Good lord that Race to Dinner interview was amazing.
Also this is probably wrong to say, but Rao (of the race to dinner) people looks like she could be Greek or Italian. And it's really weird when she says "I was white for 45 years" and then talks about how she was white until she "racialized" herself. So... Can white ladies be transracial? Was she never a white lady, or has she been one all along? What the fuck are any of these fucking people talking about?
It was an amazing and maddening thing to watch. Thank you/go to hell for showing it to me 😂
I thought mm mentioned that rao and jackson had a falling out. I was trying to find some detail around this. Has anyone come across a link on this detail?
A month or so ago, there was some debate about how shitty Chicago was or was not. I just got back from a three day conference there. Thanks for the tip on the architectural boat tour: it was awesome!
The big caveat is that I only spent time in the high rent districts around the riverwalk / Millennium Park and Whicker Park. I freaking loved it! Took the blue line from O'Hare to downtown. It was clean, calm, and quiet. That 40 minute ride was the extent of my time on CTA, but it was a far more pleasant public transit experience than I'm used to.
The architecture here is astounding. The I've never been to a city with a riverwalk like that. I was a shameless tourist walking around admiring the buildings and pointing "gee golly, isn't that neat". It's much more like NYC than any other city that I've been to... except cleaner. The river is actually crystal blue. I could see around 15 feet down or so in the lake. There were loads of people milling around, having a good time and enjoying the outdoor spaces. Pretty good food scene, but nothing on Philly.
The people were all exceptionally pleasant. The streets are clean and wide. There was a pretty decent police presence, though not many people that gave me any cause for alarm. Practically no littering, no homeless camps, and only a few people wandering around blasting music. There were a couple people who enjoyed driving loudly and recklessly, but FAR less than here in Philly.
Not impressed with the MCA though. Should have gone to Chicago Art Institute instead.
Anyway, big fan, glad I went, and would go again. I'm positive that my experience would be very different if I were in different neighborhoods. That said, in Philly, there's a pretty small section of Center City (our downtown) that's consistently pleasant the way Chicago's is. Chicago's consistently pleasant district seems to be much larger.
I live in a mid-sized city in Illinois. I spent Thursday-Sat in downtown Chicago for a conference during the weekend when the youth mob overtook downtown. I stayed at a hotel on Michigan avenue, dined at excellent restaurants each night, and reveled in the diverse, happy crowd of locals and tourists enjoying the city in the sunshine. I felt such optimism about Chicago’s future!
When I walked back to my hotel at 9pm on Saturday April 15, I heard sirens but could not locate the source of the commotion. The next morning, I saw news coverage of the melee and was so relieved my female companion and I had not been caught in the middle. My friend had suggested we walk back toward our respective hotels from the conference venue after dinner to have a nightcap at a bar in the loop. I felt uneasy about this because I’d been told by my Chicagoan friend the night before that it’s unwise to walk around the loop at night alone. So, I encouraged my friend to take the shuttle back to her hotel instead of walking together, since we’d have diverged when she headed to her hotel, which was nearer to Millennium park than mine.
Admittedly and perhaps naively, I felt perfectly safe and secure in the loop all weekend because there were so many people around enjoying the perfect weather. But I wasn’t cavalier about my movements as a woman traveling alone, especially after sunset. On Friday, when my Chicagoan friend and I finished up at the Cherry Room he insisted on walking me the two blocks back to my hotel. He reinforced that he was taking an uber and that he never rides the train at night. (He’s also a Black man, so take that FWIW.) When I got back to my hotel at 10pm I perceived a change from when I’d left for dinner at 5. There was a new air of agitation that hadn’t existed earlier. Groups of people were arguing with each other and the hotel staff. I was not inclined to stay out later in the loop.
I’m not deterred from spending time in downtown Chicago and I’m not in a moral panic about crime and unruly teenagers. But I also wasn’t in the midst of the mob, luckily. If I’d been walking a few blocks north and heard gunshots or been assaulted, I’d have been terrified. If I’d read about this in the news the weeks before my trip, I’d have also been hesitant. Admittedly, I was nervous about this trip because I follow Chicago crime news and know the loop isn’t immune. I’d even packed a stun gun with me for the trip! Once I was downtown surrounded by people enjoying the city, I determined I didn’t need to carry the stun gun, so I left it at my hotel. I felt sheepish for thinking I needed it! I thought to myself that Chicago is safer than the pointy wires crowd would have me believe, that huge cities always have crime, and that I was totally fine as a 125-pound woman walking around alone, at least during the daytime. This is still largely true, but who wants to risk being the victim of a violent assault or shooting in what should be the most secure part of a major city? Such lawlessness deters tourism while ruining the city for locals who deserve to enjoy it. This is not normal and we should not accept it as such.
I should add that I also took the train to Chicago this Thursday for a concert & I stayed in the same hotel near downtown, ate at similar restaurants and had zero issues. Like I said, I’m not deterred, just outraged at the lack of control the leaders have over public spaces. We didn’t randomly walk around after the concert ended at 11pm, however. We aren’t fools.
Chicago has the potential to be a world class city, but has decades of corruption and mismanagement that it will have to eventually get around to fixing it it ever wants to meet its own potential. You were definitely in a bubble and the conditions can change pretty quickly, but it’s still a great city plagued by bad politicians.
That video of Baum and Haider talking with the Race to Dinner creators about white supremacy is incredible! I just wish Meghan had thought to bring up the disparate impact of the recent homicide spike and the huge gap in the clearance rate for white versus black murder victims. I explore gun violence here at https://1000citiesproject.substack.com.
That article on Punjabi truck drivers was excellent, indeed. Last fall, the LA Times also had a nice obituary of Didar Singh Bains, the self-made “Peach King” of California’s Central Valley.
I finally listened to the "A Special Place in Hell" episode with Race to Dinner co-founders Saira Rao and Regina Jackson. I highly recommend that everyone listen to this superb episode. Yes, it can be frustrating and maddening listening to it, but it's worth it in my humble opinion.
Lads, are we ever getting the replay of the Mother’s Day zoom?
I’ll take that as a “no”.
They're probably still editing around all of the "unspeakable incidents".
Release the Mother’s Day tapes before some of us become Mothers Day Truthers™️ and storm whatever egg Moynihan lives on.
I can’t believe my threatening tone isn’t working.
Nest?
Good lord that Race to Dinner interview was amazing.
Also this is probably wrong to say, but Rao (of the race to dinner) people looks like she could be Greek or Italian. And it's really weird when she says "I was white for 45 years" and then talks about how she was white until she "racialized" herself. So... Can white ladies be transracial? Was she never a white lady, or has she been one all along? What the fuck are any of these fucking people talking about?
It was an amazing and maddening thing to watch. Thank you/go to hell for showing it to me 😂
I thought mm mentioned that rao and jackson had a falling out. I was trying to find some detail around this. Has anyone come across a link on this detail?
Sorry, it was not around these two but a reference to a la times article
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-17/starbucks-racism-viral-fame-led-to-diversity-dei-project-that-the-founders-canceled
The review of Chicago that no one asked for:
A month or so ago, there was some debate about how shitty Chicago was or was not. I just got back from a three day conference there. Thanks for the tip on the architectural boat tour: it was awesome!
The big caveat is that I only spent time in the high rent districts around the riverwalk / Millennium Park and Whicker Park. I freaking loved it! Took the blue line from O'Hare to downtown. It was clean, calm, and quiet. That 40 minute ride was the extent of my time on CTA, but it was a far more pleasant public transit experience than I'm used to.
The architecture here is astounding. The I've never been to a city with a riverwalk like that. I was a shameless tourist walking around admiring the buildings and pointing "gee golly, isn't that neat". It's much more like NYC than any other city that I've been to... except cleaner. The river is actually crystal blue. I could see around 15 feet down or so in the lake. There were loads of people milling around, having a good time and enjoying the outdoor spaces. Pretty good food scene, but nothing on Philly.
The people were all exceptionally pleasant. The streets are clean and wide. There was a pretty decent police presence, though not many people that gave me any cause for alarm. Practically no littering, no homeless camps, and only a few people wandering around blasting music. There were a couple people who enjoyed driving loudly and recklessly, but FAR less than here in Philly.
Not impressed with the MCA though. Should have gone to Chicago Art Institute instead.
Anyway, big fan, glad I went, and would go again. I'm positive that my experience would be very different if I were in different neighborhoods. That said, in Philly, there's a pretty small section of Center City (our downtown) that's consistently pleasant the way Chicago's is. Chicago's consistently pleasant district seems to be much larger.
The architecture is truly spectacular. I recommend reading Devil in the White City, which I think sets the stage for the grand style of Chicago.
I live in a mid-sized city in Illinois. I spent Thursday-Sat in downtown Chicago for a conference during the weekend when the youth mob overtook downtown. I stayed at a hotel on Michigan avenue, dined at excellent restaurants each night, and reveled in the diverse, happy crowd of locals and tourists enjoying the city in the sunshine. I felt such optimism about Chicago’s future!
When I walked back to my hotel at 9pm on Saturday April 15, I heard sirens but could not locate the source of the commotion. The next morning, I saw news coverage of the melee and was so relieved my female companion and I had not been caught in the middle. My friend had suggested we walk back toward our respective hotels from the conference venue after dinner to have a nightcap at a bar in the loop. I felt uneasy about this because I’d been told by my Chicagoan friend the night before that it’s unwise to walk around the loop at night alone. So, I encouraged my friend to take the shuttle back to her hotel instead of walking together, since we’d have diverged when she headed to her hotel, which was nearer to Millennium park than mine.
Admittedly and perhaps naively, I felt perfectly safe and secure in the loop all weekend because there were so many people around enjoying the perfect weather. But I wasn’t cavalier about my movements as a woman traveling alone, especially after sunset. On Friday, when my Chicagoan friend and I finished up at the Cherry Room he insisted on walking me the two blocks back to my hotel. He reinforced that he was taking an uber and that he never rides the train at night. (He’s also a Black man, so take that FWIW.) When I got back to my hotel at 10pm I perceived a change from when I’d left for dinner at 5. There was a new air of agitation that hadn’t existed earlier. Groups of people were arguing with each other and the hotel staff. I was not inclined to stay out later in the loop.
I’m not deterred from spending time in downtown Chicago and I’m not in a moral panic about crime and unruly teenagers. But I also wasn’t in the midst of the mob, luckily. If I’d been walking a few blocks north and heard gunshots or been assaulted, I’d have been terrified. If I’d read about this in the news the weeks before my trip, I’d have also been hesitant. Admittedly, I was nervous about this trip because I follow Chicago crime news and know the loop isn’t immune. I’d even packed a stun gun with me for the trip! Once I was downtown surrounded by people enjoying the city, I determined I didn’t need to carry the stun gun, so I left it at my hotel. I felt sheepish for thinking I needed it! I thought to myself that Chicago is safer than the pointy wires crowd would have me believe, that huge cities always have crime, and that I was totally fine as a 125-pound woman walking around alone, at least during the daytime. This is still largely true, but who wants to risk being the victim of a violent assault or shooting in what should be the most secure part of a major city? Such lawlessness deters tourism while ruining the city for locals who deserve to enjoy it. This is not normal and we should not accept it as such.
I should add that I also took the train to Chicago this Thursday for a concert & I stayed in the same hotel near downtown, ate at similar restaurants and had zero issues. Like I said, I’m not deterred, just outraged at the lack of control the leaders have over public spaces. We didn’t randomly walk around after the concert ended at 11pm, however. We aren’t fools.
Chicago has the potential to be a world class city, but has decades of corruption and mismanagement that it will have to eventually get around to fixing it it ever wants to meet its own potential. You were definitely in a bubble and the conditions can change pretty quickly, but it’s still a great city plagued by bad politicians.
RIP Martin Amis
NYT had a great obit. Dwight Garner wrote it https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/20/books/martin-amis-dead.html
Time's Arrow is one of my favorite ideas for a novel, I think I've read it three times.
NYT had some doozies this week so it was nice to see this respectful piece about Tim Scott and Black Republicans https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/21/us/politics/tim-scott-black-republicans.html
And the doozies for all the masochists:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/16/us/politics/transgender-care-detransitioners.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/nyregion/jordan-neely-killing-bystanders-nyc.html
That video of Baum and Haider talking with the Race to Dinner creators about white supremacy is incredible! I just wish Meghan had thought to bring up the disparate impact of the recent homicide spike and the huge gap in the clearance rate for white versus black murder victims. I explore gun violence here at https://1000citiesproject.substack.com.
Uh oh, Martin Amis passed away.
Has MM written anything on Maddow yet? I heard him mention it but haven't seen anything.
I suspect that will materialize in the form of one of the previously alluded to special eps that are yet to come.
Did Megyn allow you all to be called co-hosts? Haha. How long is kmele banned from her show?
This song helped me to survive my 20th.
That article on Punjabi truck drivers was excellent, indeed. Last fall, the LA Times also had a nice obituary of Didar Singh Bains, the self-made “Peach King” of California’s Central Valley.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-29/didar-singh-bains-the-peach-king-obit
A fuller account of Bains’ great American story is told in this article from 2017:
https://www.comstocksmag.com/longreads/american-dreams
I finally listened to the "A Special Place in Hell" episode with Race to Dinner co-founders Saira Rao and Regina Jackson. I highly recommend that everyone listen to this superb episode. Yes, it can be frustrating and maddening listening to it, but it's worth it in my humble opinion.
Congratulations to Kmele getting a shoutout in New York Times Magazine!
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/magazine/first-class-ethics.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
Is it too salacious to still be attached to the theory that Murdoch kicked Tucker for the messianic shine he pulled out of Rupert's ex-fiance?
I didn't know that Roseanne Barr was Jewish. Did you Kmele?