 |
1. �Coates’s quarrel isn’t really with Obama,� writes Benjamin Wallace-Wells in his profile of the author Ta-Nehisi Coates, �or with civil-rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. It is instead with the metaphors through which they made a compromise with the country � Obama as the embodiment of hope and King the embodiment of dreams. These formulations gave white liberals a pass� (�The Hard Truths of Ta-Nehisi Coates,� July 13�26). Though many readers agreed with Coates’s assessment of the structural causes of racism, commenter cdilla4rilla, who identified himself as an African-American man, felt that it didn’t give enough agency to black people. �Subjects such as agency and personal responsibility are still very much taboo when it comes to these type of discussions. Looking at the external factors is easy to do, but we rarely look at the internal factors or bury them in layers of blame on external factors.� �The call is to see that abusive policies are being carried out in all of our names, and logically to change the policies,� wrote commenter alevin. But is Coates suggesting such change could happen? �Coates seems to despair of even the possibility of ending white supremacy,� wrote commenter sarcasticthrowaway. �If it’s just an irredeemable fact of American society, then maybe it isn’t logical to try and change what can’t be changed.� The commenter then took the argument even further: �He doesn’t think we should make systems of government work better � because they are working excellently at the task for which they were designed: to exploit black people.�
2. �Brooklyn Bridge Park is a splendid straggler in the legacy of Michael Bloomberg, one that Bill de Blasio has shown little interest in,� wrote Justin Davidson about what he sees as Mayor de Blasio’s modest efforts to improve the city’s parks (�When Will de Blasio See the Light on Parks?,� July 13�26). Mitchell J. Silver, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, took issue with Davidson’s assessment of de Blasio’s Community Parks Initiative, which targets the city’s green spaces. In a letter, Silver wrote that Davidson �overlooks the enormous impact this program is already having on the life of the city � In its first phase, the Community Parks Initiative has already brought targeted improvements to parks across 55 communities � that’s ahead of the capital projects (including state-of-the-art play equipment, water features, sports courts and more) NYC Parks will be undertaking in these neighborhoods, bringing new, permanent resources to parks that haven’t seen improvements in decades.� He added: �By focusing on growing, high-poverty neighborhoods, we’re ensuring that high-quality parks are available to all New Yorkers.� In a response, Davidson applauded �Silver’s passionate commitment to rehabilitating neglected parks in low-income areas. But overall investment on New York’s green spaces remains insufficient, and parks equity is an elusive goal under current budget constraints: Last year, shortly after the mayor pledged $130 million to upgrade 35 community parks, the media mogul Barry Diller announced plans for a sumptuous little park-on-a-pier a few blocks from his West Chelsea office. The budget: $130 million, most of it his money. When one philanthropist can direct as much toward one pet project as the mayor spreads across a citywide program, then government has a hard time keeping up.�
3. Adam Sternbergh’s story on the war against plastic bags had readers taking sides on the finer points of bag reuse (�Thank You for Not Using Me!,� July 13�26). �One thing I don’t understand,� wrote nymag.com commenter JDuggity, �those who champion bag bans and those who eschew plastic bags � how do they line their trash cans?� �Most of the stuff you buy at the grocery store gets, you know, eaten, which is why what goes into the trash can is always far less voluminous than what one carts home,� responded Flybynite. �And also why plastic bags quickly accumulate to alarming levels in pantries.� Many readers were just astounded by the sheer volume of plastic bags New Yorkers go through. �This piece on plastic bags is brilliantly written, hilarious, and sad all at once,� tweeted James Turner.
4. Maureen O’Connor’s column on the politics of where to ejaculate prompted a spelling debate (�The Complicated Politics of Where to Come,� July 13�26). �It is always �coming,’ �come,’ or �came,’ � wrote the Hairpin’s Haley Mlotek. Jezebel’s Natasha Vargas-Cooper argued for �cum,� and The Observer’s Matthew Kassel found a deeper meaning in the discussion: �Just as you wouldn’t want your partner imagining someone who isn’t you during sex � it’s hard to stomach the fact that the person you’re shtupping might be imagining the wrong version � to you � of a word that carries so much weight. In the Gershwin song �Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,’ at least the quarreling lovers know which words they’re pronouncing differently.�