Category: Uncategorized
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McCarthyism Redux
I feel compelled to write another Letter from Newark, but from Bethnal Green. I’ve just finished a call with a friend who works at a U.S. unuversity. (I’m deliberately not naming him or his university.) He is one of the most optimistic, high-spirited people I’ve ever met. We haven’t spoken properly since the full implications…
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School’s Out
The last four months have been a whirl. From teaching at Rutgers, to discovering Newark’s idiosyncrasies: meeting some brilliant people and renewing my vowels with New York City, all with the spectre of Trump looming. The Honors Living Learning Community (HLLC), where I was based, has sometimes felt like an educational Shangri-La. The freedom to…
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When “Yes” means “No”
New York recently passed its “City of Yes” housing strategy. Calling it “strategic” is a bit generous and not for the first time, there are uncomfortable comparisons with what’s happening in the UK. In both places, private developers are being given a virtual carte blanche to build what they like, where they like, in a…
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Jordan Neely: #BLM
I feel compelled to howl into the wind about Jordan Neely. He was killed by Daniel Penny on the New York Subway on 1st May 2023. Some of the circumstances are not disputed. Mr. Neely was homeless and had a history of mental illness. On that day, he boarded the train, shouting about his need…
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Reparations
A core element of the course I’ve been teaching at Rutgers is reparations. We’ve had guest speakers on the subject and students have been given information about how to join reparation campaigns. Racism, in its many guises, has been a constant theme in our classes and the legacy of slavery often comes up as its…
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I do (and don’t) want to go to Chelsea
The Chelsea neighbourhood captures the conflicting forces of New York City (NYC). It’s on the lower west side of Manhattan Island and used to be a working class community centred on the shipping industry and the piers along the Hudson River. It’s just south of Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden, just north of Greenwich…
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“It’s about the working class, stupid”
Reaction to last Tuesday’s election has been just as revealing as the result. In particular, the Democratic Party is conducting a messy post-mortem focusing on an issue it studiously tried to avoid before November 5th – the working class. Trump winning was always a possibility, but few predicted its scale. Before Tuesday, New Jersey seemed…
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Brace! Brace!
With so many words being poured on the outcome of an event that is, literally, unpredictable, it’s hard to know what to add. But being here, it’s impossible to avoid the deep social anxiety. The fact that the election is “too close to call” is adding to that. The media speculates endlessly about the result…
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Housing USA: same old same old
Quoting Freud’s definition of insanity has become a bit hackneyed. But listening to some of the pre-election discussion on housing here is a definite case of doing the same thing and expecting a different result. In one sense, it’s encouraging that the issue is penetrating mainstream political discourse at such a critical moment. I think…
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On the Road
As a very foolish 21-year-old, I spent about three months aimlessly traveling around this country on a bus. Back then, you could buy a one-month Trailway ticket for $99 and have as many rides as you liked. I went all over the place – and I was all over the place, confused about what I…
Letter from Newark, NJ 