My money’s on this. But: tldr; if city workers know he’s trying to do good, and find out old money is fucking with him, his support will strengthen in a way we’ve not seen in a long time.
So, having worked for the city years ago, I also know it’s a system full of people he was directly talking to with affordability. They’re on-board with him, if he starts delivering the goods in a public way. Ways to get good food for cheap for everyone, raising wages, getting a cap on crime and helping the homeless. That’s all people want.
With that in mind, if it is revealed that even a couple of billionaires is working to trash those efforts in a coordinated manner, suddenly the people of NYC have both a guy trying to do right by them, and a powerful enemy to rally against. There aren’t enough cops to deal with people dropping bricks off rooftops, every street becomes a potential ‘interaction’… think a version of “the warriors”, but it’s regular folks vs the recognized billionaires. Heh, one can dream, anyway.
What’ll happen, ultimately? I dunno. But the ingredients for something special are in place.
You’ve eloquently captured why I, a random chick who is on the other side of the world, is super excited by Mamdani’s win. It might not end up amounting to much, but there’s real cause for hope.
In my country (the UK), Labour (the largest party by far) keep pandering to the right in a manner that is just yielding more of the discursive battleground to the right wing bigotry of the Reform party, and it drives me mad to see them shoot themselves in the foot like this. It reminds me of how in the 2010 election, Labour presented themselves as pro-austerity, but not as severely as the Tories. By accepting the Tories’ premise that austerity was good and necessary for reducing the deficit (and that eliminating the deficit was necessary for the UK’s economic wellness), Labour simultaneously disappointed people who wanted an alternative to austerity, and weren’t appealing to people who were pro austerity (why vote for Tory-lite, when you can just vote Tory instead?). Now they’re doing the same with immigration rhetoric instead of investing in our systems. Most people aren’t actually pissed off at immigrants, but at the fact that it’s increasingly difficult for normal people to afford basic living costs. The best antidote to fascism are policies that speak to the way that people are suffering.
Mamdani’s campaign (and his subsequent victory) showed that he understands this, and it could set a precedent for places far beyond the US. I’m tentatively hopeful.
My money’s on this. But: tldr; if city workers know he’s trying to do good, and find out old money is fucking with him, his support will strengthen in a way we’ve not seen in a long time.
So, having worked for the city years ago, I also know it’s a system full of people he was directly talking to with affordability. They’re on-board with him, if he starts delivering the goods in a public way. Ways to get good food for cheap for everyone, raising wages, getting a cap on crime and helping the homeless. That’s all people want.
With that in mind, if it is revealed that even a couple of billionaires is working to trash those efforts in a coordinated manner, suddenly the people of NYC have both a guy trying to do right by them, and a powerful enemy to rally against. There aren’t enough cops to deal with people dropping bricks off rooftops, every street becomes a potential ‘interaction’… think a version of “the warriors”, but it’s regular folks vs the recognized billionaires. Heh, one can dream, anyway.
What’ll happen, ultimately? I dunno. But the ingredients for something special are in place.
You’ve eloquently captured why I, a random chick who is on the other side of the world, is super excited by Mamdani’s win. It might not end up amounting to much, but there’s real cause for hope.
In my country (the UK), Labour (the largest party by far) keep pandering to the right in a manner that is just yielding more of the discursive battleground to the right wing bigotry of the Reform party, and it drives me mad to see them shoot themselves in the foot like this. It reminds me of how in the 2010 election, Labour presented themselves as pro-austerity, but not as severely as the Tories. By accepting the Tories’ premise that austerity was good and necessary for reducing the deficit (and that eliminating the deficit was necessary for the UK’s economic wellness), Labour simultaneously disappointed people who wanted an alternative to austerity, and weren’t appealing to people who were pro austerity (why vote for Tory-lite, when you can just vote Tory instead?). Now they’re doing the same with immigration rhetoric instead of investing in our systems. Most people aren’t actually pissed off at immigrants, but at the fact that it’s increasingly difficult for normal people to afford basic living costs. The best antidote to fascism are policies that speak to the way that people are suffering.
Mamdani’s campaign (and his subsequent victory) showed that he understands this, and it could set a precedent for places far beyond the US. I’m tentatively hopeful.
Bingo