There's so much to unpack in this shitshow of a snippet, but let's zero in on how they describe AOC's delivery of "fucking bitch": "punching each syllable in the vulgarity." 1/? https://twitter.com/MarkHarrisNYC/status/1286494080415997952

First, that's a weird verb to use in that phrase. Usually we see "emphasizing," "enunciating," "pronouncing," or "stressing" used with "each syllable." "Punch" isn't even in the corpus I checked (COCA for the nerds). So, the verb draws undue attention to the phrase. 2/?

Then there's the inclusion of "in the vulgarity." Generally speaking, the verb "punch in the" is most often followed by a body part: "the face," "the stomach." The brain is wired to associate "punch in the ___" with a physical act of violence. 3/?

And "vulgarity" _instead of_ "profanity" or "cussword" or "bad words" brings with it the connotation that these words are not just obscene, but _vulgar_: low-class, unbecoming, not befitting the situation. 4/?

Now: who's the subject of this weird-ass phrase? AOC. _Not_ the Congressman who actually said these words to a colleague, but the person at whom these words were directed, and who is now reporting the exchange. 5/?

That stupid phrase not only makes you skip over what follows (which tells you who said it), it essentially moves the moral weight of saying a slur off of the actual asshole who did it and on to the victim reporting it.

And THAT's why discourse analysis matters, kids! 6/FIN.