Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez showed her true colors, and her complete lack of self-awareness, at Monday night’s Met Gala.
Ocasio-Cortez thought it was a brave and stunning idea to wear a dress emblazoned with the slogan “Tax the Rich” at an event where a single ticket costs $30,000 and a table will run you around $275,000. The designer of the dress, Aurora James, is romantically involved with Benjamin Bronfman, a member of the Lehman family and whose net worth is estimated at over $100 million. As an added bonus, all but a small portion of Ocasio-Cortez’s Gala ticket is tax deductible.
While partying away the conspicuously maskless hours hobnobbing with the ultra-rich, Ocasio-Cortez took a moment to reflect on why she had chosen to make such a stunning and brave statement at a party attended almost exclusively by supporters of the Democratic Party.
“We really started having a conversation about what it means to be working class women of color at the Met … we can’t just play along, but we need to break the fourth wall and challenge some of the institutions. And while the Met is known for its spectacle, we should have a conversation about it.”
The working class, self-described democratic socialist who makes a congressional salary of $174,000 a year, that’s over five and a half times the median income in the U.S., walked in the footsteps of other great champions of the poor and downtrodden.
Lest we forget when Robespierre lectured the royal court on the evils of monarchical tyranny as he nibbled on cake with Marie Antoinette, or when Lenin attended the tsar’s royal ball, jewel-encrusted scepter and Fabergé egg in hand, to educate Russia’s corrupt nobles about the advantages of collectivization.
But AOC’s behavior perhaps best reflects that of the pigs from the George Orwell classic “Animal Farm.” After taking over the farm from Mr. Jones, the pigs, led by Joseph Stalin stand-in Napoleon, gradually adopt the decadent ways of their former overlord and rule over the other animals with bourgeois contempt. They eventually adopt the slogan “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” as they bestow more and more privileges on themselves while admonishing the other animals to be thankful that they are ruled over by such benevolent masters.
While many Americans are struggling to make ends meet amid the sharpest rise in prices in over a decade and still suffering under the burden of COVID restrictions, AOC gets to party — again, maskless — at one of the most exclusive events in the country on the taxpayer’s dime with her fellow “socialist” compadres.
Much like how the pigs in “Animal Farm” begin behaving like and even socializing with humans — their former oppressors — Ocasio-Cortez and other so-called socialists have adopted the style of the ultra-rich, allowing her to attend exclusive parties and schmooze with the country’s elite while still claiming to be a voice for the people.
Ocasio-Cortez said as much in an Instagram caption about the Gala. “And yes, BEFORE anybody starts wilding out – NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing our city’s cultural institutions that serve the public.”
None of Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow revelers seemed particularly concerned about her strident political statement that definitely, 100% represents a truth-to-power moment that threatens to topple their position of power and privilege.
Radical chic is in, and it has been for some time in the elite circles on the West and East Coasts, and as long as they play along and kowtow to whichever social justice fad is popular at the time, their positions will remain secure.
Hayden Daniel is the opinion editor at the Daily Caller.