This opinion piece, written by a senior writer or expert at In Focus, reports on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) recent admission that the "hysteria" of 2020 was indeed "crazy". The author argues that this admission is not a genuine mea culpa, but rather an attempt to rebrand and move forward with "Woke 2", which they claim is still driven by the same organizers and groups as the original movement. According to the article, many people suffered during this period, including those in the sex-change industrial complex, who may have benefited from foreign money. The author advocates for a reckoning, including fines and prison time for those responsible.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America.
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Focus → deliver → America
Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture.
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pieces → publish → picture
You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.
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You → find → pieces
Leftist admissions that the hysteria that overtook the country in 2020 was indeed “crazy,” as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) herself now puts it, are suddenly cascading faster than anyone could have anticipated.
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anyone → overtake → it
To those of us vilified for writing at the time that America was in the midst of a dangerous trance, there is a sense of satisfaction.
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America → vilify → satisfaction
And in no way should it lead to a false feeling of “mission accomplished” that lets the guard down.
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that → lead → guard
Leftists such as Ocasio-Cortez may be laughing off what they call the excesses of “Woke 1,” but they are already trotting out “Woke 2.”
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they → laugh → Woke
This is all calculated.
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This → calculate → ?
It has a lot to do with electoral positioning, in no way amounts to a mea culpa, and lets guilty parties off the hook.
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parties → have → hook
The Great Awokening, or that period that encompassed the better part of two decades but peaked in 2019-2021, led to real human suffering and nearly accomplished its aim of regime change in America.
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that → encompass → America
Some people, particularly in the sex-change industrial complex, but also those who took foreign money to overthrow the American system, should face a reckoning in terms of fines and prison time.
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who → take → fines
People in positions of real power made lasting decisions due to the woke hysteria.
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People → make → hysteria
They appointed leaders still in charge of important places, such as the Smithsonian Institution, and are acting according to the instructions they received then.
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they → appoint → instructions
In other words, they are ruining these institutions.
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they → ruin → institutions
For a reckoning to be real, these people need to be fired.
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people → need → ?
And again, yes, I do mean the Smithsonian, but obviously not just there.
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I → mean → Smithsonian
A reckoning is needed in the media, too.
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reckoning → need → media
In 2020, journalists routinely referred to the hysteria all around us as a “racial reckoning.”
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journalists → refer → reckoning
Instead of quoting the founders of Black Lives Matter when the latter said they were Marxist revolutionaries intent on overthrowing American society, journalists punished those who did.
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who → quote → those
In but one example, I offer this hammy, self-regarding, and sadly typical NPR story in which they explained that they saw months of riots as a way of “forcing the United States to confront the racism of its past and present.”
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they → offer → past
At NPR, they said, “We’ve been reporting on this unique moment in the nation’s history for a new three-part series called Summer of Racial Reckoning.”
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We → say → Reckoning
So, no, we will not get judgment and retribution with “Woke 2.0.”
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we → get → Woke
It is led by the same organizers and groups, funded by the same leftist dark money and malign foreign actors, and “covered” by media eager to play their part in awakening the country to the supposed oppression of its system so that it can be torn down, which is all woke is.
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woke → lead → system
We most need to concentrate on fixing the institutions that wokeism has damaged.
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wokeism → need → that
As for what that looks like, I can’t improve on Notre Dame professor Pat Deneen’s verdict from 10 years ago — you don’t have to agree with everything Deneen says to find this on the money:
My students are know-nothings.
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students → look → money
They are exceedingly nice, pleasant, trustworthy, mostly honest, well-intentioned, and utterly decent.
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They → intentione → ?
They are the culmination of Western civilization, a civilization that has forgotten nearly everything about itself, and as a result, has achieved near-perfect indifference to its own culture.
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that → forget → culture
Still, let’s look at what shape these admissions are taking, and yes, celebrate what is there to celebrate, before we take stock of what’s ahead.
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what → let → stock
The whole thing started with an interview that ABC News’s Jonathan Karl had with Ocasio-Cortez on the network’s signature Sunday morning news show, This Week With George Stephanopoulos, on Aug. 9.
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Karl → start → Aug.
It was two days before the Wisconsin primary election, and they were discussing Francesca Hong, the Democratic Socialists of America’s candidate for governor.
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they → discuss → governor
Hong had taken a lot of woke positions typical of the DSA, and Karl listed them to Ocasio-Cortez:
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Karl → take → Cortez
Karl: Abolish prisons, abolish police, which is also positions that have been taken by a lot of the progressive candidates who have won. …
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who → abolish → candidates
How do you get around that?
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you → get → that
These are not positions that are supported by …
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that → support → ?
I mean …
Ocasio-Cortez:
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I → mean → ?
I think that a lot of these races, even right now, they’ll have a tendency to be nationalized. …
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they → think → tendency
My understanding is that Francesca Hong has made clear her present stances.
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stances → make → ?
Yeah, she’s moved away from a lot of people.
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she → move → people
She’s moved away from it, and I have a local city councilman that has this, uh, saying, ‘”Woke 1″ was crazy.’
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Woke → move → saying
Karl, laughing himself: ‘”Woke 1″ was crazy.’
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Woke → laugh → ?
…and 21 more, not listed.
