Excellent article, and I was particularly interested int the history of Idi Amin. I guess you could say I crossed paths with him once. In my wayward youth, while backpacking my way through a good-sized chunk of Africa in 1978, I happened to be in Nairobi during Jomo Kenyatta's funeral. Naturally there were many notables in town for the event. A friend announced at the local youth hostel that Amin was staying at the Nairobi Hilton. We rushed down there, cameras in hand, and joined a crowd of mostly white onlookers, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man. Keep in mind his many crimes were very well-known by then. Sure enough, he strode through the lobby with his huge white bodyguards and identically dressed little boy, waving to the crowd, looking to all the world like a celebrity, cameras clicking away. I was one of them of course, but to this day the whole scene strikes me as very odd.
Thank you for sharing! That is quite the experience. He was something of a dark hero throughout Africa, and of course people are always fascinated by depravity.
You're welcome Brad :) I just remembered another very slight Idi Amin story. A couple of months later I was hitchhiking in South Africa (ahh...the delights of youth) and I was picked up by a white trucker outside of Kimberley. He had been a private in the British Army in Kenya in the 50's, commanded by none other than Sgt. Amin. One day as punishment, his unit was given many pairs of scissors to mow the parade ground.
lmao that is an amusing story I didn’t see anywhere, they more focused on his actual brutality, but apparently besides that he was a fairly good soldier for the British.
I've stayed away from almost all the writing on Mamdani and the situation in NYC, it's been maddening. However, this essay was fantastic. I too think he's simply too young, too inexperienced, and his policies would be bad for any city (I recently escaped SF and the SF Bay Area after spending 25 years there, I've seen what some of it does to a city) but the insanity coming from the right embarrasses me.
Took me a few days to get round to reading. Interesting essay. Surprised to learn (though I shouldn't be) subcontinental presence predates the British.
The term Asian is kind of flexible in the west. In the US it usually means someone from Aast Asia, mainly China. In Britain the term is usually applied to subcontinentals.
If not mistaken Mamdani grandfather on his maternal side was a british trained beauracrat who went on to serve in independent India. He's very much elite, less transnational than a child of empire imo.
Yeah I know who his mother is I just don't know her family history.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see how he does. It is total institutional failure that got him where he is and as ever the Boomers unwilling to step aside etc. I don't think he will actually be that disastrous for New York but it is hard to say. The city is by nature unpredictable and unruly but they have done incredible things keeping violent crime down over the last few decades so it will really be a shame if he steps back from that and lets the city get more dangerous.
Excellent article, and I was particularly interested int the history of Idi Amin. I guess you could say I crossed paths with him once. In my wayward youth, while backpacking my way through a good-sized chunk of Africa in 1978, I happened to be in Nairobi during Jomo Kenyatta's funeral. Naturally there were many notables in town for the event. A friend announced at the local youth hostel that Amin was staying at the Nairobi Hilton. We rushed down there, cameras in hand, and joined a crowd of mostly white onlookers, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man. Keep in mind his many crimes were very well-known by then. Sure enough, he strode through the lobby with his huge white bodyguards and identically dressed little boy, waving to the crowd, looking to all the world like a celebrity, cameras clicking away. I was one of them of course, but to this day the whole scene strikes me as very odd.
Thank you for sharing! That is quite the experience. He was something of a dark hero throughout Africa, and of course people are always fascinated by depravity.
You're welcome Brad :) I just remembered another very slight Idi Amin story. A couple of months later I was hitchhiking in South Africa (ahh...the delights of youth) and I was picked up by a white trucker outside of Kimberley. He had been a private in the British Army in Kenya in the 50's, commanded by none other than Sgt. Amin. One day as punishment, his unit was given many pairs of scissors to mow the parade ground.
lmao that is an amusing story I didn’t see anywhere, they more focused on his actual brutality, but apparently besides that he was a fairly good soldier for the British.
I've stayed away from almost all the writing on Mamdani and the situation in NYC, it's been maddening. However, this essay was fantastic. I too think he's simply too young, too inexperienced, and his policies would be bad for any city (I recently escaped SF and the SF Bay Area after spending 25 years there, I've seen what some of it does to a city) but the insanity coming from the right embarrasses me.
The too young vs the too old, tough call, though 65 isnt really TOO old to be mayor, just old.
And yeah I oppose all of his policies which is why its ridiculous I'm spending all of my time defending him against this nonsense lol
Anyway, thank you
Pretty good essay!
Took me a few days to get round to reading. Interesting essay. Surprised to learn (though I shouldn't be) subcontinental presence predates the British.
The term Asian is kind of flexible in the west. In the US it usually means someone from Aast Asia, mainly China. In Britain the term is usually applied to subcontinentals.
If not mistaken Mamdani grandfather on his maternal side was a british trained beauracrat who went on to serve in independent India. He's very much elite, less transnational than a child of empire imo.
His mom is from India, he is only East African on his father's side, I dont know his mother's family history besides that though.
A lot of people tried to make a thing of his father being born in Bombay, but his grandfather was a student at the time and was born in Africa.
His mum is Mira Nair. She is a famous Bollywood director whose done a spot of Hollywood work and is well known in the City of Angels.
His policies aren't my cup of tea But an interesting chap running for mayor on an interesting city in an interesting country.
Be interesting to see Leftwing populism have a crack.
Yeah I know who his mother is I just don't know her family history.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see how he does. It is total institutional failure that got him where he is and as ever the Boomers unwilling to step aside etc. I don't think he will actually be that disastrous for New York but it is hard to say. The city is by nature unpredictable and unruly but they have done incredible things keeping violent crime down over the last few decades so it will really be a shame if he steps back from that and lets the city get more dangerous.