Split New York City Mayoral Race

[Derec]

Oh look, the MAGA right wing has a huge freakout over Mahmdani eating with this hands!

Actually, thank you for posting this article. Despite being 100% pro-Mamdani of course, it does end up explaining the situation decently well.

In the clip, first recorded in 2023 by Uncivilised Media, the 33-year-old Democrat eats biryani with his hands while fielding questions about his campaign. “The holy grail of taboos in American politics,” the interviewer says, “which include socialism, Islam and Palestine. You are really going for the trifecta. Tell me, why is Palestine a part of your politics?”
“When you grow up as someone, especially in the third world,” Mamdani responds, “you have a very different understanding of the Palestinian struggle.”

Funny that the clip was recorded by "Uncivilised Media", given the way Zohran is eating his rice.

On a more serious note though, this makes it clear that he was not just casually eating while being inadvertently recorded like George Costanza at US Open. It was deliberate in order to bolster his "I grew up in the third world" narrative. Of course, he grew up the son of a Columbia University professor and Oscar-nominated filmmaker in NYC and went to one of the poshest and most expensive schools in the country. In other words, he was cosplaying third world. In reality he is a limousine socialist.

In India, the practice draws from Ayurvedic philosophy, which teaches that the five elements — earth, water, fire, air and space—are represented in the five fingers. Using one’s hands to eat is seen as a way to engage all the senses, to bring the body into deeper harmony with the food, with each finger representing a different element. The act of eating, then, becomes something intimate, connected and almost spiritual.

LMAO! We know there are not "five elements". There are 118. And is there any evidence that Mamdani, a Muslim, is aware of, much less following Ayurveda?

But of course, this wasn’t just a debate about dining etiquette. It was a textbook case of cultural othering, one that casts non-Western practices as primitive and noncompliance with a certain white, Christian, nationalist ideal as grounds for exile. In this telling, Mamdani wasn’t simply eating rice — he was signaling foreignness, defiance and a refusal to assimilate. That his choice of meal, identity and political stance all intersected in a single clip only made it easier for far-right voices to mobilize around a familiar narrative: if you look or sound or eat differently, you don’t belong here.

There is some degree of truth here. Except that the person doing the othering was Mamdani himself. Yes, he was deliberately "signaling foreignness, defiance and a refusal to assimilate". He made that clear when he went on about he supposedly growing up in the third world, and his embrace of third world politics, specifically on issues of "socialism, Islam and Palestine".
You cannot fault people for receiving signals that Mamdani is sending so obviously and blatantly.

It’s hard to imagine Congressman Gill objecting to someone tearing into a brisket sandwich at a backyard cookout. But biryani, served in a tray during an interview? That’s somehow where the line gets drawn.

As I said before, the interview is the thing. You would not dig into a watermelon slice or a plate of ribs during an interview.
I cannot imagine Arthur Branch, the fictional, Georgia-raised Manhattan DA from Law and Order (Jack McCoy's predecessor) having a campaign interview where he grabs a piece of fried chicken and eats it while explaining how him growing up in Georgia informed his stances on crime and punishment that may differ from his northeastern-raised opponent. And unlike Mamdani, Branch really grew up outside of New York!

 

[pood]

Derec, of course, doesn’t know a goddamn thing about life in New York City.

Why Mamdani is right about city-run grocery stores

Across the city, more than 3 million residents live in low-access food areas. In Brownsville, Mott Haven, East Flatbush, and parts of Staten Island, residents rely on corner stores and fast-food chains that carry little or no fresh produce. These conditions are not the result of natural market forces. They reflect decades of public and private disinvestment, often concentrated in communities of color. Grocery redlining—the practice by which supermarket chains avoid low-income neighborhoods based on demographic risk factors—has left entire ZIP codes without stable access to food. In the past five years alone, more than 100 full-service grocery stores in New York City have closed, primarily in lower-income neighborhoods.

The result is predictable. People pay more for less. They commute longer distances for basic goods. They ration meals. Children go to school without breakfast. Public health data shows elevated rates of diabetes, hypertension, and diet-related illness in these same neighborhoods. Hunger is not simply a function of poverty. It is shaped by the spatial and logistical architecture of access—or its absence.

The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not so well do, for themselves.

— Abraham Lincoln

How Karl Marx influenced Abraham Lincoln

 

[TV and credit cards]

What kinda fucked up psycho eats hot dogs without a bun?!?

The kind who buy hot dogs in packages of 12 and buns in packages of 10...

Typically it's 10 dogs and 8 buns. So 5 bags of buns and 4 packages of dogs and you'll break even, in a fucked up sort of way.

And there's no shame in making some beanie-weenie with the leftover dogs. A little fresh red onion and a bit of hot sauce.

Yeah, but at that point it's not "hotdogs", it's beenie weenies.

A cute name to be sure. But a cut up hotdog is no lesser a hotdog.

 

[Jarhyn]

What kinda fucked up psycho eats hot dogs without a bun?!?

The kind who buy hot dogs in packages of 12 and buns in packages of 10...

Typically it's 10 dogs and 8 buns. So 5 bags of buns and 4 packages of dogs and you'll break even, in a fucked up sort of way.

And there's no shame in making some beanie-weenie with the leftover dogs. A little fresh red onion and a bit of hot sauce.

Yeah, but at that point it's not "hotdogs", it's beenie weenies.

A cute name to be sure. But a cut up hotdog is no lesser a hotdog.

Yeah it is, the same way a potato can be a "baked potato", "mashed potatoes" or "French fries" or "potato chips".

 

[Derec]

Charlie Kirk seems to have an unusual interest in Mamdani's ass.

Hey! No kink-shaming!

 

[TomC]

And there's no shame in making some beanie-weenie with the leftover dogs. A little fresh red onion and a bit of hot sauce.

We had leftover hotdogs, onion, and spicy beans.

Project Beanie Weinies is well underway!
Tom

 

[laughing dog]

So? Do you seriously think the mayor of the financial capital of the world is going to accomplish that goal?

He might not be able to accomplish it, but he still could do a lot of damage trying.
And many are already seeing him as the future of the Democratic Party.
Examples:
Democrats must embrace Mamdani as their party’s future
Mamdani’s Massive Victory Should Show Democrats Where the Party’s Future Lies
That is scary. One insane major political party is already too much. We do not need Democrats to follow suit.

Let me ask you something though. If a candidate for mayor in a major city did a video where he or she openly embraced fascism, would you be this sanguine about it? Would you ask "so?"? I think not. Not in a million years! So why is Mandani's embrace of Marxist ideas ok with you?

If the people of NYC want a socialist or fascist mayor, let the experiment begin.

 

[southernhybrid]

The mayor of New York City doesn't get to rule. Trump is currently getting away with that, but that is very unusual, so why are some people so upset about Mamdani as a the potential mayor of NYC?

https://www.nyc.gov/site/intergovernmental/city/city-legislative-process.page

City Legislative Process​

There are a few ways in which legislation is enacted ("Local Law") in New York City. The most typical way is through the City's legislative body, the New York City Council. The following is an explanation of the process by which legislation is turned into law in NYC, and the Mayor's role in the process:

• A bill (proposed legislation) is filed by a Council Member with the Council's law clerk. If the Mayor wishes to put forth legislation for consideration, he/she must file it with the Speaker's Office. The Speaker's Office then assigns the bill a sponsor to bring the proposed local law before the Council.
• The bill is then introduced into the Council during a "Stated Meeting" and referred to the appropriate committee.
• A public hearing is held on the proposed legislation.
• After committee debate and public testimony, the bill may be amended.
• The committee meets to vote on the final version of the bill.
• If passed in committee, the bill is sent to the full Council for more debate and a final vote at a subsequent Stated Meeting.
• If passed by an affirmative vote by a majority of Council Members (at least 26 members) the bill is then sent to the Mayor, who also holds a public hearing.
• The Mayor then chooses to sign or veto (rejects) the bill.
• If the Mayor signs the bill, it immediately becomes a local law and is entered into the City's Administrative Code.
• If the Mayor vetoes the bill, it is returned to the City Council, through the City Clerk, with the Mayor's objections, at the next scheduled Stated Meeting.
• The Council then has 30 days to override the Mayoral veto.
• If the Council does re-pass the bill by a vote of two-thirds of all Council Members (at least 34), it is then considered adopted and becomes local law.

 

[southernhybrid]

Will you comment on it now, or will you just babble about cheap shawarma?

I guess, that's a no. Not surprised really. PACO. "Pood always chickens out" when he runs out of arguments. Which is sooner than one would think.

I also noticed you have not commented on my reply to your claim that Muslim societies are morally superior to "white Anglo-Christian Americans" which you detest as much as you simp for Muslims.

Since I never claimed that, you are making a total fool of yourself as usual. When someone as nice as @southernhybrid puts you on ignore, you should take a look in the mirror and ask some hard questions about yourself.

DACO: “Derec always craps out.”

And, I haven't even put him on ignore. In fact, in all the years I've been here, I have never put anyone on ignore. I can take it and I can scroll past posts that I'm not interested in reading. I rarely agree with Derec, but I do read most of his posts, wondering why he doesn't realize how he comes across.

 

[Tigers!]

Here are what seem to be some white Anglo-Christian American customs: Displacing and exterminating natives to take their land, enslaving dark-skinned people, fighting endless wars, bombing the fuck out of others to keep the financial elites in gravy. I don’t think the Muslims can compete with that. They’re just pikers.

Sounds a lot like the Romans to me (except for the bombing). They were not ever Anglo-Christian.

 

[Jarhyn]

Here are what seem to be some white Anglo-Christian American customs: Displacing and exterminating natives to take their land, enslaving dark-skinned people, fighting endless wars, bombing the fuck out of others to keep the financial elites in gravy. I don’t think the Muslims can compete with that. They’re just pikers.

Sounds a lot like the Romans to me (except for the bombing). They were not ever Anglo-Christian.

Hahaha

Wait, you're serious.

The Romans were exactly this MAGA/proto-MAGA nation with violent imperialist roots justifying their worldview on whatever selfish bullshit they could pull out their ass.

I know nothing more "Empire of Rome" than current Anglo-Christian MAGA.

They even banned trans people for bullshit reasons the same way.

 

[Derec]

Derec, of course, doesn’t know a goddamn thing about life in New York City.

Bullshit, as usual!

Why Mamdani is right about city-run grocery stores

Common Dreams is a far-left blog. Hardly surprising that they like the idea of government owned businesses.

Across the city, more than 3 million residents live in low-access food areas. In Brownsville, Mott Haven, East Flatbush, and parts of Staten Island, residents rely on corner stores and fast-food chains that carry little or no fresh produce.

I am aware of food deserts. Instead of going to government-owned grocery stores as an idea, why not first see why the situation is as it is. Surely, if businesses could turn a profit selling bell peppers and peaches,
Is there too little demand for fresh produce for corner bodegas to carry it, or even for there to be dedicated fruit and vegetable stores?
Is the crime too high? Rent on store space unaffordable?
The goal of the city government should be to work with the private sector, not undercut it with government stores that do not have to pay rent, or worry about being profitable.

These conditions are not the result of natural market forces.

Natural market forces certainly do play a role, from how much demand there is for fresh fruits and vegetables in those areas, to cost of doing business. Grocery stores are very low margin operations. It does not take much to make them lose money.

They reflect decades of public and private disinvestment, often concentrated in communities of color.

What disinvestment concretely?

Grocery redlining—the practice by which supermarket chains avoid low-income neighborhoods based on demographic risk factors—has left entire ZIP codes without stable access to food.

Stores are in the business to make money. If there were money to be mad in e.g. East New York (setting of the opening vignette of this opinion piece) they would come. You can't call natural market forces "redlining" just to pretend that it was a nefarious decision to deprive certain people of access to groceries.

In the past five years alone, more than 100 full-service grocery stores in New York City have closed, primarily in lower-income neighborhoods.

For one, [citation needed]. But even if true, it will not help the rest survive and thrive if they are being undercut by government stores. NYC government should instead see what caused this wave of closings and what they can do to make the conditions conducive to businesses opening and staying in business, and not closing. Mamdani's prescriptions like increasing business taxes and forcing grocery stores to pay cashiers and baggers $30/h is certainly not going to help grocery stores stay profitable. Especially smaller neighborhood ones within walking distance of where people without cars live .

The result is predictable. People pay more for less. They commute longer distances for basic goods.

And that will be helped by undercutting private grocery stores with a handful of government ones exactly how?

The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not so well do, for themselves.

Things like public safety, from policing to things like FDA or NWS, belong here.
Not government grocery stores.

How Karl Marx influenced Abraham Lincoln

It looks like these two connected mostly over opposition to slavery. Fair enough.
And Lincoln died way too soon to see how poorly Marxist economic ideas fared when put in practice. So did Marx.

 

[Derec]

If the people of NYC want a socialist or fascist mayor, let the experiment begin.

In a democracy, they have the right to elect a disaster, just like we did nationwide. And the rest of us have the right to criticize socialist and fascist politicians.

This is Political Discussion forum. Criticism of politicians is our bread and butter. Your attitude that we should not criticize a Democratic Socialist candidate for mayor for his embrace of Marxist language ("seize the means of production") would render this whole forum moot.

 

[Derec]

The mayor of New York City doesn't get to rule.

He does not rule by himself, but he does have a lot of power.
For example, mayor selects the members of the Rent Guidelines Board, which means that he will be able to freeze rents for rent stabilized apartments by himself.

Trump is currently getting away with that, but that is very unusual, so why are some people so upset about Mamdani as a the potential mayor of NYC?

NYC City Council tends to be on the left. I do not foresee them pushing back on Mamdani's agenda any more than the Republican-controlled Congress is pushing back against Trump.
Speaking of Trump, I see a lot of similarities between the two. For one, both command a lot of enthusiastic support from some, and derision from others. I.e. they are both very polarizing. Both are seen as authentic by their fans, but in reality are cosplaying. Take Mamdani's "third world" shtick, when in reality he grew up very privileged in an affluent area of NYC and went to one of the poshest private schools in the country.

Where I do foresee some pushback is NY State government. Mamdani will need their support for his tax hikes. And without that extra revenue, I do not see how he can implement most of his agenda.

 

[Derec]

Sounds a lot like the Romans to me (except for the bombing). They were not ever Anglo-Christian.

 

[Derec]

I love falafels. That is what I always get when we eat at a Mediterranean restaurant. I also feel guilty when I eat meat.

I like falafel sometimes, but when I eat out I prefer to get meat, or fish. I do not think we should feel guilty for eating meat any more than a lion would.

I would support Mamdani if I lived in NYC. Plus, regardless of his plans, he will never accomplish them all. Democrats, unlike Republicans aren't sheep who fall in line when their leader wants to pass some type of legislation.

Why concretely would you support Mamdani?
As far as him pushing through his plans, I do not think NYC City Council will push back, but the NY governor will. And he needs her to hike taxes. Without the tax hike, he is limited in what he can implement. He can still implement policies that rely on somebody else paying for them. Rent freeze means that landlords have to eat higher costs of apartment maintenance without being able to raise rents to match. Mamdani can do this by himself, without the City Council, by appointing loyal people to the Rent Guidelines Board.
With the City Council, he can push the minimum wage increase to $30/h, and it is private businesses who have to pay for the increased costs, not the NYC government.
For free buses or government grocery stores etc. he will need the tax hikes though.

I don't know why someone who doesn't live in NYC is so upset over a candidate he sees as too far left.

That's a fair point actually, and let me explain. As the largest city in the country, and the center of finance and culture, NYC has an outsized influence on the country as a whole. Commentators are already talking about the influence of his primary win on the Democratic Party as a whole. That is more than enough to justify talking about him on a forum like this, don't you agree?

Derec should be more concerned about the city he lives in.

I live in an unincorporated part of DeKalb County, but I am very much concerned about local politics. Our local politics usually does not translate to broader trends, so we do not discuss it much here.

Perhaps a more moderate Democrat could have won the election if they had ideas that appealed to voters.

Indeed. One bad part of the partisan primary system is that more extreme candidates get the advantage. That's why I like California-style jungle primaries.

 

[Derec]

The kind who buy hot dogs in packages of 12 and buns in packages of 10...

That's a conspiracy to trap you into always having leftover wieners or buns. Unless you buy 60 of both at a time. Or 40 if it's 10 and 8.

 

[southernhybrid]

I love falafels. That is what I always get when we eat at a Mediterranean restaurant. I also feel guilty when I eat meat.

I like falafel sometimes, but when I eat out I prefer to get meat, or fish. I do not think we should feel guilty for eating meat any more than a lion would.

I'm not saying everyone should feel guilty eating meat. That's just how I feel. I mostly just hate the way most farm animals are treated and I love animals a lot. I know that Pigs for example are highly intelligent so I rarely eat pork. It's hard for me to think about killing an animals like that. Once in awhile I would buy pork tenderloin if I could find the kind that was humanely raised. Ingles used to sell it and interestingly enough, it tasted much better than factory farm raised pig.

I would support Mamdani if I lived in NYC. Plus, regardless of his plans, he will never accomplish them all. Democrats, unlike Republicans aren't sheep who fall in line when their leader wants to pass some type of legislation.

Why concretely would you support Mamdani?
As far as him pushing through his plans, I do not think NYC City Council will push back, but the NY governor will. And he needs her to hike taxes. Without the tax hike, he is limited in what he can implement. He can still implement policies that rely on somebody else paying for them. Rent freeze means that landlords have to eat higher costs of apartment maintenance without being able to raise rents to match. Mamdani can do this by himself, without the City Council, by appointing loyal people to the Rent Guidelines Board.
With the City Council, he can push the minimum wage increase to $30/h, and it is private businesses who have to pay for the increased costs, not the NYC government.
For free buses or government grocery stores etc. he will need the tax hikes though.

I would support Mamdani because I view him as much better than the alternatives. I don't necessarily agree with all of his goals, but I never agree with the goals of any candidate. I just vote for the one who I view as the better choice. Plus, I disagree with you that the city council will go along with everything he wants. Democrats are usually not like Republicans. They usually act like individuals and don't always agree with their leader.

I don't know why someone who doesn't live in NYC is so upset over a candidate he sees as too far left.

That's a fair point actually, and let me explain. As the largest city in the country, and the center of finance and culture, NYC has an outsized influence on the country as a whole. Commentators are already talking about the influence of his primary win on the Democratic Party as a whole. That is more than enough to justify talking about him on a forum like this, don't you agree?

Derec should be more concerned about the city he lives in.

I live in an unincorporated part of DeKalb County, but I am very much concerned about local politics. Our local politics usually does not translate to broader trends, so we do not discuss it much here.

Perhaps a more moderate Democrat could have won the election if they had ideas that appealed to voters.

Indeed. One bad part of the partisan primary system is that more extreme candidates get the advantage. That's why I like California-style jungle primaries.

I grew up just outside of NYC and I guess I don't view it as having as much national influence as you do. It's a huge city, very diverse and it's had both Democrat and Republican mayors. I'd much rather see someone like Mamdani compared to some of the past mayors. Plus a lot of politicians become more willing to compromise once they get elected. Though. you may not agree with me, I think AOC has moved more toward the center over the last few years. In fact, those who are further to the left have criticized her for that, but since I strongly believe in compromise, I think she's doing the right thing.

Anyway, that's just how I see it. And, you would probably agree with me that Bottoms would be a terrible governor of Georgia. Even my closest Black female friend agrees with me on that. We both feel she's just not very competent. I hope some better candidates run in the Democratic primary for governor. So, once in awhile, you and I might agree.

 

[laughing dog]

If the people of NYC want a socialist or fascist mayor, let the experiment begin.

In a democracy, they have the right to elect a disaster, just like we did nationwide. And the rest of us have the right to criticize socialist and fascist politicians.

This is Political Discussion forum. Criticism of politicians is our bread and butter. Your attitude that we should not criticize a Democratic Socialist candidate for mayor for his embrace of Marxist language ("seize the means of production") would render this whole forum moot.

Not as long as you dish up such straw men. Nowhere did I say any candidate shouldn’t be criticized.

I asked a question to see if you had a rational criticism instead of “eek, a socialist”. So far, all I see is “eek - he eats rice with his hands” and “eek, MARXISM” and “oh noes, gov’t grocery stores”.

 

[pood]

@Derec today it was wonderful falafel on pita slathered in hummus from the Muslim halal Arabic suicide bomb food cart nearest me. Tasted great, and nutritious, too!