I have three siblings all well-off urban professionals who are very liberal-progressive who all voted for Biden and have since soured on him, primarily based on his inability to advance the uber-liberal agenda.
I also have another brother, very successful small business owner who is an all-in Trumper along with his wife.
The common thread? NONE of these well educated otherwise thoughtful, caring people want to hear ANYTHING that deviates from their pre-conceived worldviews on any subject.
Me? I'm a lifelong Republican who didn't really care for Trump who believes that Trump's "accomplishments" we're nothing more than Standard Republican Policy that could just have easily been enacted by a President Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio with a lot less drama and tumult.
This country needs to be governed by ADULTS on both sides of the aisle who will look pragmatically on what needs to be done and actively seek out the POSSIBLE over the fanciful.
This is what BLM supporters have brought down on the Country: "White New Hampshire Resident Files Discrimination Suit after Being Denied COVID Shot over Race"
I can confirm as a Chappaqua resident that the "We Believe" signs are very prevalent here, but far less prevalent than the Black Lives Matter raised-fist, black power signs. Some residents have even put up little temples to BLM surrounded by fences to keep people from tearing them down, which was very common last summer. The churches are almost all woke (God bless the Baptists who aren't) and the people putting out the signs almost all work for banks and can't even adequately explain what they do or why they make so much money. But they hate that the Others are doing so badly (as they are told on TV) and they feel guilty, bless them... tear down western liberalism for white guilt, sure.
The kids here in the schools are extremely diverse, however. I was born in the US but almost none of the parents were. At a recent birthday party I commiserated with another parent that she and I were the only ones who actually were born here, and yet far from being commiserable we generally celebrated the fact and saw it as progress. But we won't have a country for much longer if we don't acknowledge our societal progress and stop obsessing over which old white guy gets elected to office.
This article was a touching story and it was close to home for me, but the interviewee sounds hysterical, hyper-partisan, and isolated from real debate or any disagreement outside of her family. She sounds like someone who has never engaged with local politics, which is by far the most important kind. Her friends all agree with her and help form her "support group" against the Others. The long-term solutions to the existence of this kind of political isolation could very well be more stories like this, but maybe told from the other side.
While I have not personally seen any antisemitism in Chappaqua, since this is a superlatively welcoming and liberal community, the presence of so many far-left signs gives me concern that we will have to watch for this behavior in the future. Leftists inevitably hate the Jews, as do the right. If only there were a Substack publisher who had a great essay on that subject...
The right doesn’t hate Jews. I don’t think the right cares if someone is Jewish or Catholic or black or green. It just makes Jews feel better for dissing the right and sticking with their abusers, the left.
Love the name, Unwoke. If you're referring to the American right, then I generally agree there is less antisemitism on the right. However, right-wing politics and conservatism writ large can become too obsessed with things like cleanliness and the limitation of migration, both of which are strongly correlated with cultural histories of disease spreading from abroad. I'm sure it's no coincidence that the Jews drinking the blood of children conspiracy theory during the European Middle Ages was a direct result of the various plagues carried from overseas by rats that killed more than a third of the continent's population. They needed a scapegoat, and who better than the group that deliberately sets themselves apart from the rest of the population?
Dr. Randy Thornhill appears on Jordan Peterson's podcast to talk about this phenomenon more broadly (though I don't recall if he mentions Europe specifically) and it is really a great episode, although there are some cringe moments toward the end and Peterson has been careful to point out in subsequent podcasts that he doesn't totally agree with Dr. Thornhill's sweeping assumptions about left-vs-right. https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/podcast/s4e38/
One part of this great interview that really jumped out at me was her parents and grandparents appreciation and patriotism for America despite the immense prejudice they faced. They were beaten up for being Jewish, blatantly excluded from exclusive spaces, and endured all sorts of other real injustices from hateful Americans, and yet they still love this country. It's such a contrast to how so many grievance hustlers today will take the slightest micro-aggression comment and magnify it to be exemplifying America as an irredeemably racist and evil place.
Great interview. This sentence though: "It’s like, when you wake up and go to sleep with Fox News, the fear is so powerful." Ms. Laub, look in the mirror. Can't one say the very same thing about your constant fear of what Donald Trump would do from imbibing what the mainstream Left news was saying to you?
I find it frightening you are either blind to, or aid & abet the crimes of your mom. Election Fraud, Spousal Abuse, and a violation of her marriage vows at the very minimum.
Coercing someone's vote, a big no-no. A misdemeanor at best, probably is a felony [I found it's a misdemeanor, see below]. Do you approve because ... well Orange-Man bad and Joe good? Is it OK because she's a woman, and the patriarchy, etc. Or is it OK because she's just mom? Spoiler Alert! Voter Intimidation is always Voter Intimidation, it's a crime.
Spousal abuse, even psychological abuse is still spousal abuse. I'd guess this level of abuse probably includes physical abuse ... do you condone that too? Just a little smacking when he deserves it? Or, well, he's a man, he can handle it. Perhaps he's just a Trump supporter, and member of the million year old patriarchy, so he deserves it, yeah, he has it coming.
No! Mom is abusing dad. Get them help!
I'm not going to speak to your marriage vows, or your parents vows, but mine include the phrase "to love honor and cherish till death do us part." What mom has done includes neither love, nor honor, nor cherish. I made my marriage vows to my wife, to her parents, to my parents, all of our families, our friends and neighbors, the whole community, to my God, and most of all to myself. My marriage vows are the core principle of my life, 33 years after the fact. To this very day, I vow to myself (well almost) daily, that I love, honor, and cherish my wife until I die.
Gillian, your next project could be to photograph the segregated graduations at Columbia. You wouldn't have to travel to Montgomery County - you can take the Broadway local, get off at 116th. What a photo op, and all for just $2.75, or just use your Metro Card.
As a person who never begins a comment with "As a...", I liked the essay, though I don't find myself in complete agreement with either the interviewee or the many negative comments here. I do think she was a bit too clutching-her-pearls over her parents' politics in the first place, though I appreciate her conclusion that family is more important; also, I think Trump is unqualified for the job, though not for the reasons implied in the interview.
Good post, though this sentence is telling “ They’re a type that pretty much everyone in this country who is not a descendant of the Mayflower is familiar with — those who hustled, made a boatload, and aren’t shy about their success.” So Mayflower descendent a weren’t the hard working, hustling type?
I want to preface that I love common sense and look forward every time a new feed comes out. I want to ask what is wrong with liking trump? He is a hard working , successful man who even became president , he is what Young people from immigrant families and non immigrant families thrive for in America . What is wrong with that? Everything he says is completely true and he has Commen Sense. It is only recently that we started to thrive on nonsense , everything is upside down and everything has become racist , even hard work, effort, sacrifice , and free speech. I hope that most Americans do not believe in this crap because it is based on false narrative and is not sustainable in the long run This writers’ family should be an example of what it takes to be successful. They should not be made fun of because it’s easier to make fun of them then to actually accomplish what they did , especially being Jewish and having to fight antisemitism all their lives.
I can respect individuals who like Trump and I can appreciate how many of his supporters had felt frustrated and ostracized for years.
I cannot like Trump the person, because I feel that his generally abrasive tone and manner fuel division. I am fed up with the current political narratives on both sides. I feel social media echo chambers are partly to blame for the current politicization/polarization, but I also feel politicians on both sides of the spectrum are taking advantage of such polarization for political gain. I think that while competing perspectives can be helpful to a democracy, the current degree of contention is tearing this country apart.
Thank you for you comment. It amazes me that people actually tried to sell us a false bill of goods that Joe Biden was a uniter considering his 47 years in the public eye. They way he conducted the Clarence Thomas hearings was atrocious as was his race-baiting during the Obama campaign when he said Mitt Romney wanted black people "back in chains" and of course there is the Jim Crow on steroids referring to the Georgia law which actually codified more voting opportunities. He is a bully and a thug, he just does it with a smirk. Now he wants to wield the heavy hand of the government on the population because his patiences has worn out. Lord save us from this mess. We do deserve better, but who? Is there an honorable one among them?
What makes him not decent?, takes care of his family , all his children are accomplished , non have issues with drug problems, not in trouble with the law , loves his grand kids.
He is cruel to immigrants and just about anyone who isn't 100% loyal to him. And he inherited all of his wealth and went bankrupt several times, screwing over lenders and contractors in the process. He also started a phony university to cheat people out of their hard-earned money. He is a deeply immoral man.
Blah blah blah...we know what you will have to say Matt, so save some keystrokes and just use those three words above - it will have the same meaning...
I can tell you this and you can either believe me or not: I am a graduate of Antioch College, 90s. We created PC culture. I went at the time when they were rolling out their sexual offense policy. It was the beginning of toxic masculinity and all men are rapists. Totally pre-#MeToo. Ahead of its time. I wrote for In These Times magazine. Google me. Ive been published in The Nation. I owned a Prius. I was a MoveOn.org activist, but in the better days -- anti-Iraq War on their Let the Inspectors do Their Jobs campaign. I voted for Obama twice. I hated Hillary and I voted for Trump. Then, I voted for him again. I dont want him to run again tho. Not because of buyers remorse. But because he woudl give the media a much needed shot in the arm. He is too good for them. Better to let them die a slow and painful death. Trump would bring them back to life. No Trump. His time has come and gone. I will say that I vote for POTUS not based on their charisma, or what they think about climate change, or how they rank in the Woke Olympics, but on their foreign policy positions. If it was Biden vs Mitch McConnell, Id pick Biden. If it was Kamala vs Nikki Haley, i'd pick Kamala. Tho I will say Im losing interest in national elections. Too easily rigged. The local ones are what matters, from school board on up to city council and mayors.
I'm moving out of California after most of my adult life in part to find respite from this kind of smug, self-righteous and clueless person. The cultural divide is real and becoming more ensconced. I believe Trump is a brutish asshole. I also believe Biden is a senile thug and the worst president of my lifetime. There really is no respite from our corrupt and immoral political class but I'm going to try to put it out of my mind while I enjoy retirement boating around the Gulf of Mexico.
I exactly concur, I can’t stand the culture in Califirnia anymore. Just closed on a house in Montana. I still have to work in ca, every time I come back it is more difficult. Can’t wait to cut the cord and be out of here for good
Family Above All.
I have three siblings all well-off urban professionals who are very liberal-progressive who all voted for Biden and have since soured on him, primarily based on his inability to advance the uber-liberal agenda.
I also have another brother, very successful small business owner who is an all-in Trumper along with his wife.
The common thread? NONE of these well educated otherwise thoughtful, caring people want to hear ANYTHING that deviates from their pre-conceived worldviews on any subject.
Me? I'm a lifelong Republican who didn't really care for Trump who believes that Trump's "accomplishments" we're nothing more than Standard Republican Policy that could just have easily been enacted by a President Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio with a lot less drama and tumult.
This country needs to be governed by ADULTS on both sides of the aisle who will look pragmatically on what needs to be done and actively seek out the POSSIBLE over the fanciful.
Who TF wears a mask in their own house? In TWO of those pictures! What is in the water back east where y'all have lost your damn minds?!
We need more of these:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/885421125/yard-sign-in-this-house-we-believe-that?ref=related-1
This is what BLM supporters have brought down on the Country: "White New Hampshire Resident Files Discrimination Suit after Being Denied COVID Shot over Race"
https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-hampshire-resident-files-discrimination-175506783.html
I can confirm as a Chappaqua resident that the "We Believe" signs are very prevalent here, but far less prevalent than the Black Lives Matter raised-fist, black power signs. Some residents have even put up little temples to BLM surrounded by fences to keep people from tearing them down, which was very common last summer. The churches are almost all woke (God bless the Baptists who aren't) and the people putting out the signs almost all work for banks and can't even adequately explain what they do or why they make so much money. But they hate that the Others are doing so badly (as they are told on TV) and they feel guilty, bless them... tear down western liberalism for white guilt, sure.
The kids here in the schools are extremely diverse, however. I was born in the US but almost none of the parents were. At a recent birthday party I commiserated with another parent that she and I were the only ones who actually were born here, and yet far from being commiserable we generally celebrated the fact and saw it as progress. But we won't have a country for much longer if we don't acknowledge our societal progress and stop obsessing over which old white guy gets elected to office.
This article was a touching story and it was close to home for me, but the interviewee sounds hysterical, hyper-partisan, and isolated from real debate or any disagreement outside of her family. She sounds like someone who has never engaged with local politics, which is by far the most important kind. Her friends all agree with her and help form her "support group" against the Others. The long-term solutions to the existence of this kind of political isolation could very well be more stories like this, but maybe told from the other side.
While I have not personally seen any antisemitism in Chappaqua, since this is a superlatively welcoming and liberal community, the presence of so many far-left signs gives me concern that we will have to watch for this behavior in the future. Leftists inevitably hate the Jews, as do the right. If only there were a Substack publisher who had a great essay on that subject...
The right doesn’t hate Jews. I don’t think the right cares if someone is Jewish or Catholic or black or green. It just makes Jews feel better for dissing the right and sticking with their abusers, the left.
Love the name, Unwoke. If you're referring to the American right, then I generally agree there is less antisemitism on the right. However, right-wing politics and conservatism writ large can become too obsessed with things like cleanliness and the limitation of migration, both of which are strongly correlated with cultural histories of disease spreading from abroad. I'm sure it's no coincidence that the Jews drinking the blood of children conspiracy theory during the European Middle Ages was a direct result of the various plagues carried from overseas by rats that killed more than a third of the continent's population. They needed a scapegoat, and who better than the group that deliberately sets themselves apart from the rest of the population?
Dr. Randy Thornhill appears on Jordan Peterson's podcast to talk about this phenomenon more broadly (though I don't recall if he mentions Europe specifically) and it is really a great episode, although there are some cringe moments toward the end and Peterson has been careful to point out in subsequent podcasts that he doesn't totally agree with Dr. Thornhill's sweeping assumptions about left-vs-right. https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/podcast/s4e38/
Geez. Get over yourself. That was then, this is now and the anti Semitism is 99.9% on the left, from members of congress no less.
One part of this great interview that really jumped out at me was her parents and grandparents appreciation and patriotism for America despite the immense prejudice they faced. They were beaten up for being Jewish, blatantly excluded from exclusive spaces, and endured all sorts of other real injustices from hateful Americans, and yet they still love this country. It's such a contrast to how so many grievance hustlers today will take the slightest micro-aggression comment and magnify it to be exemplifying America as an irredeemably racist and evil place.
Great interview. This sentence though: "It’s like, when you wake up and go to sleep with Fox News, the fear is so powerful." Ms. Laub, look in the mirror. Can't one say the very same thing about your constant fear of what Donald Trump would do from imbibing what the mainstream Left news was saying to you?
The big lie ? There were many big lies.
Russian hoax, Dossier, Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation - to name just 3 . There are many more, all enabled by the legacy media.
The biggest threat to our democracy ? A corrupt media
Dear Suzy,
About with holding sex for votes.
I find it frightening you are either blind to, or aid & abet the crimes of your mom. Election Fraud, Spousal Abuse, and a violation of her marriage vows at the very minimum.
Coercing someone's vote, a big no-no. A misdemeanor at best, probably is a felony [I found it's a misdemeanor, see below]. Do you approve because ... well Orange-Man bad and Joe good? Is it OK because she's a woman, and the patriarchy, etc. Or is it OK because she's just mom? Spoiler Alert! Voter Intimidation is always Voter Intimidation, it's a crime.
See the law: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/594
Spousal abuse, even psychological abuse is still spousal abuse. I'd guess this level of abuse probably includes physical abuse ... do you condone that too? Just a little smacking when he deserves it? Or, well, he's a man, he can handle it. Perhaps he's just a Trump supporter, and member of the million year old patriarchy, so he deserves it, yeah, he has it coming.
No! Mom is abusing dad. Get them help!
I'm not going to speak to your marriage vows, or your parents vows, but mine include the phrase "to love honor and cherish till death do us part." What mom has done includes neither love, nor honor, nor cherish. I made my marriage vows to my wife, to her parents, to my parents, all of our families, our friends and neighbors, the whole community, to my God, and most of all to myself. My marriage vows are the core principle of my life, 33 years after the fact. To this very day, I vow to myself (well almost) daily, that I love, honor, and cherish my wife until I die.
Please get your parents some help.
Gillian, your next project could be to photograph the segregated graduations at Columbia. You wouldn't have to travel to Montgomery County - you can take the Broadway local, get off at 116th. What a photo op, and all for just $2.75, or just use your Metro Card.
As a person who never begins a comment with "As a...", I liked the essay, though I don't find myself in complete agreement with either the interviewee or the many negative comments here. I do think she was a bit too clutching-her-pearls over her parents' politics in the first place, though I appreciate her conclusion that family is more important; also, I think Trump is unqualified for the job, though not for the reasons implied in the interview.
The Jewish-immigrant-generational angle was interesting. You might like to read Moshe Koppel's recent 𝐽𝑢𝑑𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑈𝑝 (https://www.amazon.com/Judaism-Straight-Prof-Moshe-Koppel/dp/1592645577/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=moshe+koppel&qid=1632853324&sr=8-1), which has an interesting take on that.
good story, Suzy Weiss.
Yah.
Good post, though this sentence is telling “ They’re a type that pretty much everyone in this country who is not a descendant of the Mayflower is familiar with — those who hustled, made a boatload, and aren’t shy about their success.” So Mayflower descendent a weren’t the hard working, hustling type?
She not only buys into the racist view of hustler immigrants, but also espouses the stereotype of gentiles. Oy vey!
I want to preface that I love common sense and look forward every time a new feed comes out. I want to ask what is wrong with liking trump? He is a hard working , successful man who even became president , he is what Young people from immigrant families and non immigrant families thrive for in America . What is wrong with that? Everything he says is completely true and he has Commen Sense. It is only recently that we started to thrive on nonsense , everything is upside down and everything has become racist , even hard work, effort, sacrifice , and free speech. I hope that most Americans do not believe in this crap because it is based on false narrative and is not sustainable in the long run This writers’ family should be an example of what it takes to be successful. They should not be made fun of because it’s easier to make fun of them then to actually accomplish what they did , especially being Jewish and having to fight antisemitism all their lives.
And no one ever talks about Trump's bravery in going to North Korea to talk with Kim.
Furthermore, Trump doesn't just try to bribe Kim with welfare handouts, but offers Kim a business plan to turn North Korea into a resort destination.
I can respect individuals who like Trump and I can appreciate how many of his supporters had felt frustrated and ostracized for years.
I cannot like Trump the person, because I feel that his generally abrasive tone and manner fuel division. I am fed up with the current political narratives on both sides. I feel social media echo chambers are partly to blame for the current politicization/polarization, but I also feel politicians on both sides of the spectrum are taking advantage of such polarization for political gain. I think that while competing perspectives can be helpful to a democracy, the current degree of contention is tearing this country apart.
Thank you for you comment. It amazes me that people actually tried to sell us a false bill of goods that Joe Biden was a uniter considering his 47 years in the public eye. They way he conducted the Clarence Thomas hearings was atrocious as was his race-baiting during the Obama campaign when he said Mitt Romney wanted black people "back in chains" and of course there is the Jim Crow on steroids referring to the Georgia law which actually codified more voting opportunities. He is a bully and a thug, he just does it with a smirk. Now he wants to wield the heavy hand of the government on the population because his patiences has worn out. Lord save us from this mess. We do deserve better, but who? Is there an honorable one among them?
"Everything he says is completely true"
Oh please, don't try to peddle that absolutism nonsense. There is no one that could apply to.
He makes sense lets clarify
Because being a highly successful businessman is never more important than being a decent human being.
What makes him not decent?, takes care of his family , all his children are accomplished , non have issues with drug problems, not in trouble with the law , loves his grand kids.
He is cruel to immigrants and just about anyone who isn't 100% loyal to him. And he inherited all of his wealth and went bankrupt several times, screwing over lenders and contractors in the process. He also started a phony university to cheat people out of their hard-earned money. He is a deeply immoral man.
Blah blah blah...we know what you will have to say Matt, so save some keystrokes and just use those three words above - it will have the same meaning...
Not defending all his actions but probably just risk taking on his part .
I can tell you this and you can either believe me or not: I am a graduate of Antioch College, 90s. We created PC culture. I went at the time when they were rolling out their sexual offense policy. It was the beginning of toxic masculinity and all men are rapists. Totally pre-#MeToo. Ahead of its time. I wrote for In These Times magazine. Google me. Ive been published in The Nation. I owned a Prius. I was a MoveOn.org activist, but in the better days -- anti-Iraq War on their Let the Inspectors do Their Jobs campaign. I voted for Obama twice. I hated Hillary and I voted for Trump. Then, I voted for him again. I dont want him to run again tho. Not because of buyers remorse. But because he woudl give the media a much needed shot in the arm. He is too good for them. Better to let them die a slow and painful death. Trump would bring them back to life. No Trump. His time has come and gone. I will say that I vote for POTUS not based on their charisma, or what they think about climate change, or how they rank in the Woke Olympics, but on their foreign policy positions. If it was Biden vs Mitch McConnell, Id pick Biden. If it was Kamala vs Nikki Haley, i'd pick Kamala. Tho I will say Im losing interest in national elections. Too easily rigged. The local ones are what matters, from school board on up to city council and mayors.
I'm moving out of California after most of my adult life in part to find respite from this kind of smug, self-righteous and clueless person. The cultural divide is real and becoming more ensconced. I believe Trump is a brutish asshole. I also believe Biden is a senile thug and the worst president of my lifetime. There really is no respite from our corrupt and immoral political class but I'm going to try to put it out of my mind while I enjoy retirement boating around the Gulf of Mexico.
I exactly concur, I can’t stand the culture in Califirnia anymore. Just closed on a house in Montana. I still have to work in ca, every time I come back it is more difficult. Can’t wait to cut the cord and be out of here for good
I use “M.” like the French do, for Monsieur but ALSO for Mesdames and Mademoiselle EQUALLY. ALL CAPS are ITALICS. :)
I believe You got the "corrupt and immoral political class" just about right, M. Gina.