Dear Manhattan-American:

I am planning a trip to New York in June. I have not visited it for 40 or so years. Friends have informed me that Manhattan is now very gentrified and has lost its edge, and I should concentrate on Brooklyn. What is your take on this?

—  Nancy from Denver, CO

Dear Nancy:

Brooklyn, ugh. Isn’t that the place where people who can’t find an apartment to rent in Manhattan decamp to? There is nothing in that borough that is better than in Manhattan. So go ahead, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, take in the view, and immediately turn back.

P.S. If you haven’t visited in 40 years, no doubt you have lost your edge as well.

Death Manhattan-American:

I am from Oregon and very proud of my Irish ancestry. I believe the name ‘Paddy Wagon’ stems from New York. Is the name a slur, something that I should take offense?

— Declan Fallihee of Portland, Oregon 

Dear Declan:

Prisoner vans were called paddy wagons because back in the day the police force primarily comprised Irishmen. If you are seeking things to take offense about, there are a great many more that ought to get your Irish up.

Dear Manhattan-American:

I am an ABC (American Born Chinese) married to a Euro-American male. We’ve never been to NYC before. We have two weeks for our vacation, and I want to explore every inch of Manhattan. The problem is that my husband is terrified to visit Harlem in fear that he will stand out. Is there anything I can say that will alleviate his concern? He is not a racist, just worried.

— Suzy Chang-Larkin, Kansas City

Dear Suzy:

For my entire adult life I have lived in Manhattan. I have never been to Harlem. I believe they have three attractions: Sylvia’s and Red Rooster restaurants and the Apollo Theater. I would be more concerned about traveling to Harlem via our dirty, rat-infested, homeless-sheltering subways than by being in Harlem. Take an Uber, cab, or bus there and back and both you and your husband should be fine.

Meet our Manhattan-American: Susan Breslow

This installment of our advice column comes from Susan Breslow, the Web’s foremost expert on romantic travel. In fact, she breaks out in hives when the words “family travel” are mentioned. A widely published travel journalist, Susan’s assignments have led her from Alaska to Zimbabwe. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, Departures, National Geographic, and other major magazines and she is the author of Destination Weddings For Dummies and I Really Want a Dog. She served as president of the New York Travel Writers Association and is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers Editors’ Council. As the former marketing director of New York Magazine, she originated the highly successful “City Weddings and Honeymoons” section, which was spun off into the freestanding New York Weddings magazine. Susan holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism and a B.A. in English and studied Multimedia Technology at New York University.

Read more about Susan.

See the list of Susan’s articles here.

Readers,

Feel free to direct any question of your choice to our advice team at **@tr**********.com . T-Boy has an illustrious team of writers with an acute understanding of their ancestral homeland.

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“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a classic 1960 novel that delves into the complexities of racial injustice and the moral conscience of a small Southern town.

Published in 1960, this Pulitzer Prize-winning book continues to captivate readers with its compelling characters, powerful themes, and thought-provoking narrative. Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, the story unfolds through the eyes of Scout Finch, lawyer Atticus Finch’s young daughter, growing up in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. Through Scout’s innocent yet perceptive viewpoint, Lee offers profound insights into the human condition, challenging readers to confront their own prejudices and embrace empathy.

The novel begins with Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill as they embark on a journey of self-discovery and learn valuable lessons about compassion, integrity, and the destructive nature of prejudice. As the story progresses the story shifts around Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer who defends a black man named Tom Robinson falsely accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell.

The events lead to tension as the trial unfolds, highlighting the deep-rooted racism and inequality prevalent in Maycomb in the 60s. Despite overwhelming evidence of Tom’s innocence, the biased jury delivers a guilty verdict, highlighting the pervasive nature of prejudice in society. Through Atticus’ unwavering commitment to justice, the novel presents a powerful critique of the flawed legal system and the social barriers that hinder progress. A topic even more timely today.

In parallel to the trial, Scout and Jem experience the cruel realities of racism firsthand. They befriend a reclusive neighbor, Boo Radley, who becomes a symbol of misunderstood innocence. The children’s gradual realization of the complexities of their community challenges their own prejudices and shapes their understanding of empathy and compassion.

Themes and Symbolism

“To Kill a Mockingbird” tackles a multitude of timeless themes, primarily exploring racial injustice, social inequality, and the loss of innocence. Lee uses the symbol of the mockingbird to convey the idea of innocence destroyed by prejudice. Atticus advises Scout and Jem that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they provide nothing but joy through their song. Similarly, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are metaphorical mockingbirds, innocent victims of society’s prejudice and cruelty.

The novel also addresses the theme of moral courage, as embodied by Atticus Finch. Despite facing overwhelming odds and condemnation from the townspeople, Atticus fearlessly defends Tom Robinson, guided by his unwavering sense of right and wrong. Through Atticus, Lee emphasizes the importance of standing up for justice and challenging societal norms, even in the face of adversity.

Impact and Significance

“To Kill a Mockingbird” remains an influential and thought-provoking work of literature that continues to resonate with readers across generations. Lee’s nuanced portrayal of characters, including the fiercely independent Scout, the compassionate Atticus, and the mysterious Boo Radley, enables readers to connect with their struggles and triumphs. The novel’s exploration of racial injustice, empathy, and the loss of innocence encourages introspection and raises important questions about societal norms and the pursuit of justice.

Beyond its literary merits, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has also had a profound impact on American society. It played a significant role in shaping conversations about race and social equality during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and continues to inspire discussions about systemic racism and the importance of empathy in today’s society.

The court scene of the movie “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Who Was Harper Lee?

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, the youngest of four children. Her father, A.C. Lee, was a lawyer who once defended two black men accused of murdering a white storekeeper. Both father and son were hanged.

Lee developed a passion for English literature while enrolled at Monroe County High School, under the guidance of her teacher, Gladys Watson, who became her mentor. After graduating in 1944, Lee attended the University of Alabama where she wrote for the university newspaper, followed by a summer school program, “European Civilisation in the Twentieth Century,” at Oxford University in England.

In 1949, Lee made her way to New York City where she first worked at a bookstore, then as an airline reservation agent—while writing in her spare time. Eight-years later, the now 31-year-old Lee delivered a manuscript, “Go Set a Watchman” to the Lippincott publishing house who eventually bought it. At Lippincott, the novel fell into the hands of Tay Hohoff. Hohoff was impressed, and felt “The spark of the true writer flashed in every line”, but saw the manuscript not ready publication, describing it as “more a series of anecdotes than a fully conceived novel.” Lee wrote a series of drafts under Hohoff’s guidance, who later described the process: “After a couple of false starts, the story-line, interplay of characters, and fall of emphasis grew clearer, and with each revision—there were many minor changes as the story grew in strength and in her own vision of it—the true stature of the novel became evident. “Go Set a Watchman” achieved its finished form and was retitled “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Lee opted to use the name “Harper Lee” rather than risk having her first name Nelle be misidentified as “Nellie.”

I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird. I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers, but at the same time I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I’d expected.

— Harper Lee, 1964.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was published July 11, 1960, was an immediate bestseller and won great critical acclaim, including the 1961 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Lee the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given by the United States government for “outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts.”

Nelle Harper Lee died in her sleep on the morning of February 19, 2016, aged 89, Monroeville, Alabama.

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Color Blind

Someone called me a racist the other day. I was shocked that someone would call me that just because I was critical about the violent activity of some people who just happened to be of a certain culture. I don’t think I became defensive … no use debating someone whose mind was already made up … I just took the insult in and pondered about it.

Yesterday I got a very uplifting compliment from one of the Mexican handymen I work with. Fernando said he has worked with many people but there was something about me that was different. “You are the nicest person” he said. And then he hugged me. That was a Kodak moment — a heavyset, stocky short Mexican hugging a lean, aging, 6 foot Asian. We laughed.

The other day, a Hindu friend, was sharing what life is like without his wife. Raj is planning on a European cruise but what’s a cruise without someone to share the adventure with? He asked me if I knew someone who’d like to go with him. I’m working on it.

Last week, a friend from Tanzania asked me for advice as he was purchasing a lot of computers for his homeland. Whenever Kunta calls, he laughs. He says he loves to hear my smiling voice. He wants to get into some kind of business with me. We dream about importing and exporting stuff — copper, emerald, coffee beans, leather goods, pistacio nuts … African stuff. We even have a jungle junket in mind. Even if nothing comes out of these talks, we just enjoy brainstorming about our global enterprise.

Some of my best friends are not of the same skin color as me … not the same age as me. They may have different religious and political ideologies, different sexual preferences, but that’s fine with me. We’re all part of the human race.

I believe people (even those with good intentions) who harp at our differences play a losing game. For them, there’s always an abuser and a victim (and they’re never the abuser). I was in a meeting led by a Guatemalan American. Out of nowhere, Gertrude told him she empathized with his being South American. She practically said “you should feel bad because of your dark skin.” The teacher was visibly shaken. He probably never considered himself anything but American … even I had never looked at him through colored lenses … heck! his skin was even lighter than mine. Gertrude brought the mirror into the room. How did that help?

When someone has a pimple on his nose, do you point it out? I grew up with a someone who stuttered. We were told not to mind it. The stuttering went away.

So when someone calls you a racist, chances are, it isn’t because they really know you. Maybe it’s because they are trying to force you into their worldview. Who needs to fit into a world shaped by bitterness and self importance?

But this is just me. TGIF people!

Raoul

“Your journey to peace starts when you stop debating the uninformed, reasoning with the unreasonable, and bantering with fools.” –— Anonymous

Thanks to Mel of Washington, D.C.

Videos of the Week

Thanks to Rodney of Manitoba, B.C, for this elevator prank.

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C. for this inspirational video

Parting Shots

Thanks to Kathy of Bend, Oregon

Thanks to Cheryl of Temple City, CA

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Naomi of North Hollywood, CA

The post Life in Airhead City appeared first on Traveling Archive.

If you’re the Yes Men, you meet NRA lunacy head on with the ludicrous. If you don’t know the Yes Men, Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos, from their prior projects beginning in 1996, don’t take no for an answer. They’ve just released a twenty minute film on YouTube that underscores how the NRA’s steam is generated by fear rooted in racism. Included is a segment of their summer appearance at the Reagan Presidential Library in which the “NRA” reveals their Share the Safety project to match every purchase of a selection of guns with a refurbished gun donated to a vetted residence in an inner city of the purchaser’s choice.

Satirical impersonation is a key Yes Men tool, appropriating the identities of their targets, often corporate, providing them “identity correction” free of charge. In this arena, the Russians can only bow down and admit they’re not worthy. From sample projects in the Yes Man Lab, here’s one working over the DNC’s new progressive veneer.

The following info comes from a Yes Men press release with helpful sub-links, including tracking NRA money to those profiles in courage who represent us in Congress while their canned political rhetoric redefines venality.

#WecallBS on the NRA’s Very Existence

New Yes Men film highlights fundamental racism of modern gun lobby

In the wake of the Parkland shooting and the inspiring activism of teen survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the National Rifle Association and its Republican partners are facing intense scrutiny for their critical role in the rise of mass shootings and of homicides overall in America.

The NRA’s unhinged rhetoric and utter lack of remorse have been on full display since the horrific gun massacre at Stoneman Douglas two weeks ago. Spokesperson Dana Loesch (notorious for her recent ads that seem to be mustering NRA supporters into a pro-Trump paramilitary) even seemed to blame the media for the shootings, while NRA President Wayne LaPierre spewed more of his usual “arm the teachers” lunacy (promptly parroted by the current occupant of the Oval Office).

A short Yes Men film, completed in August 2017 and launched today on YouTube, uses shock humor to remind us where the NRA’s lunacy and ugliness come from: FEAR — specifically, the profoundly terrified racism of the ’70s. Featuring a Yes Men hoax performed June 22, 2016 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the film tells:

• how Republicans — in a terrified reaction to the Black Panthers’ performative activism — once promoted the first gun-control legislation;
• how, once the Black Power movement was crushed, Republicans began calling for looser gun-control legislation, presumably for (white) “defense”;
• how the NRA, once a moderate organization, became a tool of racist Republican fear when it was hijacked by extremists including LaPierre, its current president; and
• how fear of a Black uprising partly morphed into the right-wing street’s signature terror of “government” (which in its best form, after all, is just another word for “people power“).

The film communicates how the NRA and the Republican Party, tapping into deep racist fear for their power and profit, have turned America into the most violent high-income country in the world by a truly immense margin, both overall and specifically. (We have 7 times the homicide rate, and 25 times the rate of gun deaths, of the average high-income country — mainly thanks to Republicans and the NRA.)

The film also features a comical encounter with the NRA’s Dana “Paramilitary” Loesch and her sinister, truth-indifferent “debate” techniques that so spectacularly failed at CNN’s Town Hall last week when she tried to use them against Parkland school shooting survivor Emma González.

With this film, the Yes Men wish to join the students of Stoneman Douglas (and many others before them) in calling B.S. on the NRA’s very existence. Please support them, and the nationwide #NeverAgain movement:

• Students can organize walkouts wherever they are.
• Anyone can attend or support the March For Our Lives.
• College students can skip Florida for spring break, because money seems to be the only thing that talks to some people.
• And most importantly, EVERYONE needs to do whatever we can to make sure the politicians who have so much blood on their hands never work in D.C. again.

Flotsam and Jetsam on the Lure of Guns:

Applause for the Yes Men. The more exposure the NRA’s bought and paid for mental infirmities gets outside of the safe confines of CPAC and the evermore extremist wings of NRA members, the faster any remaining shreds of credibility will depart. Members who haven’t yet completed their transformation into pod people worshiping at the sacrificial altar of a faux 2nd Amendment might start to drift. Maybe even members of mainstream media will quit prefacing their interviews on gun topics by acknowledging their ready acceptance of recent 2nd Amendment interpretations. If they bother to study up on the 2nd Amendment’s throughout most of this country’s history, before the recent political hucksterism flowing over into the courts altered it, they might instead make mention of it when they interview the instant Constitutional scholars with expertise in the 2nd Amendment, carefully honed over pitchers of beer with like-minded experts who studied at the school of Wayne LaPierre.

And boy, if it pans out the NRA’s fungible dark money millions funneled to the most venal of politicians had sources including not just the usual suspects like the Koch villains but foreign interests as well,  “I’m the NRA” ads may change out stalwart imagery like Roy Rogers for an international villain look. How delicious if the NRA goes down as a bagman.

When Gore was running for President, I hosted a forum on gun control issues at the National Press Club. The panel was to include a spokesman from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a couple other experts on violence, and a spokesman from the NRA. The day of the forum, the NRA told me its representative was stuck in a snowstorm in Idaho. When I asked if they would send another person, I was told no. So, I put up an empty chair in the NRA’s place and the panel had a good time working over NRA nutball mythology. Alas, eventually the NRA had the last laugh, taking as much credit as they could for Gore’s loss in various states including his home state of Tennessee, land of Davy Crockett.

Indeed, the NRA is prominent among groups that can claim credit for putting America’s democracy in front of a funhouse mirror. These include the finance/insurance sector, AIPAC, Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, Big Oil, etc…, groups progressives shouldn’t take a nickel from. By comparison, the messages NRA-related groups have flooded the Internet with for years make claims of election impacts from Russian social media mischief a joke. As do many of the hot-button fundraising pleas bombarding our inbox, but gun rights crazy talk is in a divisive league of its own.

My personal experience with guns isn’t extensive, but it’s adequate to know guns can be a blast. When small it was exciting to walk a family farmland with my dad, looking for quail and pheasant. I took note my dad never kept shells in the house, a practice I continued when acquiring the seldom-used shotguns. My first encounter with the NRA was safety-related, back before the NRA had been taken over by extremists in the service of the gun industry. Earning a marksmanship merit badge in Kansas on the march to Eagle had more cachet than, say, basket weaving. Occasional encounters with guns since, from skeet shooting to hunting efforts that probably still have quail telling jokes around their campfires, have been fun. Less enjoyable is the sound of distant gunshots late at night in the middle of Washington, DC, where I live.

When I was a kid every boy had a Daisy BB gun. Back before BB guns could be pumped and pressurized into serious danger, buddies would don protective goggles and we’d have shootouts. Thrilling, until stung. It has me wondering how much of the attraction to guns is primal from eons of hunting for survival. But other countries, including wild and wooly Australia, have responded sensibly to gun tragedies and thus far their citizens’ DNA hasn’t broken apart. Norway is on track to ban semi-automatic weapons, I doubt mankind’s essence will melt down there either.

Perhaps gun enthusiasm might be quenched by paintball. My uncle Jack, a Carlson Raider, was the first Marine atop Mt. Surabachi at Iwo Jima. Silver Star from Howling Mad Smith for leading the reconnaissance that enabled the assault — scaling sheer cliffs under withering gunfire, hand to hand combat. Naturally, I figured I’d be a natural. In my first paintball combat, surrounded by the jungles of St. Lucia, I was quickly dispatched by a young girl. Despite that humiliation my daughter and I both thought it a treat. Maybe a gun-buyback program with ample paintball coupons would find success.

I’ve hunted big game in Africa, but I did it with a camera on travel assignments. Thrilling enough for me. In the Okavango Delta, while running backwards I shot an angry flying hippo, my photo trophy ran in Smithsonian magazine. I admit I don’t mind a guide with a rifle waiting in the Land Rover in case wildlife goes wild. You don’t have to go to Africa. The US has ample parks and countryside with wildlife. Take a kid shooting with a camera.

I’ve friends who are bow hunters and I’ve nothing against hunters shooting for food they consume or contribute to others, particularly when deer overload the ecosystem. One lucky friend enjoys yearly duck hunts in the English countryside, with its own rituals and the camaraderie that’s bedrock for many hunters.

But the idea of executing animals with military weapons and calling it sport turns the stomach.

A favorite gun escapade was outside of Williams, Arizona. Writing a travel whimsy, I was invited to join a gang on horseback to rob a train as it returned to Williams from the Grand Canyon. It’s robbed every day, and still they endure! Fun as hell. Strict rules: though the pistols have no live ammo never point them at anyone, nothing offensive is said even in jest and don’t accept jewelry. Eventually captured and perp-walked by the sheriff (played by the town’s mayor) the length of the train, I kept my share of the loot, 27 beans. People really fork over money and robbers have turned down wedding rings. Below I’m practicing for robbing the train. My life of crime may fire up after banksters and their Senate enablers wreck the economy again.

The next day a fellow train robber took me into a mountain forest. A former LA cop and a champion quick-draw pistol marksman, he brought along a pal who was a craftsman and expert at restoring historic firearms. He brought a single shot muzzle-loaded musket, and he had earned his mountain man attire. I can’t imagine them, particularly a former police officer from the streets of LA, endorsing such perils as arming teachers or loading up the public with military weapons that can fire 120 rounds a minute. The musket was a beautiful work of art and an enjoyment. It was handy to have an expert pour the gunpowder and load for me. Musket balls are like miniature cannonballs. Even just a few shots played havoc blowing a tree stump apart. Good time. I reflected on how in battles long ago, musket-balls were usually lethal even hitting a limb, shattering bone or ripping it off. Grim enough, but my how we’ve improved lethality since militia days.

Some from my generation who go to the mat fighting any gun restrictions have me wondering if they experienced trauma giving up their Disney coonskin caps (I had one as a kid, which I wore inside my miniature tee-pee), and fringed Annie Oakley skirts, so that part of them resides forever in Frontierland. So many gun die-hards just seem like immature kids who don’t know where play ends.

Maybe some have a Red Dawn movie fantasy playing in the back of their craniums. People who really believe their assault weapon gun collections keep government in line would likely meet my definition of the mentally suspect, perhaps earning closer scrutiny for “extreme risk protection orders.”

I once caught a guy breaking into my house. I’m glad I didn’t have a gun, because then the voice in one’s head keeps muttering “gun, gun, gun” as the go-to response. Perhaps that voice too easily crowds out thinking in the minds of some police who are poorly trained or who shouldn’t have been hired. Instead I found another solution to keep him until the police took him away. Frankly, if he’d had a gun, even if I had one tucked away I’d have said here’s my cash. Material possessions aren’t worth a fatal escalation that takes anyone’s life.

Cracks are now widening in the cult reassurance of NRA mythology that allows people to ignore realities of where gun violence is most likely — in the home, and not from home invaders. An Illinois gun show banned AR-15’s. Sporting goods stores are revolted by the potential of blood money. Corporate NRA promotional partnerships are now toxic. Kids who survive mass shootings call adults to account. Grand Theft Auto starts to look like aversion therapy. I think more gun proponents will find their way out of their cultural echo chamber and start to wonder what the hell were they thinking. I marvel at the contrast between those inspiring students finding their voice in Florida and the political phonies dancing a public relations cha-cha with the NRA.

This is what I know about gun control: There is no comprehensive insurance in life but that’s a poor excuse for inaction. Everything in life is a percentage game. Every improvement we can make in this world is a matter of increasing the odds for better outcomes, wherever and whenever we can. Once that’s accepted, the flimsy reasons opposing gun control measures collapse. Absolutes are hard to come by, but every adjustment of the odds saves lives. As adjustments add up, the odds change in favor of survival, gun mayhem is reduced. A percentage game.

There is no right to risk lives and condemn families to grief for an unfettered right to own any gun one fancies.

Maybe one day the debate chair for the NRA representative will be empty not because of a snowstorm in Idaho but because nobody wants to listen to those mad hacks anymore.

POST SCRIPT: Given the depressed and suicidal mindsets of school shooters, arming teachers might actually attract mayhem. And with the likely difference in firepower, given the guns the shooters likely have, some shooters might even relish the chance of a shootout with teachers that distorted minds might see as authoritarian oppressors. A blazing fantasy  finish like The Wild Bunch. The NRA has a perfect system. Arm potential perpetrators and then use fear of them to sell guns to everyone else.

I know a guy who was at that Congressional baseball practice where a Congressman nearly bled to death, and would have had another player not had a medical background. One bullet in his hip fractured bones and badly damaged internal organs. Three others were wounded before the shooter went down. My friend, a photographer, just missed being shot in the head. He knew everyone well and despite having experienced tough situations around the world he’s still getting over the mayhem at a baseball practice. Collective trauma hits everyone around. I think we have collective national trauma from news accounts, increasing fears for our children. For those distant from mass shootings, even small doses of trauma are cumulative, depressing and desensitizing us. Perhaps a national tipping point has been reached where NRA-coddling politicians will be held to account.

EDITOR’S NOTE: About ten-years ago, I had the unique opportunity to meet William “Bill” Bratton at a Los Angeles event. At that time he was Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. He was a humble, soft spoken man with a distinct Boston accent. I recently saw him on cable news. He was posed the question if he thought school teachers should carry guns. Bratton called President Trump’s proposal to arm teachers “the height of lunacy.” Adding, “Are we also then going to arm school bus drivers and school crossing guards? The #NRA and gun manufacturers would love that.” He called the concept an “ill thought out” political band-aid. Instead, he called for improved background checks and regulations without loopholes.

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