Hafta letters: Asking cops about air quality, Sanchar Saathi, criticism of Mamdani coverage

Raj Kumar Jindal

Hello NL team,

Can Newslaundry consider the views of police personnel on air pollution? After all, they are breathing the same air, and I am sure Thanas and Chowkis do not have those efficient air filters. I am curious: are they aware of the ill effects of poor air quality, or is it somehow not affecting them? I am a frequent listener of NL Hafta.

In Hafta 565, Pooja mentioned (< 60 minutes into the episode) that assembly members decided to leave it to the government to decide whether to adopt a socialist or non-socialist economic approach. As a listener, shall I expect links/references to such claims, or are these just general insinuations from one's collective readings?

Raman 

Hafta 566 - Sanchar Saathi 

I totally agree with Nikhil Pahwa. A huge trust vacuum has developed over the past decade. I had mentioned this in an earlier mail, linking this to the success of “digital arrests”. While the Hafta panel was not all that convinced then, Manisha seemed to echo my thoughts this time! 

The "track lost phone” feature of the app – what use is it if the phone is not with me? I’ll use the website anyway - defeats the purpose. Trust has to be rebuilt – it is harming all of us, in obvious and subtle ways. Keep up the good work!

Anonymous 

Here’s a recommendation I’m sharing that’s worth a look. 

It argues that inequality in India is now worse than during Colonial times, with potential implications such as inflation, an affordability crisis, a boom in the gig economy, and the expansion of welfare programmes as decent-paying jobs shrink. I’m also curious whether any of you follow Gary Stevenson – if not, his work is worth checking out. What do you think of his idea of “taxing wealth, not work” – an introduction of a wealth tax? Cheers!

Anonymous 

Hey guys, 

I have a slight criticism of the Mamdani coverage (sorry :)). There were quite a few things which I felt weren't touched upon: we didn't talk about the blatant Islamophobic attacks on Zohran that came from the Democratic side itself – he was called a ‘jihadist’ by a Democrat; there was no mention of explicitly what his policies exactly were; they aren't too extravagant to even be termed socialist if you go through them; no mention of who actually voted for him? 

Only 30% of the people who were born in NYC voted for him; most importantly, the democratic heads Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries didn't/reluctantly backed his candidacy; the issue of AIPAC; billionaires like Bill Ackman openly lobbying against him. 

Most importantly, maybe, is there a shift towards more socialist policies in the West? Zohran won; the Green party in the UK is ahead of both Labour and Conservatives; the Netherlands elected a far-left leader; the reverberations for India? All shared in good faith. I hope it isn't offensive :)

Shrinjay P

Good morning folks, 

I hope you are all doing well. I wish a speedy recovery for Manisha's poor ankle. 

Last week's 'agree to disagree' discussion about Gen Z was refreshing to listen to and triggered me enough to pitch in. I was born in 91. I also don't like giving labels as much power as they currently possess - useful though they are - so I don't know which label I belong to. 

What I want to say is this: I don't know if the actions of Gen Z are right or wrong, justified or unjustified, directionless, being manipulated, etc. But what I think is that the tendency of older generations to look down on younger ones, driven by whatever notion of superiority they hold, merely compounds the problem. Again, I am not interested in whether the elders are justified in doing so. All I am saying is that from the lived experience perspective of the younger generations, they have decided, through whatever thought processes they are capable of, that all the problems of the world, all the problems that they are to inherit, are evidence and justification enough of their disrespect for their elders and for breaking the status quo. 

Yes, the older generations must be more experienced and wiser simply because they are older. But as long as the elders use those reasons to 'teach' or 'correct' the younger ones, we will be at a loss, from a collective societal perspective. If we want to bridge the gap between the older generations and the younger ones... the ones we see as wayward, weak, emotional, addicted, undisciplined and whatnot, we may have better success by adopting a more empathetic and apologetic standpoint. It may rankle our egos to do so, but if our objective is to guide them in the way we believe they should be, we first need them to come to the discussion table. 

I hope you can weigh in on this viewpoint of mine. Thank you.

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