Paul Gosar posts anime video showing him killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez https://t.co/af8rNjUWas
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) November 8, 2021
Paul Gosar posted an altered anime clip of him killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—and Republicans are still defending him.
If fantasizing about murdering a colleague doesn’t get you fired, what does that tell me about your company?
You don’t have to agree with AOC’s political views to be mad at Gosar. This is not about politics; this is about how Republicans seem obsessed with harming female politicians by using so-called meme culture.
Jessica Lycos, who is Gosar’s digital director, defended the video by saying, “Everyone needs to relax. The left doesn’t get meme culture. They have no joy. They are not the future. It’s a cartoon. Gosar can’t fly and he does not own any lightnsabers. Nor was violence glorified. This is about fighting for truth.”
Really? She tells us to relax and accept meme culture as an excuse for fantasizing about killing elected officials? What’s next? Shall we also relax about the insurrection on January 6th?
And she is right, the political left doesn’t get meme culture—or do they get it, and that’s why they are so upset?
So-called meme culture is based on sharing controversial statements with powerful images. At the same time, it rejects any form of criticism by claiming that it’s just a joke.
When Rudy Giuliani spoke about “trial by combat” a few hours before the insurrection, he called it a reference to “Game of Thrones.” And we all know what happened on January 6th.
Gosar sharing a video that depicts him, Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene fighting against Democrats is a new low point.
Ted Yoho calling AOC “a f*cking bitch” was extreme, but fantasies about killing her take things to the next level—and it’s disgusting to watch.
Greene retweets Nation of Islam’s statements against vaccines, Josh Hawley defends toxic masculinity, and Conservatives are taking sides with Kyle Rittenhouse, who showed up with a semi-automatic rifle at a protest. Last week, Ted Cruz was defending parents at school board meetings who showed Nazi salutes to protest mask mandates. Not to forget, Donald Trump did “the chop” at a Baseball game.
It blows my mind how anyone can still defend these folks. Isn’t it obvious that they are totally losing it right now?
All these controversies follow the same pattern—MAGA supporters do something to upset Liberals, then Liberals react as expected, and soon after that, Republicans ask everyone to relax and blame cancel culture for everything.
I am pretty sure that Greene, Hawley, Gosar, Cruz, Trump, and other Republicans are well-aware of what they are doing. They know that their crowd loves these toxic, political shenanigans. And they also know that that’s all they got for now.
The scary part is that they might win the midterm election with this political strategy that is based on lies, outrage, and memes.
If an elected official like AOC has to deal with insults and threats at her workplace, one can only imagine what the average progressive woman has to go through on a daily basis.
Remember when Yoho accosted me on the the Capitol and called me a f—ing b—
Remember when Greene ran after me a few months ago screaming and reaching
Remember when she stalked my office the 1st time w/ insurrectionists & ppl locked inside
All at my job ? & nothing ever happens
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2021
This is not about AOC; this is about every woman in the United States who has to deal with toxic masculinity at her workplace. And yes, I know that Boebert and Greene are women, but that doesn’t make their actions less toxic.
Just imagine AOC posted a video of her killing Republican politicians and how Tucker Carlson would react to that. Just imagine a Black teenager showing up at a protest with a semi-automatic rifle and how Fox News would report on it.
Republicans might manage to spin each of these controversies in a way that defends their actions, but it is undeniable that there is a pattern behind this. Meme culture and far-right politicians are continuously intoxicating political culture.
When was the last time we had an argument without anyone calling anyone else a communist? When was the last time someone questioned AOC on her policies instead of bashing her personality? When was the last time someone respectfully disagreed with someone else in politics?
A few years ago, I heard folks comparing politics to professional wrestling. That metaphor claimed that everything in politics was staged, but I don’t agree with that at all (because you literally can’t make this sh*t up). But maybe it’s even worse than that?
The current political debate looks like professional wrestling to me—but without a script.
Gosar, Hawley, Greene, Boeber, Trump, and other Republicans know their fan base. They know how to entertain their supporters by overstepping one boundary after another.
Everyone who is still supporting these toxic politicians should take a deep breath and ask themselves what they are doing.
Common sense is not socialism, protecting the environment is not communism, and not tolerating politicians who fantasize about killing elected officials is not cancel culture.
If meme culture is just an excuse to threaten others and destroy decency, then I have to admit that I really don’t get it.
How about you?
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