On Monday, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez went before her audience during an Instagram live to discuss her trauma during that traumatic raid on January 6th by radical alt-right Trump supporters. The congresswoman recalled running to the bathroom to hide with Republican Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., for hours. She did not even know in her daze if she needed to grab a pair of shoes to run for her life. She did not know whether she would live or die that day, she understood that she would be one of the primary targets. AOC is open with her opinions regarding political issues and it is not afraid to call out injustices; however, that openness made AOC's fear elevated because she knew the backlash she received from Republicans and people against her statements would make her a primary target.
Additionally, one major factor was revealed when she talked about that incident, she is a survivor of sexual assault.
"And I haven't told many people that in my life. But when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other.
AOC described all of this during a 90-minute video. While, many people and officials applauded her on her bravery. The response was less than well-received. This polarized response made people attempt to downplay her trauma because people try to claim that her statements during the insurrection do not add up.
Michael Tracey, a journalist applauded mockingly to AOC on twisting her narrative to make her reputation favorable. Many people chimed in this situation with many comparing it to the #Metoo movement where many women received backlash for speaking openly about their trauma. It is hard enough for people to talk about these experience, but when people in power attempt to delegitimatized victims of sexual assault show how hard it is for survivors to speak up.
Regardless, this situation has been traumatic to AOC and her fellow colleagues not knowing whether or not they get to see their families again. That emotional distress is something not many have to experience, and added with AOC's sexual assault trauma shows how brave she was for speaking out this incident. The Capitol insurrection was poorly handed and shows the ignorance still in the media and some politicians who try to delegitimize the events.
