--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was really my experience at Standing…" description: "\"It was really my experience at Standing Rock that was pretty pivotal for me because I saw how corporations were literally militarizing themselves again..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_american_it-was-really-my-experience-at-standing_1809142.jpg" --- # It was really my experience at Standing Rock that was… ![“It was really my experience at Standing Rock that was pretty pivotal for me because I saw how corporations were literally militarizing themselves against American citizens so that they could kind of maximize their profit margins on fossil fuels.” quote by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_american_it-was-really-my-experience-at-standing_1809142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_american_it-was-really-my-experience-at-standing_1809142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_american_it-was-really-my-experience-at-standing_1809142.jpg) > “It was really my experience at Standing Rock that was pretty pivotal for me because I saw how corporations were literally militarizing themselves against American citizens so that they could kind of maximize their profit margins on fossil fuels.” [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Witnessing corporate militarization of protests reveals how profit motives can drive extreme measures against citizens. **In simple terms:** Corporations use force to protect profit. Key Takeaway Recognize and oppose corporate overreach. Themes environment politics activism corporate power Mood ang determined urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - environmental protests - policy advocacy - community organizing Key Concepts militarization profit motive civil rights Questions to Reflect On - How do profit motives influence corporate behavior? - What safeguards can prevent militarized corporate actions? A Different Perspective The quote may oversimplify complex legal and security contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Fossil fuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fossil-fuel/) [Profit margin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit-margin/) ## Related quotes > [At Standing Rock, we experienced, first-hand, people coming together in their communities and trying to use the levers of representative democracy to try and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/at-standing-rock-we-experienced-first-hand-people-coming-together-in/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [Mexico doesn't know whether it should pay more attention to those who advocate militarizing the border or to those - like President Obama -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-dresser/mexico-doesn-t-know-whether-it-should-pay-more-attention-to-those-who/) [Denise Dresser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-dresser/) > [“Once beyond school age, individuals were all expected to carry out two functions: to contribute to production and to take part in military operations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/once-beyond-school-age-individuals-were-all-expected-to-carry-out-two/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [Public schools are not simply being corporatized, they are also subjected increasingly to a militarizing logic that disciplines the bodies of young people, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/public-schools-are-not-simply-being-corporatized-they-are-also/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [I actually went to the frontline to be with my brothers at Standing Rock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taboo/i-actually-went-to-the-frontline-to-be-with-my-brothers-at-standing/) [Taboo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taboo/) > [ The \[Donald\] Trump administration is making it very clear that they intend to destroy our only drinking water resource on the Standing Rock Nation… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-iron-eyes/the-donald-trump-administration-is-making-it-very-clear-that-they/) [Chase Iron Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-iron-eyes/) > [I know that there is a difference of opinion, but we stand united with the Standing Rock Nation in wanting the most highly militarized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-iron-eyes/i-know-that-there-is-a-difference-of-opinion-but-we-stand-united-with/) [Chase Iron Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-iron-eyes/) > [Standing Rock is a moment in history. We really have to grab it and go with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/standing-rock-is-a-moment-in-history-we-really-have-to-grab-it-and-go/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [When I went to Standing Rock, it opened my mind, as did going to Indian reservations and speaking to kids about music and arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taboo/when-i-went-to-standing-rock-it-opened-my-mind-as-did-going-to-indian/) [Taboo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taboo/) > [“Racially discriminatory policies have usually sprung from economic, political, and cultural self-interests, self-interests that are constantly changing. Politicians seeking higher office have primarily created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/racially-discriminatory-policies-have-usually-sprung-from-economic/) [Ibram X. 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What the term means is simply the conversion of the market for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/what-corporations-fear-is-the-phenomenon-now-known-rather-inelegantly/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [“smaller companies with lean profit margins are simply not inclined to spend a great deal on cybersecurity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/smaller-companies-with-lean-profit-margins-are-simply-not-inclined-to/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“The rest of the industry appears to have grown sales by 10 percent, with profits growing proportionally. This indicates that the industry-wide profit margin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cheng/the-rest-of-the-industry-appears-to-have-grown-sales-by-10-percent/) [Victor Cheng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cheng/) ## More by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez > [When people feel like they are being spoken directly to, I do feel like... they'll do things like turn out in an off-year, mid-year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/when-people-feel-like-they-are-being-spoken-directly-to-i-do-feel/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I do think that sometimes, especially coming into this going straight from activism to being a candidate or to being a person who potentially,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-do-think-that-sometimes-especially-coming-into-this-going-straight/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [There's this false notion that you have to separate and choose between issues of class and issues of race. What people do when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/there-s-this-false-notion-that-you-have-to-separate-and-choose/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I'm very hands-on about social media. That's my voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-m-very-hands-on-about-social-media-that-s-my-voice/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [Not all Democrats are the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/not-all-democrats-are-the-same/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [It's disingenuous to... pretend the sources of our money don't impact the policy we write - you just can't serve two masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/it-s-disingenuous-to-pretend-the-sources-of-our-money-don-t-impact/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I felt like the only way to effectively run for office is if you had access to a lot of wealth, high social influence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-felt-like-the-only-way-to-effectively-run-for-office-is-if-you-had/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I'm used to people kind of knowing me in the community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-m-used-to-people-kind-of-knowing-me-in-the-community/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [We absolutely do need to make sure that our borders are secure. But what we need to realize and remember is that ICE was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/we-absolutely-do-need-to-make-sure-that-our-borders-are-secure-but/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [To me, what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity. It's asserting the value of saying that the America we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/to-me-what-socialism-means-is-to-guarantee-a-basic-level-of-dignity/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I just hope that more people will ignore the fatalism of the argument that we are beyond repair. We are not beyond repair. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-just-hope-that-more-people-will-ignore-the-fatalism-of-the-argument/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [Before ICE, we had Immigration and Naturalization Services, but it wasn't until about 1999 that we chose to criminalize immigration at all. 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