickly fading. I do not see that as a threat at all; I see that as a promise that there is hope for the next generation in this country.

Make no mistake, the torch will be passed and her appearance on the scene is a good indication that the next generation is getting ready. They are moving forward to take their place at the table, to take their turn at working toward the things that they think are important for this country. We from the boomer generation are starting to slow down a little and I for one am looking forward to seeing what she and her generation can do.

That is my two cents on the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez debate.

Also see: Time 100 Most Influential People for 2019 for the rest of the folks who made the list.