It may be her most ignorant moment yet, and that is saying a lot for Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
The freshman lawmaker this week condemned a statue of St. Damien of Molokai, alleging that its inclusion in the Capitol as a representative of the state of Hawaii is emblematic of America’s deep-rooted “patriarchy and white supremacist culture.”
“Even when we select figures to tell the stories of colonized places, it is the colonizers and the settlers whose stories are told — and virtually no one else,” Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday amid a larger rant about the lack of minority representation in the Capitol. “This is what patriarchy and white supremacy culture looks like! It’s not radical or crazy to understand the influence white supremacist culture has historically had in our overall culture and how it impacts the present day.”
“Check out Hawaii’s statue. It’s not Queen Lili’uokalani of Hawaii, the only Queen Regnant of Hawaii, who is immortalized and whose story is told,” the congresswoman added, referring to the indigenous monarch who ruled the Hawaiian Kingdom until its overthrow in 1893. “It is Father Damien. This isn’t to litigate each and every statue, but to point out the patterns that have emerged among the totality of them in who we are taught to deify in our nation’s Capitol: virtually all men, all white, and mostly both.”
Where does one even start? This is like a matryoshka doll of ignorance.
First, as a Catholic priest and a Belgian, Damien was no “colonizer.” He did not labor in Hawaii, which Belgium never colonized, as a representative of his native land or its interests. He labored as an immigrant social worker, ministering to the lepers of Kalaupapa, on behalf of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, which represents no country and has no national ties.
Second, Hawaii is honored in the Capitol by not just Damien, but also by King Kamehameha I, the indigenous ruler who united the islands and governed the Hawaiian Kingdom in the 1810s.
Third, the Catholic saint is not even displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center, where thousands of guests would see him every day as the representative of the Aloha State. Instead, he is tucked away quietly in a corridor frequented mostly by members of Congress, staff, and reporters. But do you know who is displayed conspicuously in the Capitol Visitor Center as the representative of Hawaii? Kamehameha.
The Capitol is teeming with guides who can readily explain any of this history to anyone who asks. All you have to do is listen. Then again, listening clearly does not seem to be the congresswoman’s strong suite.
Fourth, the states select which two statues represent them in the Capitol. In Hawaii’s case, it was the chairman of its State Statuary Hall Commission, Hawaiian-born Louis A. Lopez, who championed the campaign to honor the Catholic priest in the Capitol. Lopez’s efforts were matched by state lawmaker and Hawaii native Frank Loo, who sponsored the legislation to memorialize Damien. In April 1965, Hawaii’s overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature nominated the Catholic saint to be the first of its two selections for the National Statuary Hall Collection. Later, in 1967, the state chose Kamehameha as its second selection. On April 15, 1969, Hawaii’s state legislature, which included then as it does today a significant number of native Hawaiians, gifted the statues to the U.S. Capitol.
It was the multiethnic people of Hawaii and their representatives, not some shadowy, oppressive outside force, who selected Damien and Kamehameha. If Ocasio-Cortez believes the saint is problematic, then she is free to take that up with the people of Hawaii, including their Democratic governor, their Democratic lieutenant governor, their two Democratic senators, their two Democratic House representatives, their 46 Democratic state House members, and their 24 Democratic state Senate members. She is free to do it, though may she find herself in an awkward position demanding that the people of a solidly liberal, multiethnic state reexamine their multiethnic forebearers’ alleged contributions to the “patriarchy” and “white supremacy.”
Fifth, it is worth noting that Queen Lili’uokalani of Hawaii herself, whom Ocasio-Cortez mentioned by name during her know-nothing rant this week in the Capitol, awarded Damien in 1881 with the decoration of the Royal Order of Kalakaua, one of Hawaii’s highest honors, praising the priest for his “heroic and distinguished service.”
Lastly, of all people to use to make a point about racism, sexism, and oppression, Ocasio-Cortez chose Damien, a literal saint who gave his life ministering to lepers. He died in 1889, his body broken and scarred by leprosy, succumbing at last to the disease he spent more than a decade treating in others. Sacrificing one’s life to alleviate the suffering of others is the exact opposite of oppression.
A self-professed Catholic who proudly displays the cross on her forehead on Ash Wednesday should know this.
