The possibility of Mamdani, a self-identified socialist, taking control of a city once seen as the heart of Capitalism should be a wake-up call for everyone.
A great and poignant article as always, Helen. Perhaps I am much too pessimistic and cynical, but at this point, if Mamdani and his supporters truly believe that his political worldview is coherent and will lead to material prosperity, then they are either willfully ignorant or maliciously evil. It is obvious that Mamdani is a Marxist, as you stated, and at this point, I think NYC deserves someone like him. The animosity and hatred of his platform is so prevalent and out in the open, the economic policies he supports so outlandish, and he still handily won the Dem primary and will almost certainly win the general election.
I think it is a good thing for the country as a whole if a large portion of the financial foundation of the city flees the city after he wins, both the rich and hopefully, many of those less prosperous who did note support him. As you noted, a lot of Mamdani’s support came from the more wealthy areas of the city, young college graduates, many of whom are white. While he undoubtedly got some support from those in blue collar industries, it wasn’t as much as Cuomo’s portion.
For Mamdani’s college-educated supporters, I think this is the ultimate opportunity to signal their supposed virtuous morality, knowing that ultimately, they will not be harmed nearly to the extent that the more impoverished NYCers will. I do think that those richer, educated voters who supported him did not go to college to learn and gain skills to progress in their career, but rather, to form relationships and gain “knowledge” to further entrench their radical worldview they already possessed. I met people like that in college, and I am sure you did as well. It is sad, but also, at this point, with unlimited access to almost all of recorded human history at the tip of their fingers, to still support an economic and social ideology that is responsible for so much pain and suffering makes them immoral, ignorant, or gullible.
Edit: I also should mention, and I am sure you know as well, that Mamdani is a radical gender ideologue and supports minors transitioning with public funds. He is grotesquely immoral.
Mamdani emigrated to the U.S. since age 7. He and his supporters are products of our education system. I also posted this on X.com: "Lenin came from a middle class family in Russia. Mao was born in a rich land owner’s family in China. Fidel Castro’s dad was a prosperous farmer in Cuba and his family had servants. All of these Communists were born with privileges. And yet they all claimed membership of the “oppressed” class, and were determined to overthrow the system they had so richly benefited from. These champagne Marxists’ revolutions had ruined the lives of millions. It’s disheartening to witness another one in our lifetime who is apparently gaining traction in the most capitalist country in human history."
It is interesting, for sure, the background of some of the Marxist vanguards (with Marx himself being the ultimate freeloader) coming from privileged backgrounds. I think some of them, like Mao and Pol Pot (at least from what I have read) were just power-hungry fiends who relished inflicting suffering on others, (I think Stalin fits this mold though he came from a more humble background) but others might have been true believers, like Trotsky, Lenin, and it seems like Mamdani is in the latter group.
I try my best to give others the benefit of the doubt and not impute malicious motivations on them, and I guess I can do that for Mamdani, but his worldview is just so repugnant to mine own that it is difficult.
Agree. The same ideology perpetuates itself by those who are already indoctrinated to pass it down to the next generation. This is why I support school choice. We must offer parents and students different curriculums.
A great and poignant article as always, Helen. Perhaps I am much too pessimistic and cynical, but at this point, if Mamdani and his supporters truly believe that his political worldview is coherent and will lead to material prosperity, then they are either willfully ignorant or maliciously evil. It is obvious that Mamdani is a Marxist, as you stated, and at this point, I think NYC deserves someone like him. The animosity and hatred of his platform is so prevalent and out in the open, the economic policies he supports so outlandish, and he still handily won the Dem primary and will almost certainly win the general election.
I think it is a good thing for the country as a whole if a large portion of the financial foundation of the city flees the city after he wins, both the rich and hopefully, many of those less prosperous who did note support him. As you noted, a lot of Mamdani’s support came from the more wealthy areas of the city, young college graduates, many of whom are white. While he undoubtedly got some support from those in blue collar industries, it wasn’t as much as Cuomo’s portion.
For Mamdani’s college-educated supporters, I think this is the ultimate opportunity to signal their supposed virtuous morality, knowing that ultimately, they will not be harmed nearly to the extent that the more impoverished NYCers will. I do think that those richer, educated voters who supported him did not go to college to learn and gain skills to progress in their career, but rather, to form relationships and gain “knowledge” to further entrench their radical worldview they already possessed. I met people like that in college, and I am sure you did as well. It is sad, but also, at this point, with unlimited access to almost all of recorded human history at the tip of their fingers, to still support an economic and social ideology that is responsible for so much pain and suffering makes them immoral, ignorant, or gullible.
Edit: I also should mention, and I am sure you know as well, that Mamdani is a radical gender ideologue and supports minors transitioning with public funds. He is grotesquely immoral.
Mamdani emigrated to the U.S. since age 7. He and his supporters are products of our education system. I also posted this on X.com: "Lenin came from a middle class family in Russia. Mao was born in a rich land owner’s family in China. Fidel Castro’s dad was a prosperous farmer in Cuba and his family had servants. All of these Communists were born with privileges. And yet they all claimed membership of the “oppressed” class, and were determined to overthrow the system they had so richly benefited from. These champagne Marxists’ revolutions had ruined the lives of millions. It’s disheartening to witness another one in our lifetime who is apparently gaining traction in the most capitalist country in human history."
It is interesting, for sure, the background of some of the Marxist vanguards (with Marx himself being the ultimate freeloader) coming from privileged backgrounds. I think some of them, like Mao and Pol Pot (at least from what I have read) were just power-hungry fiends who relished inflicting suffering on others, (I think Stalin fits this mold though he came from a more humble background) but others might have been true believers, like Trotsky, Lenin, and it seems like Mamdani is in the latter group.
I try my best to give others the benefit of the doubt and not impute malicious motivations on them, and I guess I can do that for Mamdani, but his worldview is just so repugnant to mine own that it is difficult.
The problem with changing the education system is that our next teachers are today's students that have done well in the current system.
Agree. The same ideology perpetuates itself by those who are already indoctrinated to pass it down to the next generation. This is why I support school choice. We must offer parents and students different curriculums.