AOC’s Dancing Clapback is the Leadership We All Need
The time for anger-incited momentum is over. In 2019 we are ready to come out from under the darkness and gather our power in a way that is more reflective of who we are. Authenticity is queen in the age of social media, and let us learn from womxn like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) on what that looks like in the darkest of times.
It’s been exhausting playing defense as decision after decision has stripped us from what little ideas of democracy we thought we had left, and of course we are angry. The opposition loves it. RELISHES in it. They love to stoke our fires, plant stories on our timelines, and divide us over the details of our still fragmented movements. And it works consistently.
What the opposition can’t do, has no defense for and what unifies us as a resistance is JOY. They think showing a woman having fun discredits her, only exposing how out of touch they are.
What’s unifying about AOC is her authenticity; which is in alignment not only with her political beliefs but with how she connects with voters beyond politics. There were similar positive moments for Clinton & Obama during their winning campaigns, and irreparable ones for Clinton’s when her attempts were disingenuous. And as much as I hate to admit it — Trump’s pussy grabbing moment was his moment too — just because it wasn’t popular to admit it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t the Bradley Effect in full force.
As we head into what will undoubtedly be a grueling election cycle, I urge those of us on the left who are likely to get roped into the details of things, to pay attention to the strengths in leadership being exercised more than the specifics of every campaign promise.
This is not to argue those specifics don’t matter; but it is to say that the stakes could quite literally mean the end of the Republic as we know it should we go another 4 years of Trump. The one who gets the most votes and has the most influence wins, like it or not.
As guidelines to measure leadership at work, questions we need to ask as we vigorously support one candidate or another are:
- Does this candidate incite anger at our current state or hope for a better future?
- Does this candidate point out problems or offer solutions?
- How does pop culture respond to them? (This one might be hard to swallow, but is VITALLY important)
- Who is this candidate speaking to, specifically? Do they use generalizations or are their specific groups named who they hope to serve?
- Which communities support this candidate most vigorously?
When I look at AOC and her approach to leadership I am continuously impressed at her influence in ways that had we asked the public “would people elect someone who…” did half of what she’s been able to do we’d all have said a resounding NO at every stage. The work of transformative leaders is to disprove what we all think possible, and that — even if it comes in the form of unapologetic dancing all the way onto Capital Hill — is the leadership we need to heal, keeping going, and continue in this vital resistance.
