On Memorial Day weekend, instead of remembering the men and women who have died for freedom, the city of New York decided to erupt in chaos. Over the three days, at least 13 people were shot across the five boroughs. And that includes a 15-year-old boy who was killed in the Bronx. But while shooting incidents climbed to 86% in the month of May, Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes the violence isn’t due to criminals but is actually a result of society building more prisons? 

According to AOC, “If we want to reduce violent crime, if we want to reduce the number of people in our jails, the answer is to stop building more of them. The answer is to make sure that we actually build more hospitals, we pay organizers, we get people mental health care and overall health care, employment, etc. It’s to support communities, not throw them away.”

Right here in the Bronx, our community developed a successful approach to reducing violence.

It starts at the hospital after an incident. We bring in psych Drs & folks who turned their *own* lives around to work w/ youth.

It’s reduced reoccurrence of violence by more than 50%. https://t.co/MMy3G18xhZ

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 3, 2021

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On Thursday, AOC, with the help of Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Chuck Schumer, introduced the “Stand Up To Violence” program, which hopes to curb violence in the city by using community outreach and counseling, because remember – it isn’t the criminals’ fault. But although AOC said it was completely “not acceptable” for jails to be used as human “garbage bins”, she also called on Congress to grant her $400,000 to start the program. 

While Congress usually doesn’t deal in district matters, a new method has been introduced called “earmarking”. Thanks to the Democrats, this allows the government to fund local district programs. But again, this also grants the government access to make decisions on local matters. 

Although AOC hopes to stop violence by somehow eliminating jails, it should be noted that the “Stand Up To Violence” program doesn’t help people until they become a victim. By then, the crime has already been committed. While a just cause to want to tackle growing violence, the answer is not counseling as numerous studies have proven that law and order lead to safer communities and growing economies. 

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And as for AOC, there is a reason she is the lowest ranking member in Congress. While she comes off as a fighter for the people, not a single AOC initiative has been approved, let alone successful. So, is this really about violence or just another moment to remind people AOC is still somehow relevant?