Yeah, I get it: Her name’s a mouthful — all eleven syllables of it. As I wrote last week, in response to her attack on Fox News whom she accused wrongly of referring to her as “Cortez,” finding ways of shortening of lengthy and cumbersome names is a common journalistic practice. It is this practice that has led many, including Ocasio-Cortez herself, to begin referring to her as “AOC.” (She now goes by @AOC on Twitter.)
Let’s stop calling her that. Why? Because in the past, referring to people with three names by their initials was a sign of respect, whether deserved or not. Think FDR, JFK, and LBJ. In fact, now that I think of it, this practice has been reserved largely for Presidents of the United States.
Calling Ocasio-Cortez “AOC” is, thus, offensive, not to mention ludicrous. Can’t we do better?
