Introduction

As AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) posted on Instagram: In this country, we hate Nazis. It’s kind of a foundational thing. We beat the confederates, and we beat the Nazis. I am not rockin’ with anyone who is sympathetic with Nazis. I will oppose you until I am six feet in the ground. It’s like, kind of foundational for me as a human being. …if you want to defend the Sieg Heils and the salute and all that, then I am on the opposite side…and if there are no good people left in the world, I want to be the last one. That is an ethos that each of us can take. If you are a hard-working, innocent person, I’ve got your back. If you are just trying to make it in the world, I’ve got your back. Like, if you’re not trying to hurt anybody, I’ve got your back. Now more than ever, we need to assert that, because a lot of people don’t know who they are safe with. …When we speak up, we signal to other people that we have not given up…don’t let them wear you down with their bullshit. If they are going to do a Sieg Heil, a Nazi salute, or as they try to rebrand it, a “Roman salute” from behind the seal of the United States of America, it’s on! It is so on! (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Instagram , January 21, 2025)