Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City mayor on January 1 and in his speech, which was about as terrifying as his November victory speech, he spoke about how much socialism is coming for the Big Apple. New Yorkers should probably brace for impact.
He was introduced by fellow Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said Mamdani's election means NYC "has chosen prosperity for the many instead of spoils for the few" and that the New Yorkers "have chosen to make a new future for all of us."
"We have chosen this path because we know it's the right thing to do," AOC said. Then Mamdani was sworn in by millionaire Vermont socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, who led the crowd in a "tax the rich" chant. Mamdani's wife, Rama Duqaji, was wearing $600 boots for the festivities, because when your man is a man of the people, you gotta flaunt it.
Then it was Mamdani's turn to speak to supporters who had gathered in subfreezing temperatures, where reportedly there were no porta-potties or food vendors. "To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers' lives," Mayor Mamdani said.
He went on to quote the South African Freedom Charter to say that New York, like South Africa in 1955 when the Freedom Charter was written, "belongs to all who live in it." Of course, South Africa was not exactly a place where people from all over the world flock to, it was not a place where people were already embraced just for showing up. New York, and I can't believe this must be said, is a far cry from apartheid-ridden South Africa of the 1950s.
But not to Mamdani, who sees oppressors and victims everywhere he looks from his perch on the Upper East Side's Gracie Mansion. He even saw some oppressed, victimized Palestinians in the ever-immigrant neighborhood of Bay Ridge. Bay Ridge has been home to Norwegian immigrants, Greeks, Italians, Jews, Chinese, Central Americans, and now Arabs and Palestinians. It is a neighborhood chock full of ethnic food shops and restaurants and its public school district is one of the best in the city. I know, because that's why I moved there in 2012.
"They will be Palestinian New Yorkers in Bay Ridge," he said to loud cheers, "who will no longer have to contend with a politics that speaks of universalism and then makes them the exception." This is just not true. It's not true for any of the Muslims in Bay Ridge. It's actually just a lie. Palestinians have every opportunity in District 20 to open businesses, to protest Israel (it happens pretty much every weekend), to drive around in Teslas (you'd be surprised), and take in all that New York has to offer just like everyone else.
Palestinian Linda Sarsour, who is one of Mamdani's biggest supporters, is a prominent figure in Bay Ridge. Bay Ridge is where Osama bin Laden's family used to chill in NYC before he blew up our World Trade Centers using Americans as bombs.
Mamdani's most quoted quip of his speech, delivered with a warm smile on a frigid day, will undoubtedly be this: "We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism."
If it sounds ominous, it's because it is. We Americans like to make our own destiny, chart our own course. The only "warmth" in collectivism is when we all gather around the last lump of coal, hoping it lasts through the night as our leaders take refuge in their mansions. Or the warmth that comes from the flesh of those being burned at the stake for crimes against the collective.
Social media users were quick to share tweets showing just how "warm" collectivism can be by showing photos of North Korea taken from space at night. There is one spot of "warmth" in all of the nation and it's Pyongyang. Next to South Korea's capitalist light show, it looks very paltry indeed.
Still others shared images of how "warm" communist East Berlin was during the Cold War—so warm they had to put up a wall to keep it all in.
There is recent evidence that New York is not at its best when it is under tight government control, when everyone works for the city in some capacity, when New Yorkers get free money and free stuff in exchange for stifling their ingenuity, hustle, and creativity, and that is Covid. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio told us all to stay home while he and his wife danced alone under the lights of Times Square, shining only for them. The decline that was created led straight to more socialism.
Good luck, NYC, you're gonna need it.
