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Billie Eilish and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)

It seems like every year someone makes a splash at the Met Gala with their fashion choices. In 2018 it was Lena Waithe's "queer cape" that enthralled the press and public alike, with its simple but powerful message about inclusivity and LGBTQ rights. In 2016, Emma Watson used that year's technology theme to send a more subtle but equally powerful message about the environment with a dress made entirely from sustainable products.

Even with America and much of the world still reeling from COVID-19, this year is no different.

In fact, two dresses, in particular, have gone viral with very different but very powerful messages about life in 2021. This year, the honor of showcasing the most talked about outfit is being shared between singer Billie Eilish and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). And much like Waithe and Watson before them, one dress wore its heart on its sleeve (or tails to be exact), while the other was subtle in its vital message about animal rights.

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Actress, singer, and women's rights advocate Lynda Carter turned 69 years old on Friday, July 24, and celebrated it by praising New York Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Cater has become a feminist icon for her portrayal of Wonder Woman on television in the mid- to late-'70s.

Carter tweeted a photo of AOC sitting next to a Wonder Woman poster in her Capitol Hill office. The actress and AOC both share a Latino background, Carter's mother was Mexican and Ocasio-Cortez' family is Puerto Rican.

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Whenever someone's words or behavior are called out as racist, a few predictable responses always follow. One is to see the word "racist" as a vicious personal attack. Two is to vehemently deny that whatever was said or done was racist. And three is to pull out the dictionary definition of racism to prove that the words or behavior weren't racist.

Honestly, as soon as someone refers to the dictionary when discussing racism, it's clear that person has never delved deeply into trying to understand racism. It's a big old red flag, every time.

I'm not an expert on race relations, but I've spent many years learning from people who are. And I've learned that the reality of racism is nuanced and complex, and resorting to a short dictionary definition completely ignores that fact. The dictionary can't include all of the ways racism manifests in individuals and society, and the limitations of dictionary definitions make it a poor tool for discussing the topic.

Since "racism" is such a loaded term for many people, let's look at such limitations through a different complex word. Let's take "anxiety." According to Merriam-Webster, "anxiety" is defined as "apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness, usually over an impending or anticipated ill."

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Another day in Trump's America, where the main debate between members of Congress is whether or not the kids concentrated in camps at the border are indeed in concentration camps.

Rep. Liz Cheney, third-ranking Republican in the House and spawn of Dick, is absolutely AGHAST that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez compared the detention camps to migrant children to those made famous by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

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