Michael Feng

[Yiatin Chu @ycinnewyork]

Weaver’s attack on property owners, using race and privilege to push her agenda, reminds me of former chancellor Carranza’s racist rhetoric towards Asians in NYC’s Specialized High Schools.

Asians have the highest homeownership rate in NYC and many are also housing providers. Weaver’s white supremacy message that helped her organize to push rent moratorium and restrictive eviction laws have hurt Asians as well.

https://t.co/Q18Qu6Oafk

[Ritchie Torres @RitchieTorres]

For many in the Asian community, the assault on the SHSAT is seen as a frontal assault on their path to the American Dream.

The ideological crusade against the SHSAT has been alienating growing numbers of Asian Americans from the Democratic Party in New York—a trend seen in the 2024 presidential election. We should, in the clearest possible terms, reassure the Asian community that the SHSAT will remain firmly intact and that Asian Americans are a valued part of the Democratic coalition. Listening to the people on the ground—rather than capitulating to the loudest interest groups—is a good rule for not only for winning elections but also governing.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Exactly

[Michael Feng @gnef]

@thomasschiavone @georgechen Haha. Yeah, that's too young for a sit-down meal where you yourself can use two hands to eat.

[Michael Feng @gnef]

@thomasschiavone @georgechen They just need to be 5-6 years old. My younger one was able to robustly travel internationally around that age. It will come sooner than you think!

[Michael Feng @gnef]

@georgechen @thomasschiavone Nice! I was just in Tokyo for a week with the family. My wife was able to experience a classic Omurice for one meal. Lots of udon and soba otherwise since that's what the kids enjoyed.

[Letters of Note @LettersOfNote]

"I would like to be paid like a plumber."

When Steve Albini pitched Nirvana: https://t.co/6fXTJMr4Uj

[Coleman Hughes @coldxman]

A few words about the protests/encampments at Columbia:

Back in December 2018, when I was a junior, a white student named Julian Von Abele was filmed going on an ethno-centric rant about how much he loved white people. He said things like: “White people are the best thing that ever happened to the world,” and “We invented science and industry, and you want to tell us to stop because ‘Oh My God we’re so bad’”. He was careful to add the caveat: “I don’t hate other people. I just love white men”.

The video went viral on campus. He was unanimously condemned: by students, professors and administrators alike. He was even banned from Barnard’s campus––though the “incident” didn’t even happen on Barnard’s campus.

Race pride is the opiate of weak individuals. I have always thought so. Nevertheless, I defended Julian at the time––not on the grounds that he was right, but on the grounds that he had every right to express his dumb beliefs without fear of being disciplined or banned from a campus for doing so. I don’t recall anyone at Columbia who publicly came to his defense at the time.

Fast forward 5 years: we now have Columbia students chanting “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea” en masse. To my ear, these slogans suggest support for, at minimum, violence against Jewish civilians in Israel––much worse than anything Von Abele advocated. Yet all the same people who were silent or supportive of his cancellation have suddenly discovered the virtues of unbridled free speech. Forgive me if I don’t believe it for a second.

Let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that any of these people value liberal principles. They don’t. They believe in the destruction of Israel––which they erroneously categorize as an colonialist entity––and they will use every liberal principle, selectively and cynically, to further that goal.

But let me be clear: I completely support their right to say all of these slogans. Students should be allowed to chant “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea”. These are slogans whose meaning is contested. What it means to your ear is not necessarily what it means to an idiotic Columbia student whose only knowledge of the Israel-Palestine conflict comes from Instagram posts also made by idiots.

Free speech is never about protecting speech you agree with. It’s always about protecting speech you hate. That is precisely the speech which needs protecting. Having defended the Von Abele’s of the world, no one will accuse me of being a hypocrite.

Of course, when they cross the line from speech into prohibited actions––creating zones where certain kinds of students (e.g., Zionists) can’t enter; human chains that prevent freedom of movement for other students; harassment/stalking of specific students, and so forth––then they must be disciplined to the full extent of campus policy and the law. If they want to get arrested or expelled, then schools and police should grant that wish without a hint of guilt. Let them explain to their parents why they threw away $70,000/year over a foreign conflict that they barely understand.

Still, the punchline must be: Hypocrites deserve free speech too.

[Elie Mystal @ElieNYC]

If Trump was president and Rudy Giuliani were mayor, most liberals would be screaming.

[Michael Feng @gnef]

@georgechen Yesterday, my wife came home with take-out from Curry Hyuga in Burlingame. They have Beef Hayashi Omurice. Not exactly the omurice they have in Japan, but delicious nonetheless. https://t.co/H2TJKoXz4X

[Michelle Tandler @michelletandler]

The SF Chronicle is finally acknowledging what we have been writing about here for years.

People are coming to San Francisco for the cash, cheap drugs, and “live and let live” attitude towards theft and public intoxication.

Can’t solve problems without getting to the truth…

[Josiah Johnson @KingJosiah54]

Spo and Pat Riley after the Heat drafted Jaime Jaquez

[Michael Feng @gnef]

@georgechen BTW, did you purchase the Apple Vision Pro?

[Michael Feng @gnef]

@georgechen @thomasschiavone Probably too competitive these days and restaurants need to specialize.

[Jeff Morris Jr. @jmj]

The TikTok War: Why High School & College Kids Are Getting The Wrong Information about Hamas & Israel

I spent the weekend trying to reverse engineer the TikTok algorithm, as I am convinced this is the reason we're losing the information war with high school & college students.

[Tracy Chou 🌻 @triketora]

Smitten, Jewish-owned ice creamery, vandalized, tagged with pro-Palestinian graffiti >> this is awful every which way https://t.co/yKXntPxx22

[Michael Lazerow @lazerow]

Powerful words that represent the feelings of many progressive Jews (or former progressive Jews). https://t.co/LZF0yFjuE3