WORDS BY KHALID STRICKLAND a.k.a. BLACK PACINO
“When examined closely, the choices we have… in the marketplace, in elections, in our jobs… tend to have noticeable limitations: They are often a matter of choice simply between A and B, with the rest of the alphabet out of the picture. Yet as long as the faintest mirage of choice flickers on, we rarely focus on the missing options.” -Robert Greene, 48 Laws of Power
The 2009 NYC mayoral election is over and the votes have been tallied. Billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg spent $85 MILLION (probably from his spare-change jar) on a campaign he should have never been allowed to run at all, only to defeat challenger Bill Thompson by a very slim 5-point margin.
Since he’s a self-centered, arrogant mu’fucka, Bloomberg overturned a LAW stating that mayors can only serve two terms in office. Twice, New Yorkers voted in favor of term limits. But Bloomie’s fellow politicians, themselves hungry for absolute power and financial favors, helped him break the law. Mayor Mike’s near-loss shows that people may be ready for change, making the third term he purchased even more unfair to New Yorkers. Since he strong-armed his way back into office, I’ll call him Mayor GOONberg from now on.
I didn’t bother voting yesterday because in my eyes the outcome was fixed and I had no time to waste. See, I grind 24/7 just to tread water because Goonberg helped turn New York into a city for the rich. Households grossing 70K annually are just getting by. Awkward skyscrapers are being hastily built in the hood as the lower middle-class gets priced out. People are leaving the city in droves; shit is crazy ’round here.
But my problem ain’t with Goonberg’s politics as much as it is with the dangerous precedent his third term sets.
The founders of this government invented term limits because they didn’t want a king who sat on a throne ’til his death, like they did in merry old England. It seems insignificant now but this is the first domino to fall in the path back to monarchy. Can you imagine if Bush had a chance to steal a third term? We’d be fucked. If Giuliani got a third shot at mayor, NYC would be under martial law by now. But that’s the Pandora’s Box that Goonberg opened. Mayor Mike’s ego and rationale are king-like; regardless of the fact that voters are in favor of term limits, he feels as if he knows what’s best for all of us.
Because we live so comfortably and take everything at face value, Americans are the most gullible folks in the world. The easiest to pacify. In other countries people revolt and exact military coups when they don’t like the bullshit their government does. Us? We’re too busy agonizing over who wins American Idol.
In The States, anything we see in the media is gospel. For instance, ask most pro-Goonberg New Yorkers why they dig him and the first thing almost all of them say is:
“Because he rides the subway to work every day like the average Joe.”
Excuse me for a moment…
Hee hee hee ^_^
People actually believe these staged photo-ops of Mayor Mike riding the subway with the common man, as if the common man rides the train to a $30 million mansion in the sticks. Even while New York is being divvied up and sold to the highest bidder… even as the lower-to-middle class becomes extinct… even as they eye apartments in lower-cost states, many Goonberg supporters think they have something in common with him simply because he sets foot on a train here and there. I ride the iron horse because I don’t have a choice, not for photo-ops. If I could cruise to work in a limo I’d say “Fuck the subway” without hesitation. I’ve got more money on my Metrocard than I have in the bank. So me and Mayor Mike ain’t got shit in common.
This is pretty much all it takes to sway public opinion in America. But again, this isn’t about Mayor Goonberg’s politics because quite frankly, Bill Thompson was no prize himself. This is about greed and the ramifications of knee-jerk decisions without regard for the bigger picture.
When Al Sharpton and the gang rallied to get Don Imus fired for the infamous “Nappy Headed Hoes” statement, I disagreed. Because once you ban Imus from airing his thoughts, as racist as they may be, you’ve laid the first cobblestone in the road against free speech. Being that Al Sharpton also has a radio show and is considered by many to be a controversial figure himself, I was surprised he did that because the same shit could easily happen to him. That precedent opens the door for “offensive” items to be banned, which can equal pretty much anything. Personally, I’m offended by seeing Tyler Perry dress up like a steroid-shootin’ grandmother… but Christian sistas would be up in arms if his cross-dressin’ ass got banned.
But that’s going waaaaaaay off-topic. Point is, I sincerely respect the activists who died for my right to vote. By the same token, I don’t have time to waste on lost causes either. Could the missing ballots of myself and other jaded citizens have dethroned the King of New York yesterday? Perhaps. But once the term limit law got smashed, the countdown to monarchy had already begun.
If it wasn’t clear already, it’s been etched in stone now: Money is power.
Unless it’s money wasted on the New York Knicks.
Sidebar:
Exit polls indicated that 45 percent of voters said that Mr. Bloomberg’s handling of term limits was a factor in their decision not to vote for him, and roughly the same number said the mayor’s spending on the race was an important factor. Nearly 7 of 10 approved of his job performance.
You know people are mad about the term limits thing but before that happened he had a high approval rating. Before the term limits thing most people thought he was doing a good job, myself included. he is rich and arrogant but NYC is and always will be a expensive place to live and you cant blame Bloomberg for that. And everybody mad about him breaking the law but what if it worked for someone we liked. What if Clinton could’ve did a 3rd term, or Obama then everybody would be cool with it. Coney has spoken.
No doubt… I respect your opinion, famlee.
To be honest I don’t think Goonberg is the worst mayor, especially after 8 brutal years of Giuliani. But again, my point is more about the grimy way that shit went down. Did you know that Goonberg “donated money to a charitable cause” for each board member when it was time to re-vote on term limits? Those are fancy words for “bribery.” And if people voted for term limits TWICE, why couldn’t he respect that? Because of his own ego & greed.
Goonberg ain’t run again cuz he cares about New Yorkers. It’s for his own gratification, power & the fact that he’s in the midst of transforming NY into “Rich City.” Why can’t I blame Goonberg for that? Who allows these companies to break zoning laws & put skyscrapers in residential neighborhoods, thereby pricing out the folks who have been there for years? That’s all Goonie.
Read the Robert Greene quote above. Goonberg placed himself into the equation & said “Ya’all are gonna roll with it.” And we fell in line like all good, comfortable Americans do. Not everybody wants him back. He spent like $83 million more on his campaign than Thompson did & still nearly lost. Popular person or not, term limits were made for a reason. It’s what separates us from dictatorships, allegedly.
Again, we believe too much TV. Approval ratings are manipulated to sway public opinion, like trumped-up Terrorism Alerts. And we always fall for it over & over again.
Great article Black, I’m one of them dudes who left NYC for a change and though I miss NYC (especially BK) and it will always be my home. I’m sad to see how much it’s been pimped out as this gritty lavish concrete jungle that still leaves the hood in the rut and this goes for the middle class as well- Like you said, they built condos on every corner now because they enjoyed the out of state college students whose parents have money- coming to the hood because they idealized it from watching videos of their favorite Rock..um Rap stars. Yet meantime us who brought life back to the city even after 9/11 are still suffering and the hustle is twice as hard now. Again a real great piece- it wok eme up this morn.
I’m glad you can dig it, Diz.
I feel you on leaving NYC… eventually I’mma do that too. You can get more for your money in other places. NYC used to have a culture of its own. Now it’s sanitized to the point where it almost lacks identity. The same bland coffee shops everywhere. Harlem without black people? What kinda shit is that?
And the newcomers act like the people who been here forever ain’t supposed allowed in their bars & hangout spots. I got mu’fuckas lookin at me like, “Uh… why are you still here?” LOL Shit is disgustin’.
Glad you found somethin better outside of the Rotten Apple.
I agree that Goonberg is not the worse Mayor New York ever had, but he damn near is close! Havng lived in NY for over fforty years I weep for the horrific changes that have taken place. None for the good of the citizens either. It , in my opinion, has nothing to do with liking Goonberg personally or not. Not a thing! This is not a popularity contest here. It is about people’s lives and their children’s ability to survive without being homeless, priced out, etc. President Obama, I love what new laws he has signed into reality to help some Americans (I personally know of a homeowner who has benefited) BUT if I saw that the President, as admirable as he’s proven to be, to me, started a roll into tyranny and high-jacked the vote, well that brother would no longer have my support. What I have come to learn, personally is, truth always rises to the top… eventually. I love New York and hate to see it raped like this…
You make very good points O.S.M.
40 years? You prolly remember the days when a 1 bedroom apt in Manhattan cost $600/month. Or 75 cent subway tokens. Now $600 won’t even get you a room in Manhattan, and one ride on a Metrocard is $2.50.
My beef ain’t with the Mayor’s politics cuz quite frankly, all politicians are pretty much the same to me: full of hollow promises. My beef is with the way Goonberg did it… he basically strong-armed NYC into a 3rd term.
But I respect his gangsta, though.
Never before before has a man spent so much money for so little effect! I don’t even think that Thompson raised 15 million dollars. And to only lose by five percent? That negro needs to put in his bid for the next election. He could win it unless Congressman Weiner puts his hat in, then, that’ll be a dog fight that the Democratic Party doesn’t need. But that is neither here nor there.
When the numbers are finally tallied by the Board of Elections, he will probably have spent $140M. But then again, if you give a bottomless checkbook to any politician, they’ll spend as much as they can. And Goonberg is worth what? $16B? Shoot, that ain’t even one percent of his net worth.
You are absolutely right about it being about his ego, being mayor of New York City brings you a kind of prestige and power that you can’t get even running a major multinational company. It’s kinda why drug dealers like to hang out with rappers, and vice versa.
That third term move? There is definitely some dictatorial behavior there. It doesn’t matter that he had good “approval” ratings. Those rules were set up for a reason.
And for all you folks who left or are thinking about leaving the five boroughs, I hear you just as well. I moved to NY in 2005. It definitely was not the place that I fell in love with in my days of youth when I used to visit fam in Flatbush and Harlem. Common people are getting priced the FUCK out of there, myself included.
You can live a beautiful life making 30-40k/year in many parts of the country. But still ain’t no place like the City that never sleeps. SMH
“…being mayor of New York City brings you a kind of prestige and power that you can’t get even running a major multinational company. It’s kinda why drug dealers like to hang out with rappers, and vice versa.”
I couldn’t agree with you more, homie. That’s a real good angle. Some ppl say, “He’s rich, he doesn’t need the bread. So he must be in office cuz he really cares about helping New Yorkers.”
NOOOOOOOOOO! He’s there because of the reasons Rawsee just gave.
Yeah, if you added up the annual salaries of NYC’s entire lower-middle class, it prolly wouldn’t add up to what Ol’ Goonie spent on his re-election campaign.
If I made the money I made here in a state with a lower cost of living, I’d be livin’ large… buy me a Tony Montana crib with really high gates & a pack of attack-hounds like Mr. Burns.
thats crazy…..mayor goonberg sounds like he trying to run nyc like mayor frank “i am the law” hague did jersey city what kind of new yorkers are voting shit like this???
“From now on, nothing goes down unless I’m involved. No blackjack, no dope deals, no nothing. A nickle bag gets sold in the park, I want in.”
-Mayor Goonberg quoting Frank White from KING OF NEW YORK
im tweeting this comment ^^^^^
YO I FEEL IF THATS THE CASE OTHER MAYORS COULD HAVE DONE THAT TOO IF THEY FELT THEY WERE DOING A GOOD JOB….I HAVENT SEEN SHIT CHANGE SO GREATLY WHERE HE NEEDED TO STICK AROUND…
Exactly. What mayor didn’t think he did a good job?
But Goonberg figured he knows what’s right for everybody. He’s basically saying he’s the greatest mayor of all-time, cuz everybody before him just stepped down when their time was up.
Well I work for the City of NY. Yeah sounds great …full pension and Benefits, etc… But it’s not all Daisies and Rainbows. We got a raise and poof . The tolls , Bus and trains go up . The cost of living in NYC goes up. Milk , meat , everyday items that we use goes up. The tolls on the Verrozano – Narrows Bridge back in the days cost $3.00 . Now it’s $11.00 one way. Rents are going up. Yet nobody can say they feel secure about their Jobs. Even if you work for the city . It’s still hard out there to make a living. I like SI. Cheapest Borough of the 5. But it’s still expensive out here. I wanna see what Mr Goonberg is going to do for the forgotten Borough that you have to pay to get into everyday.
That Verrozano Bridge fare is crazy. Owning a car in NYC can easily land somebody in the poorhouse. The cost of living goes up but the amount of cash we make stays the same, or decreases.
Somebody from Wu Tang ahould become assemblyman for Staten Island… Ghostface perhaps? He’d slap the shit outta Goonberg on behalf of your borough.
Dayum I miss NY fam but glad I moved to Delaware where there’s no tax the Mayor doesn’t make major decisions that affect my life and all I have to worry about it property tax. Plus I know the Vice president still has his eye on my state! I still rep BK but it was time to move on!!! Keep the faith people and keep me informed cause I might have to hijack my Mama and bring her down here for good! Holla!!!
There’s no tax in Delaware? Sounds like Las Vegas, another place on my potential new home list. Wherever I move, the nightlife has got to be poppin like NYC.
I was apartment hunting in BK. According to the lyin-ass real estate agents, Myrtle & Wyckoff in Bushwick is now called “East Williamsburg.”
Nigga, please!!!
Hahahaha so what now u becoming a hippster ?
LMAO!!! Yeah. I’mma go to Old Navy & buy some jeans.
Their jeans are always 10 sizes smaller than advertised lol
Well, the article is actually the greatest on this notable subject. I harmonize together with your conclusions and definitely will thirstily anticipate your next updates. Simply stating thanks won’t just be sufficient, for your fantastic lucidity in your writing. I will immediately find your rss to stay privy of every updates. Delightful work and much success in your business efforts!