Split New York City Mayoral Race

[Derec]

The speaker in the video states that we should "no longer tolerate the violence of evictions as 'business as usual'." The claim that she is equating all evictions with violence is a logical leap. Grammatically and logically, the phrase "the violence of [X]" points to a property or occurrence associated with [X], not an absolute identity statement (Eviction = Violence). For instance, referencing "the violence of New York City" simply acknowledges that violence happens there; it doesn't mean the city itself is defined entirely as violence.

"The violence of New York City" would imply that NYC was especially prone to violence at the very least.

Likewise, evictions frequently involve literal violence—such as a landlord relying on armed law enforcement to physically remove someone.

Yes, evictions sometimes involve violent resistance. But what I think is really going on with this statement is the leftist penchant to equate non-violent things with violence. For example the whole "speech is violence" prevalent in early to mid 2010s and which was used to justify things like shouting down conservative speakers and debaters on college campuses.

Since this thread centers on Mamdani, it is far more productive to evaluate this statement in the context of his actual housing platform. Before this point in the thread, I wasn't entirely familiar with his specific framework, so I pulled a summary of his core housing pillars from AI:

Relying on AI is a hallmark of laziness. And it misses the most extreme thing he implemented so far - the rent freeze.

Let's at least discuss the merits of actual policy rather than relying on a Simpsons-style "Ha-ha! She said eviction equals violence!" sneer.

Of course, policies, as described by those pushing them, will be couched in the most positive language possible. That is true for DSA and MAGA alike.

But we should not be superficial, and look into policies more deeply. What is the likely consequence of a rent freeze, especially a prolonged one? Since the costs continue to increase (especially if you saddle landlords with more costs as a matter of city policy) they will not be able to pay for necessary maintenance. That will make more landlords "bad" in parlance of Mamdani's policies. And that is the excuse he wants in order to expropriate landlords, i.e. for the City to take their property. He even talked about the City taking over buildings during his campaign. And that fits very well with his end goal of "winning socialism" by "seizing the means of production".
After all, one of the first things the Bolsheviks did when they took power was to seize housing, as dramatized in Dr. Zhivago.

 

[bilby]

The speaker in the video states that we should "no longer tolerate the violence of evictions as 'business as usual'." The claim that she is equating all evictions with violence is a logical leap. Grammatically and logically, the phrase "the violence of [X]" points to a property or occurrence associated with [X], not an absolute identity statement (Eviction = Violence). For instance, referencing "the violence of New York City" simply acknowledges that violence happens there; it doesn't mean the city itself is defined entirely as violence.

@bilby didn't say any of that. Or any of the other stuff you quoted in your post.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

I remember when Derec nitpicked someone for misspelling Mamdani, so I guess we can nitpick him for misquoting.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

The speaker in the video states that we should "no longer tolerate the violence of evictions as 'business as usual'." The claim that she is equating all evictions with violence is a logical leap. Grammatically and logically, the phrase "the violence of [X]" points to a property or occurrence associated with [X], not an absolute identity statement (Eviction = Violence). For instance, referencing "the violence of New York City" simply acknowledges that violence happens there; it doesn't mean the city itself is defined entirely as violence.

"The violence of New York City" would imply that NYC was especially prone to violence at the very least.

No, it doesn't logically imply that: for example, "the violence of New York City has significantly decreased since the 80's."

 

[ZiprHead]

I've fixed the quote author tags.

I have no idea how that could even happen.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

That's the quality you get with a SOCIALIST website, I guess.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

The speaker in the video states that we should "no longer tolerate the violence of evictions as 'business as usual'." The claim that she is equating all evictions with violence is a logical leap. Grammatically and logically, the phrase "the violence of [X]" points to a property or occurrence associated with [X], not an absolute identity statement (Eviction = Violence). For instance, referencing "the violence of New York City" simply acknowledges that violence happens there; it doesn't mean the city itself is defined entirely as violence.

"The violence of New York City" would imply that NYC was especially prone to violence at the very least.

No, it doesn't logically imply that: for example, "the violence of New York City has significantly decreased since the 80's."

And, for example, saying "the violence of humanity" does not equal "all humans are violent".

 

[Tigers!]

How do you stay so well informed while hiding under your bed?

I thought that was where the Reds were?

Last time I looked there was only money under my bed. (And lots of dust)

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Wait, Mamdani actually cares about the law?? That's communism.

In new video, Mamdani acknowledges he doesn’t have authority to arrest Netanyahu

New York (CNN) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a new video Tuesday that he does not have the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

www.news8000.com

 

[Derec]

The problem is not that Mamdani backed off, but that he wanted to arrest an allied head of government in the first place.
And all that because of his religion-based hatred of Israel (Mamdani is Shiite, just like the Ayatollahs and Hezbollah).

 

[bilby]

allied head of government

What difference does "allied" make?

Being a citizen of an allied nation does not confer immunity from the rule of law, and nor should it.

And members of governments (domestic as well as foreign) should if anything be held to a higher standard than regular citizens. They should be more thoroughly investigated if evidence exists of wrongdoing, and more harshly punished, as a deterrent to others who might seek to abuse power.

 

[TomC]

Being a citizen of an allied nation does not confer immunity from the rule of law, and nor should it.

Even more to the point, the USA took on a responsibility when we put the UN in our country. Regardless of what anyone thinks about another country or someone representing the government, we absolutely have an obligation to keep them safe to the best of our considerable abilities.
If they are just visiting Florida or something that's different.
Tom

 

[TSwizzle]

With much fanfare, Mamdani lays out tNYC owned grocery store plans with 30% savings!!!!

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open a slate of government-owned grocery stores stirred up critics who roasted the idea as the democratic socialist’s first step toward creating communist bread lines in the city. The mayor offered a different vision for the city-owned shops on Monday, announcing that they would instead provide a 30% discount on produce, meat and a host of other kitchen staples as a way to offset the rising food prices in one of America’s most expensive cities. The five stores are expected to be placed in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the first set to open toward the end of 2027 in the Bronx. He plans to have all five operational by the end of his four-year term.
“Thirty percent off adds up to real money for New Yorkers,” Mamdani, a Democrat, said at a news conference at a warehouse in Brooklyn while standing in front of a display of fruits and vegetables. “In the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family.”

News

This is going to be interesting.

 

[thebeave]

With much fanfare, Mamdani lays out tNYC owned grocery store plans with 30% savings!!!!

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open a slate of government-owned grocery stores stirred up critics who roasted the idea as the democratic socialist’s first step toward creating communist bread lines in the city. The mayor offered a different vision for the city-owned shops on Monday, announcing that they would instead provide a 30% discount on produce, meat and a host of other kitchen staples as a way to offset the rising food prices in one of America’s most expensive cities. The five stores are expected to be placed in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the first set to open toward the end of 2027 in the Bronx. He plans to have all five operational by the end of his four-year term.
“Thirty percent off adds up to real money for New Yorkers,” Mamdani, a Democrat, said at a news conference at a warehouse in Brooklyn while standing in front of a display of fruits and vegetables. “In the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family.”

News

This is going to be interesting.

Yep. My crystal ball prediction is that the subsidized (30% is huge!) grocery store is going to knock the privately held grocery stores out of business, and soon after the government owned store is going to die soon after, due to incompetent management and/or lack of government financial support when the well finally runs dry. Then its, "Hellooooo 7-11 and Fast Food!" for all their nutritional needs.

 

[robnisch]

With much fanfare, Mamdani lays out tNYC owned grocery store plans with 30% savings!!!!

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open a slate of government-owned grocery stores stirred up critics who roasted the idea as the democratic socialist’s first step toward creating communist bread lines in the city. The mayor offered a different vision for the city-owned shops on Monday, announcing that they would instead provide a 30% discount on produce, meat and a host of other kitchen staples as a way to offset the rising food prices in one of America’s most expensive cities. The five stores are expected to be placed in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the first set to open toward the end of 2027 in the Bronx. He plans to have all five operational by the end of his four-year term.
“Thirty percent off adds up to real money for New Yorkers,” Mamdani, a Democrat, said at a news conference at a warehouse in Brooklyn while standing in front of a display of fruits and vegetables. “In the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family.”

News

This is going to be interesting.

One of the biggest costs of food you buy at the big chain stores is all the F&*king middlemen.
Everything that get passed though the distribution chain gets a % tacked on by every distributor.
If NYC can buy the basic foods direct, you could see lower prices.
Hell, how about city gardens?
Or grow food in empty office buildings?

Commies!!

 

[TSwizzle]

With much fanfare, Mamdani lays out tNYC owned grocery store plans with 30% savings!!!!

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open a slate of government-owned grocery stores stirred up critics who roasted the idea as the democratic socialist’s first step toward creating communist bread lines in the city. The mayor offered a different vision for the city-owned shops on Monday, announcing that they would instead provide a 30% discount on produce, meat and a host of other kitchen staples as a way to offset the rising food prices in one of America’s most expensive cities. The five stores are expected to be placed in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the first set to open toward the end of 2027 in the Bronx. He plans to have all five operational by the end of his four-year term.
“Thirty percent off adds up to real money for New Yorkers,” Mamdani, a Democrat, said at a news conference at a warehouse in Brooklyn while standing in front of a display of fruits and vegetables. “In the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family.”

News

This is going to be interesting.

One of the biggest costs of food you buy at the big chain stores is all the F&*king middlemen.
Everything that get passed though the distribution chain gets a % tacked on by every distributor.
If NYC can buy the basic foods direct, you could see lower prices.

Is that what Mamdani is going to do, just cut out the middlemen? Hmmm, I think it is more likely that these stores will be heavily subsidized.

Hell, how about city gardens?
Or grow food in empty office buildings?

Commies!!

I don't live in NYC but I have visited a few times. I don't think growing food in the city on an industrial scale would be feasible. Certainly a few community gardens exist but that will never be enough. Even if you turned Central Park into farmland, that's not going to work.

Anyway, baby steps, let's see how the grocery stores pan out before we get ahead of ourselves.

 

[ZiprHead]

My crystal ball prediction is that the subsidized (30% is huge!) grocery store is going to knock the privately held grocery stores out of business,

My understanding is that the stores are going into areas underserved by the corporate grocery stores.

 

[laughing dog]

I will wait to see the actual operation of these stores, because talk is cheap.

 

[TSwizzle]

Yep. My crystal ball prediction is that the subsidized (30% is huge!) grocery store is going to knock the privately held grocery stores out of business, and soon after the government owned store is going to die soon after, due to incompetent management and/or lack of government financial support when the well finally runs dry. Then its, "Hellooooo 7-11 and Fast Food!" for all their nutritional needs.

Yes, a 30% reduction is huge but is only for "core basket" items. Produce, meat, milk, eggs, bread, cereal, rice etc. It seems the stores will carry everything else a normal supermarket sells at market value. This is going to be quite a tricky operation.

If these stores are selling items at a 30% discount, I don't know how they are going to keep up with demand. I would expect the shelves to be emptied pretty quickly. It will be like Walmart on Black Friday everyday!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Yep. My crystal ball prediction is that the subsidized (30% is huge!) grocery store is going to knock the privately held grocery stores out of business, and soon after the government owned store is going to die soon after, due to incompetent management and/or lack of government financial support when the well finally runs dry. Then its, "Hellooooo 7-11 and Fast Food!" for all their nutritional needs.

Yes, a 30% reduction is huge but is only for "core basket" items. Produce, meat, milk, eggs, bread, cereal, rice etc. It seems the stores will carry everything else a normal supermarket sells at market value. This is going to be quite a tricky operation.

If these stores are selling items at a 30% discount, I don't know how they are going to keep up with demand. I would expect the shelves to be emptied pretty quickly. It will be like Walmart on Black Friday everyday!

I imagine it'll change to an "up to" discount. The price isn't really the issue, however.

It is access, as the whole point is being able to provide access to groceries in areas underserved by grocery stores. Having one per borough seems off as boroughs are rather large for people that have to walk to a grocery store.