thenation--2020-10-08--Captive of the Caucasus: The Long War Over Nagorno-Karabakh

erevan , In his 1973 essay “ Approaches to What ?
” the French novelist Georges Perec made reference to the “ infra-ordinary ” by which he meant the banal routines of the everyday .
He suggested we reorient our gaze from the exotic to what he called the “ endotic ” ; turn away from headlines and embrace the granular beauty of the ordinary .
“ Question your tea spoons , ” he urged .
Perec ’ s essay may be read as an ode to peace because in order to be capable of paying attention to the footnotes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a certain level of quiet and security .
For Armenians , that calm was shattered on September 27 , when Azerbaijan declared war on Nagorno-Karabakh , a mountainous , Armenian-populated enclave that was cheated out of statehood and put into the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan thanks to the Bolshevik divide-and-rule policy and the machinations of the Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party ’ s Central Committee .
The Caucasian Bureau conveniently ignored the fact that Armenians had long been an overwhelming majority in the enclave both during Russia ’ s czarist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when the region was under Persian rule .
Armenian presence in the enclave dates back centuries .
The Amaras monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh , ( Artsakh to Armenians ) is where the theologian and linguist Mesrop Mashtots founded the first-ever Armenian school that used his alphabet in the fifth century .
The print shop in the strategic stronghold of Shushi was opened by Swiss missionaries in 1827 .
On the eve of the Russian Revolution , Shushi was home to 21 newspapers and journals—of which 19 were in Armenian and two in Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upper quarter was burned down before Azerbaijan joined the Soviet Union .
In 1886 , Armenians made up 85 percent of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh compared to 14 percent for Tatars , and by 1921 , they represented 94.4 percent of the population , based on 19th century Transcaucasian family lists and official Soviet census data .
During peaceful times , the two ethnic groups were more deferential .
According to the 1979 Soviet census , which was the last one taken before the conflict , 37,000 ethnic Azeris , or 23 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the enclave .
It was only in Shushi where Armenians were a minority at the Soviet Union ’ s collapse .
Today , the enclave ’ s citizens are the target of cluster bombs banned under international humanitarian law .
Demographics aside , the current war represents a head-on collision between democratic values , as represented by Armenia ’ s prime minster , Nikol Pashinyan , and tyrannical ones , as exalted by Ilham Aliyev , who has presided over Azerbaijan for the past 17 years .
The autocratic leader took over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who was in power for a decade right before him .
So far , the media and the international community have only made passing reference to this ideological divide .
Yet the nature of Aliyev ’ s despotic leadership is crucial to understanding why Azerbaijan is currently attempting to “ liberate ” by force an enclave that was historically Armenian .
In 2012 , Aliyev was named “ person of the year ” by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project ( OCCRP ) , a nonpartisan global network of investigative journalists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kelmendi was a runner-up and received honorable mention .
This struggle between open societies and hermetically closed ones has also been ignored by Azerbaijan ’ s arms suppliers and de facto allies such as Israel—whose suicide drones now fly over the region targeting the fledgling democracy of Artsakh , and by extension , Armenia .
It is painful to see the Jewish state , whose citizens share a common history of genocidal attacks with Armenians , selling advanced arms to the Aliyev regime .
Surely , matters of realpolitik are not the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war has drawn in another regional power in open support of Azerbaijan .
In a reckless gambit to project its power to the east , Turkey has supplied Azerbaijan with jihadi mercenaries .
Armenians are understandably rattled by this revelation—especially coming just a century after Turkish authorities tried to annihilate them in the first genocide of the 20th century .
Meanwhile , Russia , a supplier of weapons to both sides , sits on the sidelines , calling for de-escalation together with France and the United States .
This is not the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggle against difficult neighbors .
In the aftermath of Turkish genocide , they forged a short-lived democratic republic in 1918 , and in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union .
For almost 65 years , there was no large-scale hostility between Azeris and Armenians .
The dissolution of the Soviet Union changed that , when the autonomous administrative region of Nagorno-Karabakh ( it was recognized as autonomous ) strove to join Armenia , and then fought for self-determination .
This desire for independent statehood , not unlike modern-day Kosovo ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violent antecedents .
In his book , The Caucasus , journalist Thomas de Waal documents a pogrom in February of 1988 against the Armenian population of Sumgait , an industrial city on the Caspian Sea located 19 miles from Baku , the capital of Azerbaijan .
At the time , Sumgait had a population of more than 220,000 of which 17,000 were Armenians .
None are left today .
What were the events that led to the pogrom ?
On February 20 , 1988 , tens of thousands of Armenians gathered in Stepanakert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Nagorno-Karabakh to demand that the region join Armenia .
On that same day , the Supreme Soviet of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to join the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic .
The move was staunchly opposed by Azerbaijani authorities and condemned by state-run Soviet media .
This began “ the slow descent into violent conflict , ” writes de Waal .
The Sumgait massacre began a week after the council vote .
“ Roving gangs committed acts of horrific savagery.
” Many who organized or participated in the bloodshed went on to serve in positions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to United States congressional records .
In the days leading to the massacre , Hidayat Orujev , a Communist Party leader , warned : “ If you do not stop campaigning for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia , if you don ’ t sober up , 100,000 Azeris from neighboring districts will break into your houses , torch your apartments , rape your women , and kill your children.
” In a tragic twist worthy of a Kafka short story , Orujev went on to serve as Azerbaijan ’ s state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on , as head of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations .
The pogrom led to wider reprisals against Azerbaijan ’ s Armenian minority .
Sumgait was followed by ethnic targeting in Kirovabad , today ’ s Ganja , and , the 1990 Baku pogrom .
Haunting stories of murder spread through a kind of samizdat among Armenian quarters .
A war of liberation followed in the enclave and became increasingly violent .
Atrocities were committed on both sides .
One of the gravest was the Khojali massacre of 1992 by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 200 Azeri civilians were killed .
After Armenian forces won the war , and captured seven districts around the enclave , a cease-fire was signed in 1994 creating one of the many frozen conflicts in the South Caucasus .
And while the enclave is still not recognized as an independent country , there is some legal precedent for recognition .
In 2010 , the International Court of Justice , the highest United Nations court , delivered its opinion on whether Kosovo ’ s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 was legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4 , the court declared that the adoption of the declaration of independence “ did not violate general international law.
” Today , 116 countries recognize Kosovo , allowing Kosovars to turn from war to the daily routines of life .
And that is how it should be .
In his essay , “ Approaches to What ?
, ” Perec urged the newspapers of the day to give up their obsession with sensational stories—volcanoes , car crashes , fires , and deaths—to focus on the poetry of the everyday .
There is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the war in the Caucasus : Peace is possible only when both sides acknowledge the other ’ s right to the everyday .
Yet in the on-again , off-again negotiations under the OSCE Minsk Group that have lurched to nowhere and back , Aliyev has always refused to listen to the central participants in the conflict—the Armenian majority population of Artsakh .
The citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh never voted to be the subjects of his despotic rule , nor his persecution .
They were never part of an independent Azerbaijan .
They are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the right to celebrate the everyday .

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Y erevan, A rmenia—In his 1973 essay “Approaches to What?,” the French novelist Georges Perec made reference to the “infra-ordinary,” by which he meant the banal routines of the everyday. He suggested we reorient our gaze from the exotic to what he called the “endotic”; turn away from headlines and embrace the granular beauty of the ordinary. “Question your teaspoons,” he urged.
Perec’s essay may be read as an ode to peace because in order to be capable of paying attention to the footnotes of the everyday, people need to have a certain level of quiet and security. For Armenians, that calm was shattered on September 27, when Azerbaijan declared war on Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous, Armenian-populated enclave that was cheated out of statehood and put into the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan thanks to the Bolshevik divide-and-rule policy and the machinations of the Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party’s Central Committee.
The Caucasian Bureau conveniently ignored the fact that Armenians had long been an overwhelming majority in the enclave both during Russia’s czarist era, and even prior to that, when the region was under Persian rule. Armenian presence in the enclave dates back centuries. The Amaras monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh to Armenians) is where the theologian and linguist Mesrop Mashtots founded the first-ever Armenian school that used his alphabet in the fifth century. The print shop in the strategic stronghold of Shushi was opened by Swiss missionaries in 1827.
On the eve of the Russian Revolution, Shushi was home to 21 newspapers and journals—of which 19 were in Armenian and two in Russian. Shushi’s more affluent Armenian upper quarter was burned down before Azerbaijan joined the Soviet Union. In 1886, Armenians made up 85 percent of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh compared to 14 percent for Tatars, and by 1921, they represented 94.4 percent of the population, based on 19th century Transcaucasian family lists and official Soviet census data. During peaceful times, the two ethnic groups were more deferential. According to the 1979 Soviet census, which was the last one taken before the conflict, 37,000 ethnic Azeris, or 23 percent of the total population, lived in the enclave. It was only in Shushi where Armenians were a minority at the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Today, the enclave’s citizens are the target of cluster bombs banned under international humanitarian law. Demographics aside, the current war represents a head-on collision between democratic values, as represented by Armenia’s prime minster, Nikol Pashinyan, and tyrannical ones, as exalted by Ilham Aliyev, who has presided over Azerbaijan for the past 17 years. The autocratic leader took over the presidency from his father, Heydar Aliyev, who was in power for a decade right before him. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
So far, the media and the international community have only made passing reference to this ideological divide. Yet the nature of Aliyev’s despotic leadership is crucial to understanding why Azerbaijan is currently attempting to “liberate” by force an enclave that was historically Armenian.
In 2012, Aliyev was named “person of the year” by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a nonpartisan global network of investigative journalists. The redoubtable Albanian drug lord Naser Kelmendi was a runner-up and received honorable mention. Current Issue View our current issue
This struggle between open societies and hermetically closed ones has also been ignored by Azerbaijan’s arms suppliers and de facto allies such as Israel—whose suicide drones now fly over the region targeting the fledgling democracy of Artsakh, and by extension, Armenia. It is painful to see the Jewish state, whose citizens share a common history of genocidal attacks with Armenians, selling advanced arms to the Aliyev regime. Surely, matters of realpolitik are not the only consideration in foreign policy.
This new war has drawn in another regional power in open support of Azerbaijan. In a reckless gambit to project its power to the east, Turkey has supplied Azerbaijan with jihadi mercenaries. Armenians are understandably rattled by this revelation—especially coming just a century after Turkish authorities tried to annihilate them in the first genocide of the 20th century. Meanwhile, Russia, a supplier of weapons to both sides, sits on the sidelines, calling for de-escalation together with France and the United States.
This is not the first time that Armenians have faced an existential struggle against difficult neighbors. In the aftermath of Turkish genocide, they forged a short-lived democratic republic in 1918, and in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union. For almost 65 years, there was no large-scale hostility between Azeris and Armenians. The dissolution of the Soviet Union changed that, when the autonomous administrative region of Nagorno-Karabakh (it was recognized as autonomous) strove to join Armenia, and then fought for self-determination.
This desire for independent statehood, not unlike modern-day Kosovo’s, has a number of other violent antecedents. In his book, The Caucasus, journalist Thomas de Waal documents a pogrom in February of 1988 against the Armenian population of Sumgait, an industrial city on the Caspian Sea located 19 miles from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. At the time, Sumgait had a population of more than 220,000, of which 17,000 were Armenians. None are left today.
What were the events that led to the pogrom? On February 20, 1988, tens of thousands of Armenians gathered in Stepanakert’s Lenin Square in the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh to demand that the region join Armenia. On that same day, the Supreme Soviet of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to join the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The move was staunchly opposed by Azerbaijani authorities and condemned by state-run Soviet media. This began “the slow descent into violent conflict,” writes de Waal. The Sumgait massacre began a week after the council vote. “Roving gangs committed acts of horrific savagery.”
Many who organized or participated in the bloodshed went on to serve in positions of consequence in the Azeri government, according to United States congressional records. In the days leading to the massacre, Hidayat Orujev, a Communist Party leader, warned, “If you do not stop campaigning for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, if you don’t sober up, 100,000 Azeris from neighboring districts will break into your houses, torch your apartments, rape your women, and kill your children.” In a tragic twist worthy of a Kafka short story, Orujev went on to serve as Azerbaijan’s state adviser for ethnic policy, and later on, as head of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations.
The pogrom led to wider reprisals against Azerbaijan’s Armenian minority. Sumgait was followed by ethnic targeting in Kirovabad, today’s Ganja, and, the 1990 Baku pogrom. Haunting stories of murder spread through a kind of samizdat among Armenian quarters. A war of liberation followed in the enclave and became increasingly violent. Atrocities were committed on both sides. One of the gravest was the Khojali massacre of 1992 by Armenian forces, in which more than 200 Azeri civilians were killed.
After Armenian forces won the war, and captured seven districts around the enclave, a cease-fire was signed in 1994, creating one of the many frozen conflicts in the South Caucasus. And while the enclave is still not recognized as an independent country, there is some legal precedent for recognition. In 2010, the International Court of Justice, the highest United Nations court, delivered its opinion on whether Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 was legal. By a vote of 10 to 4, the court declared that the adoption of the declaration of independence “did not violate general international law.”
Today, 116 countries recognize Kosovo, allowing Kosovars to turn from war to the daily routines of life. And that is how it should be. In his essay “Approaches to What?,” Perec urged the newspapers of the day to give up their obsession with sensational stories—volcanoes, car crashes, fires, and deaths—to focus on the poetry of the everyday. There is a message here that is particularly relevant to the war in the Caucasus: Peace is possible only when both sides acknowledge the other’s right to the everyday.
Yet in the on-again, off-again negotiations under the OSCE Minsk Group that have lurched to nowhere and back, Aliyev has always refused to listen to the central participants in the conflict—the Armenian majority population of Artsakh. The citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh never voted to be the subjects of his despotic rule, nor his persecution. They were never part of an independent Azerbaijan. They are just fighting for their freedom, for the right to celebrate the everyday.


thenation--2020-10-08--Kamala Harris Made It Look Easy. It Wasn’t.

I was thrilled just to see Kamala Harris on that stage with sad-sack Vice President Mike Pence .
Normally , he ’ s not supposed to be alone with any woman but his wife , whom he calls “ Mother.
” Yet he sold out his alleged Christian values to be the running mate of the thrice-married adulterer credibly accused of abusing a couple of dozen women and banging a porn star , and caught on tape bragging that he can “ grab women by the pussy , ” which we learned four long years ago yesterday .
Harris herself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her husband “ Doug.
” Her stepchildren call her “ Momala.
” On the ( almost constant ) split-screen , her face crackled with wit , with irritation , with life , while his looked like the sun side of a white barn that hasn ’ t been painted in too many seasons .
Then there was the pink eye .
Oh , and did I mention the fly ?
If you want confirmation that you ’ re at least metaphorically dead , that might be it .
Am I being mean ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve lost 210,000 Americans .
It felt so great to see eyes brimming with ideas , brows frowning with doubt , hair tossed in defiance—and that smile .
I don ’ t want to fetishize that smile—I ’ m a woman talking about a woman VP—but while Pence was prevaricating , the smile let us know there was hope .
Expectations were impossibly high for Harris Wednesday night .
The former prosecutor is witty , fast on her feet , throws memorable punches ( even at her own running mate : “ That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while Pence is a plodding Christian soldier .
I just don ’ t think anyone expected how thoroughly he would follow Trump down the toilet , and how ably she would stay with Biden , on higher ground .
That was key .
Court “ packing ” ?
Won ’ t go there .
Let ’ s be honest—she ’ s working to bring in Black women and other voters of color .
But she couldn ’ t turn on Biden , back something he doesn ’ t , or upstage him .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she can ’ t help it—and in most joint appearances and ads , he seems to expect her to .
( Meanwhile , the Biden-Harris partnership is a pandemic-perfect buddy film and I hope someone is writing the script .
I ’ m too tired . )
Harris made it all look easy .
It was not .
Pence might have had a hit of dexamethasone ; he was almost as disruptive as Trump last week , interrupting not just Harris but moderator Susan Page .
He came out swinging with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s failures in addressing the coronavirus , Harris was disrespecting those brave Americans ( who include my uncle and cousins ) who are fighting Covid .
I continue to believe the debate moderators should be able to cut the mics of candidates who talk too long .
I noticed Harris asked for permission pretty much every time she went over her time , or replied to Pence , and it broke my heart .
But it was necessary , and it worked .
We all know what I ’ m saying here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ angry black woman .
Failed Fox/NBC payday gatherer Megyn Kelly warned Harris , subtly , on Twitter : “ Take it like a woman .
Don ’ t make faces.
” I felt like I was watching a Netflix reboot about a wealthy white boarding school girl hazing someone… a little different .
Harris needed to show us she could beat Pence—and stay smiling .
She did that and more .
Four long years after the Access Hollywood tape , I think I finally saw our first female president , who also happens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indian descent .
If there ’ s a better answer to Trumpism , I can ’ t right now think of what it might be .

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I was thrilled just to see Kamala Harris on that stage with sad-sack Vice President Mike Pence. Normally, he’s not supposed to be alone with any woman but his wife, whom he calls “Mother.” Yet he sold out his alleged Christian values to be the running mate of the thrice-married adulterer credibly accused of abusing a couple of dozen women and banging a porn star, and caught on tape bragging that he can “grab women by the pussy,” which we learned four long years ago yesterday.
Harris herself had a wonderful mother; she calls her husband “Doug.” Her stepchildren call her “Momala.” On the (almost constant) split-screen, her face crackled with wit, with irritation, with life, while his looked like the sun side of a white barn that hasn’t been painted in too many seasons. Then there was the pink eye. Oh, and did I mention the fly? If you want confirmation that you’re at least metaphorically dead, that might be it.
Am I being mean? I’m sorry; we’ve lost 210,000 Americans. It felt so great to see eyes brimming with ideas, brows frowning with doubt, hair tossed in defiance—and that smile. I don’t want to fetishize that smile—I’m a woman talking about a woman VP—but while Pence was prevaricating, the smile let us know there was hope.
Expectations were impossibly high for Harris Wednesday night. The former prosecutor is witty, fast on her feet, throws memorable punches (even at her own running mate: “That little girl was me”), while Pence is a plodding Christian soldier. I just don’t think anyone expected how thoroughly he would follow Trump down the toilet, and how ably she would stay with Biden, on higher ground.
That was key. Court “packing”? Won’t go there. Let’s be honest—she’s working to bring in Black women and other voters of color. But she couldn’t turn on Biden, back something he doesn’t, or upstage him. Even though when they’re together, she can’t help it—and in most joint appearances and ads, he seems to expect her to. (Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris partnership is a pandemic-perfect buddy film and I hope someone is writing the script. I’m too tired.)
Harris made it all look easy. It was not. Pence might have had a hit of dexamethasone; he was almost as disruptive as Trump last week, interrupting not just Harris but moderator Susan Page. He came out swinging with a crazy argument—that by complaining about the administration’s failures in addressing the coronavirus, Harris was disrespecting those brave Americans (who include my uncle and cousins) who are fighting Covid. I continue to believe the debate moderators should be able to cut the mics of candidates who talk too long. I noticed Harris asked for permission pretty much every time she went over her time, or replied to Pence, and it broke my heart. But it was necessary, and it worked.
We all know what I’m saying here. She couldn’t be the angry black woman. Failed Fox/NBC payday gatherer Megyn Kelly warned Harris, subtly, on Twitter: “Take it like a woman. Don’t make faces.” I felt like I was watching a Netflix reboot about a wealthy white boarding school girl hazing someone… a little different. Harris needed to show us she could beat Pence—and stay smiling. She did that and more.
Four long years after the Access Hollywood tape, I think I finally saw our first female president, who also happens to be of Black and South Asian Indian descent. If there’s a better answer to Trumpism, I can’t right now think of what it might be.


thenation--2020-10-08--Kamala Harris Put Mike Pence in His Place

After the unpleasant spectacle of Trump spewing toxic bile at Biden and the American public , yesterday ’ s vice presidential debate was almost staid—almost , but not quite .
For Mike Pence tried to get away with a less off-the-wall , less high-decibel version of Trump ’ s performance .
With the soberest of miens ( despite the destined-to-go-viral fly that sat on his head for an ungodly amount of time ) , Pence put forward one untruth after another : He claimed that Trump had only the public ’ s well-being in mind every step of the Covid-fiasco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who always listened to the science ; that America was stronger and more respected for having abandoned major international agreements such as the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accords .
But more telling than what he said was how he said it : He tried , time and again , to talk over Harris , to intimidate her into silence .
It didn ’ t work .
Pence is no Donald Trump when it comes to the ability to bulldoze anyone and everyone on a debate stage .
I don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be fair , he ’ s not remotely in the same league as Trump when it comes to vengeful , noisy narcissism .
More on the Debate Pence Looks Normal Only in Comparison to Trump Kamala Harris Made It Look Easy .
It Wasn ’ t .
Harris knew exactly how to handle the vice president ’ s half-hearted efforts to talk over her .
She simply refused to play along and go on the defensive , and she wouldn ’ t shrink back into herself .
The senator from California looked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smile , and demanded that he shut up so that she could speak .
Time and again , he tried to outtalk her ; time and again , Harris refused to give ground .
“ Mister Vice President , I ’ m speaking , ” she said at one point .
“ If you don ’ t mind letting me finish , we can then have a conversation.
” Another time , she just looked at him , as if he were a rude child , and said softly but emphatically , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaking .
I ’ m speaking , ” and then shook her head at him in a mixture of pity and sorrow , as if he needed admonishing for his lack of manners .
There are advantages to having been a prosecutor .
Harris knows how to remain in the spotlight , how to dictate the terms of a debate , and how to frame an argument in a way that ’ s easily accessible to an audience .
When Pence accused her and Biden of not being transparent on policy issues , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pivoted to Trump ’ s taxes , and the fact that he paid a mere $ 750 in federal income taxes ( in both 2016 and 2017 ) .
When Pence said that Trump was a great environmentalist and that he was “ going to continue to listen to the science , ” but then went on to hedge about whether human activity was responsible for climate change , Harris ’ s face conveyed all the incredulity that millions of viewers must have felt hearing that preposterous statement .
She didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually talking about a science skeptic , a highly contagious Covid patient who deliberately flouted public health recommendations by ostentatiously removing his mask as soon as he returned to the White House from the hospital .
Instead , in her prosecutorial response , she just clinically detailed Trump ’ s inactivity—and , worse , his maliciousness—in the face of both Covid and climate change , which she noted is an “ existential threat ” to humanity .
All that said , Harris ’ s performance wasn ’ t flawless .
I would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against the entire Trump team for their sadistic acts against immigrants ; I ’ d have liked her to use her legal skills to dissect Trump ’ s lawless executive orders , to denounce the irrationality of Trump ’ s tweetstorms , to explain just how criminal were the acts that led to Trump ’ s impeachment .
But , clearly , Harris ’ s job Wednesday night was to do no harm , to make sure that Biden ’ s candidacy remained in as strong a position after the debate as it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by that measure , in her caution she succeeded admirably .
Pence , by contrast , had to do more than simply rise above the astonishingly low bar set by Trump last week .
He had to do more than just come off as not frothing-at-the-mouth rabid .
True , over the 90-minute debate he managed to lay out policies without accusing his opponent of being stupid , or praising his own perceived smartness to the rafters , or insulting Senator Harris ’ s relatives .
But he didn ’ t do much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies , even if articulated in a more sober manner , still don ’ t pass the smell test .
Moreover , Pence shamefully punted on two key questions : First , he refused to say whether he ’ d discussed with an ailing Trump the circumstances in which the VP would temporarily assume presidential powers , despite the fact that a medicated Trump had spent the past 36 hours sending out dozens of manic , at times incoherent , tweets .
And then he dodged the question about whether he disagreed with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peaceful transfer of power should the Trump-Pence ticket lose .
For a nation already on edge , that was the wrong way to answer what should have been softball questions .

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After the unpleasant spectacle of Trump spewing toxic bile at Biden and the American public, yesterday’s vice presidential debate was almost staid—almost, but not quite.
For Mike Pence tried to get away with a less off-the-wall, less high-decibel version of Trump’s performance.
With the soberest of miens (despite the destined-to-go-viral fly that sat on his head for an ungodly amount of time), Pence put forward one untruth after another: He claimed that Trump had only the public’s well-being in mind every step of the Covid-fiasco way; that Trump was an environmentalist who always listened to the science; that America was stronger and more respected for having abandoned major international agreements such as the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accords. But more telling than what he said was how he said it: He tried, time and again, to talk over Harris, to intimidate her into silence.
It didn’t work. Pence is no Donald Trump when it comes to the ability to bulldoze anyone and everyone on a debate stage. I don’t like his politics, but, to be fair, he’s not remotely in the same league as Trump when it comes to vengeful, noisy narcissism. More on the Debate Kamala Harris Called Out Covid Lies and Guilty Men John Nichols Pence Looks Normal Only in Comparison to Trump Jeet Heer Kamala Harris Made It Look Easy. It Wasn’t. Joan Walsh
Harris knew exactly how to handle the vice president’s half-hearted efforts to talk over her. She simply refused to play along and go on the defensive, and she wouldn’t shrink back into herself. The senator from California looked at him, smiled a deliberately icy smile, and demanded that he shut up so that she could speak. Time and again, he tried to outtalk her; time and again, Harris refused to give ground. “Mister Vice President, I’m speaking,” she said at one point. “If you don’t mind letting me finish, we can then have a conversation.” Another time, she just looked at him, as if he were a rude child, and said softly but emphatically, “Mister Vice President, I’m speaking. I’m speaking,” and then shook her head at him in a mixture of pity and sorrow, as if he needed admonishing for his lack of manners.
There are advantages to having been a prosecutor. Harris knows how to remain in the spotlight, how to dictate the terms of a debate, and how to frame an argument in a way that’s easily accessible to an audience. When Pence accused her and Biden of not being transparent on policy issues, she laughed dismissively, and then quickly pivoted to Trump’s taxes, and the fact that he paid a mere $750 in federal income taxes (in both 2016 and 2017).
When Pence said that Trump was a great environmentalist and that he was “going to continue to listen to the science,” but then went on to hedge about whether human activity was responsible for climate change, Harris’s face conveyed all the incredulity that millions of viewers must have felt hearing that preposterous statement. She didn’t need to remind viewers that Pence was actually talking about a science skeptic, a highly contagious Covid patient who deliberately flouted public health recommendations by ostentatiously removing his mask as soon as he returned to the White House from the hospital. Instead, in her prosecutorial response, she just clinically detailed Trump’s inactivity—and, worse, his maliciousness—in the face of both Covid and climate change, which she noted is an “existential threat” to humanity. Current Issue View our current issue
All that said, Harris’s performance wasn’t flawless. I would have liked her to lay out an indictment against the entire Trump team for their sadistic acts against immigrants; I’d have liked her to use her legal skills to dissect Trump’s lawless executive orders, to denounce the irrationality of Trump’s tweetstorms, to explain just how criminal were the acts that led to Trump’s impeachment.
But, clearly, Harris’s job Wednesday night was to do no harm, to make sure that Biden’s candidacy remained in as strong a position after the debate as it was going into the debate. And by that measure, in her caution she succeeded admirably.
Pence, by contrast, had to do more than simply rise above the astonishingly low bar set by Trump last week. He had to do more than just come off as not frothing-at-the-mouth rabid. True, over the 90-minute debate he managed to lay out policies without accusing his opponent of being stupid, or praising his own perceived smartness to the rafters, or insulting Senator Harris’s relatives. But he didn’t do much to counter the widespread impression that those policies, even if articulated in a more sober manner, still don’t pass the smell test.
Moreover, Pence shamefully punted on two key questions: First, he refused to say whether he’d discussed with an ailing Trump the circumstances in which the VP would temporarily assume presidential powers, despite the fact that a medicated Trump had spent the past 36 hours sending out dozens of manic, at times incoherent, tweets. And then he dodged the question about whether he disagreed with Trump regarding giving out guarantees for a peaceful transfer of power should the Trump-Pence ticket lose.
For a nation already on edge, that was the wrong way to answer what should have been softball questions.


thenation--2020-10-09--Not a Single Instance of Voter Fraud

Not a Single Instance of Voter Fraud

Lawyers for President Trump ’ s reelection campaign and the Republican Party are pulling out all the stops to make it hard to vote this fall .
They ’ ve pinned their case on the fantasy that voting by mail—a safe approach to casting ballots in the midst of a pandemic—will lead to widespread voter fraud .
Unfortunately for these legal humbugs , the facts keep catching up with them .
That ’ s what has happened in Montana , where , this week , ballots are being mailed to hundreds of thousands of registered voters after a federal judge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s voter-fraud storyline is “ a fiction.
” That ’ s not just one jurist ’ s opinion ; on Thursday , the US Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal by Republican lawyers to reverse it .
At a point when the president and his minions have been working in states across the country to upend voting by mail , Montana is sending a clear signal that has national consequences—legally and politically .
“ The Court ’ s decision is the first in the country that follows a full trial on efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the office of Montana Governor Steve Bullock .
“ The Court rejected all of the claims against Montana ’ s early voting and mail ballot option.
” Republicans have been desperate to rig Montana ’ s voting to favor embattled Republican Senator Steve Daines .
A cipher of a senator , Daines is best known for silencing Senator Elizabeth Warren during a debate on Trump ’ s nomination of Jeff Sessions for Attorney General .
Before Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joined in with his infamous announcement— “ She was warned .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she persisted… ” —it was Daines , sitting as the presiding chair of the Senate , who interrupted Warren ’ s reading of a letter Coretta Scott King had written about Sessions .
That interruption set in motion a process that would eventually see Daines prevent Warren from completing her speech with a curt declaration from the chair that “ The senator will take her seat.
” Biden Needs to Stop Talking Down Bernie Sanders and Medicare for All Daines is now locked in a tight reelection race with Bullock , a popular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If Bullock beats Daines , there ’ s a real prospect that Democrats could flip the Senate and oust McConnell as majority leader .
That ’ s made Montana a mission-critical state for the Republican voter suppression machine .
The GOP ’ s legal strategy in Montana—as in a number of other states that have seen pre-election litigation—embraced Trump ’ s debunked critique of mail voting and sought to upend the process by blocking the vast majority of Montana counties from using the US Postal Service to conduct this fall ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to voter safety posed by the coronavirus pandemic , Montana ’ s 56 counties conducted the state ’ s June primary by mail .
And , as it became clear that Covid-19 remained a threat , Bullock issued an August emergency declaration that suspended a state law that prevented fall general elections from being conducted on an all-mail basis .
The governor ’ s move drew an immediate response from the GOP .
The president ’ s reelection campaign , the National Republican Senatorial Committee , the Republican National Committee , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to block voting by mail .
The Republican Speaker of the Montana House and the Republican President of the Montana Senate joined in , as did county parties and candidates .
High-powered lawyers associated with out-of-state law firms assembled to press the party ’ s case .
When they got in front of the judge , however , everything fell apart .
Asked to provide evidence of voter fraud in Montana , the Republicans had nothing , and US District Judge Dana Christensen rejected their complaint .
“ When pressed during the hearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ compelled to concede that they can not point to a single instance of voter fraud in Montana in any election during the last 20 years , ” wrote the federal judge , who noted , “ Importantly , Montana ’ s use of mail ballots during the recent primary election did not give rise to a single report of voter fraud.
” So this week , the 45 Montana counties that have chosen to go with voting by mail will dispatch ballots to registered voters .
Despite the president ’ s lies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the court ’ s ruling has enabled Montana to hold an election where votes can be cast safely , says Bullock , who argues , “ There is nothing more sacred in our democracy than the right to vote , and no duty of government more important than to keep its citizens safe .
”

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Lawyers for President Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican Party are pulling out all the stops to make it hard to vote this fall. They’ve pinned their case on the fantasy that voting by mail—a safe approach to casting ballots in the midst of a pandemic—will lead to widespread voter fraud.
Unfortunately for these legal humbugs, the facts keep catching up with them. That’s what has happened in Montana, where, this week, ballots are being mailed to hundreds of thousands of registered voters after a federal judge issued a groundbreaking decision that the GOP’s voter-fraud story line is “a fiction.” That’s not just one jurist’s opinion; on Thursday, the US Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal by Republican lawyers to reverse it.
At a point when the president and his minions have been working in states across the country to upend voting by mail, Montana is sending a clear signal that has national consequences—legally and politically. “The Court’s decision is the first in the country that follows a full trial on efforts to undermine mail ballots,” notes the office of Montana Governor Steve Bullock. “The Court rejected all of the claims against Montana’s early voting and mail ballot option.”
Republicans have been desperate to rig Montana’s voting to favor embattled Republican Senator Steve Daines. A cipher of a senator, Daines is best known for silencing Senator Elizabeth Warren during a debate on Trump’s nomination of Jeff Sessions for attorney general. Before Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell joined in with his infamous announcement—“She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted”—it was Daines, sitting as the presiding chair of the Senate, who interrupted Warren’s reading of a letter Coretta Scott King had written about Sessions. That interruption set in motion a process that would eventually see Daines prevent Warren from completing her speech, curtly declaring from the chair, “The senator will take her seat.” More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
Daines is now locked in a tight reelection race with Bullock, a popular Democrat who has won three statewide elections. If Bullock beats Daines, there’s a real prospect that Democrats could flip the Senate and oust McConnell as majority leader. That’s made Montana a mission-critical state for the Republican voter-suppression machine. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
The GOP’s legal strategy in Montana—as in a number of other states that have seen preelection litigation—embraced Trump’s debunked critique of voting by mail and sought to upend the process by blocking the vast majority of Montana counties from using the US Postal Service to conduct this fall’s election.
In response to the threat to voter safety posed by the coronavirus pandemic, Montana’s 56 counties conducted the state’s June primary by mail. And, as it became clear that Covid-19 remained a threat, Bullock issued an August emergency declaration that suspended a state law that prevented fall general elections from being conducted on an all-mail basis. The governor’s move drew an immediate response from the GOP. The president’s reelection campaign, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Republican National Committee, and the Montana Republican State Central Committee filed suit to block voting by mail. The Republican Speaker of the Montana House and the Republican president of the Montana Senate joined in, as did county parties and candidates. High-powered lawyers associated with out-of-state law firms assembled to press the party’s case. Current Issue View our current issue
When they got in front of the judge, however, everything fell apart. Asked to provide evidence of voter fraud in Montana, the Republicans had nothing, and US District Judge Dana Christensen rejected their complaint. “When pressed during the hearing in this matter, the plaintiffs were compelled to concede that they cannot point to a single instance of voter fraud in Montana in any election during the last 20 years,” wrote the federal judge, who noted, “Importantly, Montana’s use of mail ballots during the recent primary election did not give rise to a single report of voter fraud.”
So this week, the 45 Montana counties that have chosen to go with voting by mail will dispatch ballots to registered voters.
Despite the president’s lies and the disingenuous interventions of Republican legal fantasists, the court’s ruling has enabled Montana to hold an election where votes can be cast safely, says Bullock, who argues, “There is nothing more sacred in our democracy than the right to vote, and no duty of government more important than to keep its citizens safe.”


thenation--2020-10-09--Will Deeper Segregation Be Bill de Blasio’s Legacy?

Cities across the United States are confronting this country ’ s original sin of slavery , with white liberals everywhere suddenly activated against police violence and systematic racism .
But here in supposedly progressive New York City—where Mayor Bill de Blasio personally helped paint the words “ Black Lives Matter ” on Fifth Avenue outside Trump Tower—wealthy Manhattanites on the Upper West Side are fighting to show homeless Black and Brown New Yorkers the door .
One of the writers of this piece , Corinne , is an Upper West Side mom , and a professor at The Wharton School @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The other , Shams , is a Black man experiencing homelessness , and a screenwriter and hip-hop pioneer , in recovery for alcoholism .
We met when Shams—and other homeless New Yorkers—were moved out of congregate shelters and into private rooms at hotels throughout the city , including the Upper West Side ’ s Lucerne Hotel , to slow the spread of Covid-19 .
It was sound public health policy , driven by the need for social distancing and the recognition that since tourists weren ’ t returning to New York any time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to save lives .
Almost immediately shelter residents and supporters found ourselves fighting against a 15,000-member Facebook group and a 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) calling themselves the West Side Community Organization .
Rather than welcome their new neighbors , the group raised nearly $ 150,000 to hire Randy Mastro , a top litigator and former deputy mayor in the Giuliani administration , to drive homeless men from the neighborhood .
De Blasio immediately surrendered .
Claiming he ’ d visited the Upper West Side himself and found the situation “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the men at the Lucerne would be shipped off to a soon-to-be-vacant Covid isolation hotel in the Financial District .
We don ’ t know what Mayor de Blasio saw on the Upper West Side as he passed in his motorcade , but we know that he never set foot inside the Lucerne .
He never spoke to shelter residents like Shams , who could have told him their stories .
Instead , he made a choice : to prioritize the voices of an overwhelmingly white community over the impacted people of color—who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Of course , hardly any of the white residents who agitated furiously to displace the shelter would call themselves racists , and certainly not segregationists .
And yet that will be the result .
One of Nobel Prize–winning economist Thomas Schelling ’ s most famous works was a study of how very small preferences to be with others like ourselves could lead to a fully segregated society .
We can see these preferences for sameness turning the engine of the shelter outcry and the mayor ’ s decision today .
We see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the supposed evidence of danger amounted to nothing more than pictures of Black men standing at street corners or sitting on public benches .
More on New York City N.K .
Jemisin Wrote a Sci-Fi Ode to New York City—Then It Became Reality New York ’ s City Hall Encampment Is a Middle Finger to Our Elected Leaders We see it in the fact that every single substantive objection had been addressed—from concerns about sex offenders ( there were none ) , to mobilizing substantial resources to create an offsite recreation program—and yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unabated .
And we see it in the fact that even though the West Side Community Organization publicly packaged their message as being about access to services ( when in fact Project Renewal , the nonprofit shelter operator at the Lucerne , provides all standard shelter services at the temporary location ) , their president told the Today show in a segment that aired on September 7 that “ there is no level of staff and services that they would find suitable ; they want a date for this program to end.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to displace the shelter may tell themselves they ’ re only thinking about protecting their kids , and that there are win-win solutions , but that ’ s not how segregation works .
Neighborhoods are resources .
They are jobs , community support , networks , and engines of economic opportunity .
When you exclude a group of people from a neighborhood to keep it for yourself and people who look like you , you ensure that resources stay in the hands of only those people .
You win , and those who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black and brown skin—lose .
That is why neighborhood segregation is one of the largest contributors to the racial wealth gap , which then expands the chasm in political and economic power that upholds a system of white supremacy .
While of course one temporary homeless shelter on the Upper West Side would do little to undo 400 years of systemic racism and oppression , standing against it only further cements that system in place .
The racism has been more explicit on the Facebook group that formed to oppose the temporary hotel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ thugs and repulsive trash lowlifes , ” accompanied by the demand to “ spray them with chemicals and throw them in jail.
” There have even been suggestions to kick homeless men in front of buses and spread dog feces on public benches so they could not sit there .
In this light , the mayor ’ s claim that what he saw was “ not acceptable ” became a code word—a dog whistle for those who vilified the shelter residents ; the mayor , too , interpreted Black men occupying public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Further , the mayor ’ s capitulation has created a playbook to be followed by other neighborhoods if they also want to say “ not in my backyard.
” An angry downtown Facebook group has already emerged to oppose the transfer of the Lucerne shelter residents into the Financial District community .
And then there are the actual human beings caught in the middle .
Substance-abuse recovery requires stability .
Individuals experiencing trauma and mental illness need to know they are accepted as they are .
Our joint work—recognized by the Coalition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a model for how communities and shelters can work together , providing vital material , moral , and spiritual support to shelter residents .
The mayor seeks to undo all of this , not caring about the human toll his callousness will take , and completely abandoning his campaign promises to build a city that works for all New Yorkers .
Forcing the displacement of traumatized Black men ( the third—and for some a fourth—such move since the pandemic began ) to preserve white comfort is not just an abdication of the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in need ; it is a re-victimization of these most vulnerable New Yorkers .
Processing the news that Lucerne residents would be transferred , after we had built such strong friendships in our shared fight against the move , Shams sent Corinne a text saying , “ Moving around is normal , but being cut off from a lifeline of love is like a death sentence .
The Mayor has sentenced us to a spiritual and moral , if not physical , death .
”

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Cities across the United States are confronting this country’s original sin of slavery, with white liberals everywhere suddenly activated against police violence and systematic racism. But here in supposedly progressive New York City—where Mayor Bill de Blasio personally helped paint the words “Black Lives Matter” on Fifth Avenue outside Trump Tower—wealthy Manhattanites on the Upper West Side are fighting to show homeless Black and brown New Yorkers the door.
One of the writers of this piece, Corinne, is an Upper West Side mom and a professor at the Wharton School who studies the economics of discrimination. The other, Shams, is a Black man experiencing homelessness and a screenwriter and hip-hop pioneer, in recovery from alcoholism. We met when Shams—and other homeless New Yorkers—were moved out of congregate shelters and into private rooms at hotels throughout the city, including the Upper West Side’s Lucerne Hotel, to slow the spread of Covid-19. It was sound public health policy, driven by the need for social distancing and the recognition that since tourists weren’t returning to New York anytime soon, vacant hotels could be used to save lives. Almost immediately, shelter residents and supporters found ourselves fighting against a 15,000-member Facebook group and a 501(c)(4) calling itself the West Side Community Organization. Rather than welcome their new neighbors, the group raised nearly $150,000 to hire Randy Mastro, a top litigator and former deputy mayor in the Giuliani administration, to drive homeless men from the neighborhood.
De Blasio immediately surrendered. Claiming he’d visited the Upper West Side himself and found the situation “not acceptable,” he announced that the men at the Lucerne would be shipped off to a soon-to-be-vacant Covid isolation hotel in the Financial District. We don’t know what Mayor de Blasio saw on the Upper West Side as he passed in his motorcade, but we know that he never set foot inside the Lucerne. He never spoke to shelter residents like Shams, who could have told him their stories. Instead, he made a choice: to prioritize the voices of an overwhelmingly white community over the impacted people of color—who make up 90 percent of shelter residents.
Of course, hardly any of the white residents who agitated furiously to displace the shelter would call themselves racists, and certainly not segregationists. And yet that will be the result. One of Nobel Prize–winning economist Thomas Schelling’s most famous works was a study of how very small preferences to be with others like ourselves could lead to a fully segregated society. We can see these preferences for sameness turning the engine of the shelter outcry and the mayor’s decision today. We see it in the fact that some of the supposed evidence of danger amounted to nothing more than pictures of Black men standing at street corners or sitting on public benches. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann More on New York City N.K. Jemisin Wrote a Sci-Fi Ode to New York City—Then It Became Reality Jessica Suriano New York’s City Hall Encampment Is a Middle Finger to Our Elected Leaders Chris Gelardi
We see it in the fact that every single substantive objection had been addressed—from concerns about sex offenders (there were none), to mobilizing substantial resources to create an offsite recreation program—and yet the demands to transfer Lucerne residents persisted unabated. And we see it in the fact that even though the West Side Community Organization publicly packaged its message as being about access to services (when in fact Project Renewal, the nonprofit shelter operator at the Lucerne, provides all standard shelter services at the temporary location), its president told the Today show in a segment that aired on September 7 that “there is no level of staff and services that they would find suitable; they want a date for this program to end.”
The “nice white parents” agitating to displace the shelter may tell themselves they’re only thinking about protecting their kids, and that there are win-win solutions, but that’s not how segregation works. Neighborhoods are resources. They are jobs, community support, networks, and engines of economic opportunity. When you exclude a group of people from a neighborhood to keep it for yourself and people who look like you, you ensure that resources stay in the hands of only those people. You win, and those who don’t look like you—those with black and brown skin—lose. That is why neighborhood segregation is one of the largest contributors to the racial wealth gap, which then expands the chasm in political and economic power that upholds a system of white supremacy. While, of course, one temporary homeless shelter on the Upper West Side would do little to undo 400 years of systemic racism and oppression, standing against it only further cements that system in place.
The racism has been more explicit on the Facebook group that formed to oppose the temporary hotel shelters. Shelter residents have been called “thugs and repulsive trash lowlifes,” epithets accompanied by the demand to “spray them with chemicals and throw them in jail.” There have even been suggestions to kick homeless men in front of buses and spread dog feces on public benches so they could not sit there. Current Issue View our current issue
In this light, the mayor’s claim that what he saw was “not acceptable” became a code word—a dog whistle to those who vilified the shelter residents; the mayor, too, saw Black men occupying public space as a threat to public safety. Further, the mayor’s capitulation has created a playbook to be followed by other neighborhoods if they also want to say “not in my backyard.” An angry downtown Facebook group has already emerged to oppose the transfer of the Lucerne shelter residents into the Financial District community.
And then there are the actual human beings caught in the middle. Substance-abuse recovery requires stability. Individuals experiencing trauma and mental illness need to know they are accepted as they are. Our joint work—recognized by the Coalition for the Homeless—was providing just that: a model for how communities and shelters can work together, providing vital material, moral, and spiritual support to shelter residents. The mayor seeks to undo all of this, not caring about the human toll his callousness will take, and completely abandoning his campaign promises to build a city that works for all New Yorkers. Forcing the displacement of traumatized Black men (the third—and for some, a fourth—such move since the pandemic began) to preserve white comfort is not just an abdication of the city’s responsibility to care for those in need; it is a re-victimization of these most vulnerable New Yorkers.
Processing the news that Lucerne residents would be transferred, after we had built such strong friendships in our shared fight against the move, Shams sent Corinne a text saying, “Moving around is normal, but being cut off from a lifeline of love is like a death sentence. The Mayor has sentenced us to a spiritual and moral, if not physical, death.”
RIP to de Blasio’s “progressive” legacy.


thenation--2020-10-09--How to Date a Racist

How to Date a Racist

Whitedate.net looks innocuous at first : Its home page could be cribbed from Ashley Madison , or FarmersOnly , or any number of niche dating sites .
A stock-photo , glossy-lipped blonde smiles into her beau ’ s suited shoulder , lowering her lashes demurely ; a slogan reads , “ We know where we come from , where we belong , and wish to share the feeling with like-minded partners.
” Beside a pink and purple heart , the words “ for European Singles ” hint at WhiteDate ’ s purpose : to connect white supremacists seeking to preserve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ love and procreative nookie.1 Adapted from Culture Warlords : My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy by Talia Lavin .
Copyright © 2020 .
Available from Hachette Books , an imprint of Hachette Book Group , Inc .
The landing page , adorned with stylish white couples , coyly advertises its commitment to an anachronistic , ossified view of gender : “ We follow classic roles where strong men take the lead and graceful women play the game .
Wisely.
” 2 As a mouthy , Jewish , anti-racist feminist with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experienced the violent rhetoric employed by white supremacists .
But the counterpoint to the degradation of women deemed to be sexually wanton and traitorous to their race is a veneration of the pure , submissive white wife—a hyper-Aryan , time-hopping combination of 1859 and 1950 .
I had seen the harassment firsthand , but the machinery of Aryan courtship was closed to me.3 The site was created in 2017 and cofounded by “ Liv Heide , ” who claims to be a woman from northern Germany living in Paris .
In interviews on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appear on camera , but her voice is a feminine monotone with a heavy German accent .
As she explained in the racist publication American Renaissance in 2019 , she wants to encourage “ woke white people ” to “ look at humans as animal breeders look at animals.
” 5 But the site has a profound shortage of women .
WhiteDate had an obliquely titled page called “ Mini Flyer , ” containing an astonishing strategy for attracting more women .
“ Men are vanguards and it is reflected in the ratio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” the page begins .
“ So gentlemen , don ’ t be shy and invite white ladies in real life who display trad potential.
” ( “ Trad ” is short for “ traditional ” —i.e.
, someone willing to hew to the antiquated gender roles beloved of white supremacists . )
Users are encouraged to print out a mini-flyer that reads in full : “ You look like one of us .
Join us on WhiteDate.NET .
Our survival is as important as the survival of the Siberian Tiger.
” 6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide tips on how to show women the advertisement : “ We have started to present this mini-flyer with a ‘ Hi !
’ and a smile , letting the ladies read and memorize it , then taking it back , ” they write.7 Here was a network of white supremacists itching to open up to a sympathetic woman , if one ever breached their sausage party .
What might they reveal for the chance to meet the white woman of their dreams ?
8 She was a figment of my imagination , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the whitest name I could think of .
I thought about “ Ashley ” — ” Ashleigh ” — ” Ashlee ” —but the “ lynn ” felt heavy with both consonants and promise .
I closed my eyes and thought about the ideal mate of a male Fox News viewer , then twisted her 20 degrees to the right and plopped her into the Midwest .
Blond , gun-toting , based on a farm-slash-compound just outside Anamosa , Iowa—she was a New Yorker ’ s idea of an Iowan , imbued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own urban life.10 For her image , I found a social-media account belonging to a European hunting enthusiast with long , strawberry-blond hair .
She wore camo , a girlish smile , and a long gun at her shoulder .
She had photos of herself posed against forests and wheat fields , which were anonymous in the way fields are .
I cropped the photos carefully to make sure they weren ’ t reverse-searchable on Google .
Then I set out to seduce some bigots.11 On WhiteDate.net , there were thousands of men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them sent messages to ashlynn1488 .
I ’ d crafted the username from well-known neo-Nazi symbology .
Fourteen was for a white-supremacist credo called the “ 14 words , ” composed by white-nationalist terrorist David Lane : “ We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.
” Eighty-eight stood for “ Heil Hitler , ” because H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.12 There are a few leaders in the white-supremacist movement who know how to talk to the press in order to amplify their movement—ones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Those men , like Richard Spencer—dubbed the “ dapper white nationalist , ” who burst onto the media scene in 2016—know how to spin credulous reporters into printing their claims about wanting a “ peaceful ethnostate.
” Spokespeople pick their words carefully , and I couldn ’ t help but feel that these smooth talkers had obscured the violence at the heart of white-supremacist organizations .
I wanted to hear from the ordinary men drawn to a whites-only dating site—who would never , ever encounter someone like me without subterfuge.13 Their approaches were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be seeking a white woman to put on a pedestal , though they also wanted to own “ their woman.
” ( “ Rather than spending hours in a car chasing a paycheck , my woman would rather be with me , ” explained one man in his profile . )
14 “ GeneticMessiah , ” who admitted that he was “ a little overweight but working on losing it , ” wrote to Ashlynn , “ I wish you the best of luck finding a white husband to have kids with .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gun ?
” 15 The men came from across the country .
One was even from the hippy-dippy college town of New Paltz , N.Y .
The geographic variation of my paramours was a powerful argument against any notion that white supremacy is confined to red states ; if anything , the New Yorkers and Californians , feeling themselves to be warriors of a valiant counterculture , were even more vociferous in their hatreds.16 Most of the avatars on WhiteDate were simply photos of white men .
White men with beards or without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bespectacled or green-eyed or brown-eyed or blue-eyed .
It was like selecting a swatch for a white wall : ivory , alabaster , eggshell , bone , porcelain.17 They were hiding in plain sight , these whiteness-loving men , working in warehouses and on farms , on army bases and construction sites ; a large number were software developers .
The variation in the jobs they claimed to have , likewise , argued against the idea that extremists are unemployed , or incompetent , or lurking in their mothers ’ basements.18 Many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Jean-François Gariépy as the forces that led them to join the white-supremacist movement ; others mentioned divorces—so many divorced men—or the 2016 election .
“ We have been lied to about everything , from our origins to the people who fight for us today , ” wrote “ John , ” a long-haired North Carolinian with a passion for blacksmithing .
“ Needless to say , my slide down the pipeline happened very fast.
” 19 Most euphemistically called themselves “ red-pilled ” or “ race realists , ” but one man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t mind getting called racist , because that is just some made up word by the false prophet MLK .
To me , it just means that I think black people are annoying and I don ’ t want to be around them and if that makes me ‘ racist ’ then so be it.
” 20 When my suitors wrote to me , they wrote about their cats , about their love of Xbox gaming , about gas prices .
They wrote a lot about guns .
And just as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maintain the purity of whiteness and the white children they hoped I or some other willing woman would bear them.21 How to Be an Antifascist From Your Couch Bari Weiss ’ s ‘ How to Fight Anti-Semitism ’ Is Just a Frustrating , Book-Length Op-Ed The Boundaries of Whiteness Are Protected With Blood and Bullets “ I used to work out and [ sic ] lot and am getting back into it ; I love watching—mostly 80s—movies at home ; I like socialising at the pub but mainly because I don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suitor , named “ Marty.
” “ And by the way you became the most beautiful woman in the world when you said ‘ kikes.
’ ” 22 That was me .
The most beautiful , kike-deploring woman in the world.23 Here ’ s the truth that emerged for me : The worst people are still people ; their humanity is impossible to disregard , but it does not absolve them .
If anything , it makes their choices more abhorrent , surrounded , as they are , by the banality of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a self-described Nazi eats dinner .
( “ I eat only beef and eggs with bouts of pineapples from a can .
But on dates , I expand that diet so as to not be ‘ weird , ’ ” explained “ Karamazov , ” candidly . )
24 Eventually , I asked them to write love letters .
Since they viewed themselves as romantics—heirs to a noble European heritage—I thought this would be a way to find out what they wanted .
I asked them a simple question , tantalizingly phrased : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letter to your future white wife , what would it be like ?
” 25 The results were like a car crash between Nicholas Sparks and Mein Kampf:26 I was really happy to hear back from you and to receive the photo that you sent .
It ’ s real pretty .
I will tell you that you have quite a nice figure to my liking .
It also reminds me of where I lived in Iowa .
It ’ s nice to see fields and trees and hills and things where everything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve just got basically desert and then the giant mountains scattered about.28 To answer your question , well I ’ d have to think about that .
It ’ s kind of hard to imagine being married at last , I think it would be an incredible feeling to be finally married .
Well , are you looking to get married ?
I think for me I am because well there is only so much dating to be done in life .
It would just be nice to live with a great woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially one that is a race realist , because I want my wife to teach our kids to keep away from the darkies and to marry white people when they grow up , because that is the how [ sic ] we continue our way of life , and to teach them about the ethnostate that our people will someday create.29 When I look at the picture you sent I think to myself in my mind that I would like to just walk up to you and give you a big hug , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bit and twirl you around .
And I would like to see the look in your eyes and gaze upon your face and then I imagine kissing you right there in that field .
Maybe we could go for a walk and just talk about life and things and really get to know each other quite well .
That would be real nice I think.30 There are more , of course—love letters to the fertile white women of the world .
These letters laid out how the fantasies about offspring , about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embodied , for these men , in the wombs of white women .
Their laudatory words of romance were inextricable from their desire for racial segregation and ethnic cleansing .
They wanted an inferior partner , a submissive woman to love—and one who would keep their children from Marxists , Jews , and “ darkies.
” Their visions of love were tied to their hatred of the modern woman .
Misogyny is a natural outcome of indoctrination into white supremacy , which sees women purely as vessels for breeding.31

This article appears in the November 2/9, 2020 issue.
Whitedate.net looks innocuous at first: Its home page could be cribbed from Ashley Madison, or FarmersOnly, or any number of niche dating sites. A stock-photo, glossy-lipped blonde smiles into her beau’s suited shoulder, lowering her lashes demurely; a slogan reads, “We know where we come from, where we belong, and wish to share the feeling with like-minded partners.” Beside a pink and purple heart, the words “for European Singles” hint at WhiteDate’s purpose: to connect white supremacists seeking to preserve the future of the white race through love and procreative nookie.1 Adapted from Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy by Talia Lavin. Copyright © 2020. Available from Hachette Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The landing page, adorned with stylish white couples, coyly advertises its commitment to an anachronistic, ossified view of gender: “We follow classic roles where strong men take the lead and graceful women play the game. Wisely.”2
As a mouthy, Jewish, anti-racist feminist with a Twitter account, I’ve experienced the violent rhetoric employed by white supremacists. But the counterpoint to the degradation of women deemed to be sexually wanton and traitorous to their race is a veneration of the pure, submissive white wife—a hyper-Aryan, time-hopping combination of 1859 and 1950. I had seen the harassment firsthand, but the machinery of Aryan courtship was closed to me.3
Enter WhiteDate.4
The site was created in 2017 and cofounded by “Liv Heide,” who claims to be a woman from northern Germany living in Paris. In interviews on fascist-sympathetic YouTube channels, she does not appear on camera, but her voice is a feminine monotone with a heavy German accent. As she explained in the racist publication American Renaissance in 2019, she wants to encourage “woke white people” to “look at humans as animal breeders look at animals.”5
But the site has a profound shortage of women. WhiteDate had an obliquely titled page called “Mini Flyer,” containing an astonishing strategy for attracting more women. “Men are vanguards and it is reflected in the ratio between men and women on WhiteDate,” the page begins. “So gentlemen, don’t be shy and invite white ladies in real life who display trad potential.” (“Trad” is short for “traditional”—i.e., someone willing to hew to the antiquated gender roles beloved of white supremacists.) Users are encouraged to print out a mini-flyer that reads in full: “You look like one of us. Join us on WhiteDate.NET. Our survival is as important as the survival of the Siberian Tiger.”6
The anonymous founders of the site even provide tips on how to show women the advertisement: “We have started to present this mini-flyer with a ‘Hi!’ and a smile, letting the ladies read and memorize it, then taking it back,” they write.7 Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Current Issue View our current issue
Here was a network of white supremacists itching to open up to a sympathetic woman, if one ever breached their sausage party. What might they reveal for the chance to meet the white woman of their dreams?8
So Ashlynn was born.9
She was a figment of my imagination, everything a white supremacist could want, with the whitest name I could think of. I thought about “Ashley”—”Ashleigh”—”Ashlee”—but the “lynn” felt heavy with both consonants and promise. I closed my eyes and thought about the ideal mate of a male Fox News viewer, then twisted her 20 degrees to the right and plopped her into the Midwest. Blond, gun-toting, based on a farm-slash-compound just outside Anamosa, Iowa—she was a New Yorker’s idea of an Iowan, imbued with all the parochial narrow-mindedness of my own urban life.10
For her image, I found a social-media account belonging to a European hunting enthusiast with long, strawberry-blond hair. She wore camo, a girlish smile, and a long gun at her shoulder. She had photos of herself posed against forests and wheat fields, which were anonymous in the way fields are. I cropped the photos carefully to make sure they weren’t reverse-searchable on Google. Then I set out to seduce some bigots.11
On WhiteDate.net, there were thousands of men for the picking, and dozens of them sent messages to ashlynn1488. I’d crafted the username from well-known neo-Nazi symbology. Fourteen was for a white-supremacist credo called the “14 words,” composed by white-nationalist terrorist David Lane: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” Eighty-eight stood for “Heil Hitler,” because H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.12
There are a few leaders in the white-supremacist movement who know how to talk to the press in order to amplify their movement—ones who might even talk to me. Those men, like Richard Spencer—dubbed the “dapper white nationalist,” who burst onto the media scene in 2016—know how to spin credulous reporters into printing their claims about wanting a “peaceful ethnostate.” Spokespeople pick their words carefully, and I couldn’t help but feel that these smooth talkers had obscured the violence at the heart of white-supremacist organizations. I wanted to hear from the ordinary men drawn to a whites-only dating site—who would never, ever encounter someone like me without subterfuge.13
Their approaches were rarely overtly sexual. Users seemed to be seeking a white woman to put on a pedestal, though they also wanted to own “their woman.” (“Rather than spending hours in a car chasing a paycheck, my woman would rather be with me,” explained one man in his profile.)14
“GeneticMessiah,” who admitted that he was “a little overweight but working on losing it,” wrote to Ashlynn, “I wish you the best of luck finding a white husband to have kids with. What’s your favorite kind of gun?”15
The men came from across the country. One was even from the hippy-dippy college town of New Paltz, N.Y. The geographic variation of my paramours was a powerful argument against any notion that white supremacy is confined to red states; if anything, the New Yorkers and Californians, feeling themselves to be warriors of a valiant counterculture, were even more vociferous in their hatreds.16
Most of the avatars on WhiteDate were simply photos of white men. White men with beards or without; thin or muscular or fat; bespectacled or green-eyed or brown-eyed or blue-eyed. It was like selecting a swatch for a white wall: ivory, alabaster, eggshell, bone, porcelain.17
They were hiding in plain sight, these whiteness-loving men, working in warehouses and on farms, on army bases and construction sites; a large number were software developers. The variation in the jobs they claimed to have, likewise, argued against the idea that extremists are unemployed, or incompetent, or lurking in their mothers’ basements.18
Many of them cited YouTube personalities like Stefan Molyneux and Jean-François Gariépy as the forces that led them to join the white-supremacist movement; others mentioned divorces—so many divorced men—or the 2016 election. “We have been lied to about everything, from our origins to the people who fight for us today,” wrote “John,” a long-haired North Carolinian with a passion for blacksmithing. “Needless to say, my slide down the pipeline happened very fast.”19
Most euphemistically called themselves “red-pilled” or “race realists,” but one man wrote to me: “I also don’t mind getting called racist, because that is just some made up word by the false prophet MLK. To me, it just means that I think black people are annoying and I don’t want to be around them and if that makes me ‘racist’ then so be it.”20
When my suitors wrote to me, they wrote about their cats, about their love of Xbox gaming, about gas prices. They wrote a lot about guns. And just as often they wrote about their desire to maintain the purity of whiteness and the white children they hoped I or some other willing woman would bear them.21 More From Talia Lavin Why Transphobia Is at the Heart of the White Power Movement August 18, 2021 A Fart Joke Is Not a Pogrom June 3, 2021 Crowdfunding Hate in the Name of Christ April 5, 2021
“I used to work out and [sic] lot and am getting back into it; I love watching—mostly 80s—movies at home; I like socialising at the pub but mainly because I don’t have a family,” wrote one suitor, named “Marty.” “And by the way you became the most beautiful woman in the world when you said ‘kikes.’”22
That was me. The most beautiful, kike-deploring woman in the world.23
Here’s the truth that emerged for me: The worst people are still people; their humanity is impossible to disregard, but it does not absolve them. If anything, it makes their choices more abhorrent, surrounded, as they are, by the banality of a life indistinguishable from other lives. Even a self-described Nazi eats dinner. (“I eat only beef and eggs with bouts of pineapples from a can. But on dates, I expand that diet so as to not be ‘weird,’” explained “Karamazov,” candidly.)24
Eventually, I asked them to write love letters. Since they viewed themselves as romantics—heirs to a noble European heritage—I thought this would be a way to find out what they wanted. I asked them a simple question, tantalizingly phrased: “If you could write a love letter to your future white wife, what would it be like?”25
The results were like a car crash between Nicholas Sparks and Mein Kampf:26
Dear Ashlynn,27 I was really happy to hear back from you and to receive the photo that you sent. It’s real pretty. I will tell you that you have quite a nice figure to my liking. It also reminds me of where I lived in Iowa. It’s nice to see fields and trees and hills and things where everything is green. Out here we’ve just got basically desert and then the giant mountains scattered about.28 To answer your question, well I’d have to think about that. It’s kind of hard to imagine being married at last, I think it would be an incredible feeling to be finally married. Well, are you looking to get married? I think for me I am because well there is only so much dating to be done in life. It would just be nice to live with a great woman and see her every day. And especially one that is a race realist, because I want my wife to teach our kids to keep away from the darkies and to marry white people when they grow up, because that is the how [sic] we continue our way of life, and to teach them about the ethnostate that our people will someday create.29 When I look at the picture you sent I think to myself in my mind that I would like to just walk up to you and give you a big hug, and pick you up off the ground a bit and twirl you around. And I would like to see the look in your eyes and gaze upon your face and then I imagine kissing you right there in that field. Maybe we could go for a walk and just talk about life and things and really get to know each other quite well. That would be real nice I think.30
There are more, of course—love letters to the fertile white women of the world. These letters laid out how the fantasies about offspring, about birth rates, about racial continuity were embodied, for these men, in the wombs of white women. Their laudatory words of romance were inextricable from their desire for racial segregation and ethnic cleansing. They wanted an inferior partner, a submissive woman to love—and one who would keep their children from Marxists, Jews, and “darkies.” Their visions of love were tied to their hatred of the modern woman. Misogyny is a natural outcome of indoctrination into white supremacy, which sees women purely as vessels for breeding.31