Mastodawn

Gotta love The Guardian for those quotes from Europeans on #Mamdani's win in NYC:

"Verbeek backed this with a comment he had overheard in an Oslo cafe, in which Mamdani was described as an American politician who “finally” sounded normal."

“Normal. That’s the word,” Verbeek wrote in his newsletter, The Planet. “Here, taking care of one another through public programs isn’t radical socialism. It’s Tuesday.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/06/europe-zohran-mamdani-policies-normal

Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’

Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given

The Guardian

@ilumium
He's absolutely not normal for the USA, even New York City. I wonder what will happen in the near future, and how it will impact us nearby.

Overall, don't think that anything has changed, or will change. Don't think that things will be back to 2015 or 2019. This is not a place where visitors will be safe. It's not really a place where immigrants are welcomed anymore (unless you're on an H1-B).

Stay home. Do not come here.

noplasticshower Nov 6

@ilumium Republicans are selfish piggies

bouriquet Nov 6

@ilumium Of course those nations wisely tax the wealthy a bit more and spend less on unnecessary military spending (while still supporting NATO). It’s called sensible spending policies. Perhaps higher fees and taxes to operate a Gulfstream jet could subsidize free bus rides?

@bouriquet @ilumium just tax every plane that flies above a certain altitude and/or speed with a high tax unless there are least 100 passengers or its a cargo plane. Seriously I've been watching the number of private jets recently just near where I live and its a lot.

bouriquet Nov 7

@oldgeek @ilumium Maybe 50 passengers: that allows regional jets to serve remote rural areas

@bouriquet @ilumium yup or how about a turboprop that seats 50. Just fly low and slow. Many of the private jets are at 30k+ and over 450 knts.

Yup, in Europe he would be a typical centre-left politician. The American media seems to twist everything out of shape if it isn't right wing. Even centre-right people in America get labelled left wing.

Maybe it also helps that there are a genuine diversity of parties in most European parliaments covering the entire political spectrum. You can more obviously see where a politician belongs in politics because all the different parties are sitting alongside each other in the same assembly.

Nu Modular Nov 7

@FediThing @ilumium The bulk of the masses are constituted of middle range, therefore, Divide and Conquer strategy is still effective - especially in overextended duopolies like the US. Educational systems that focus mainly on Lowest Common Denominator further entrench polaric behavioral patterns, lending easy prey for abuse of power from the wealthiest.

It's a form of slavery, and the leaders that perpetuate such mindless regression, need to be replaced immediately, if not sooner.

Eggs now in different baskets.Nov 7

@FediThing @ilumium
If that is true then "left of centre" has certainly shifted to the right since my political awakening in the 1980s.

Mamdani seems more of a centerist who understands that markets have to be regulated in order to function properly and that government (at all levels) has to take responsibility for that regulation.

Left-of-centre in my mind would be Mamdani enacting policies to take oligarch owned tenements into public ownership to create affordable housing for residents.

@ilumium also in the Netherlands “Normaal” has extra connotations - just be fucking sensible, reasonable and sane!

@ilumium Some years ago, the Dutch government introduced 'social loans' for students, with low interest (around 0% for a long time). Monthly instalments depended on income, and at the end of loan maturity, the remainder would be let off.

There has been giant uproar, because before, students simply received money from the government to cover their studies and cost of living. So now the loans have been abolished, the old system is back, and people with study debts get compensated.

Anne Ominous Nov 7

i've done so much traveling & i've tried my best to get Americans to understand what a crappy society we have & how good we COULD have it, like many other places!

but, US citizens are deeply propagandized, practically brainwashed into thinking that we're BEST; self-made people exist & are the pinnacle; we dont need to help each other, bc it's every person for themselves.

we need a natl identity that rests on community instead of capitalism. not sure we'll get it before we collapse

@ilumium What Mamdani is proposing is actually not even socialism. Socialism is primarily a philosophy (Marx was a philosopher, not a politician), where the means of production are collectivised and state-governed. What Mamdani is propagating is actually social democracy: maintaining the free market whilst ensuring social wellbeing and equality through redistribution of wealth (through taxes) and subsidies for basic amenities and services, such as public transport, childcare, healthcare, etc.

Agitatra 🚲🐻🌿🇪🇺🇺🇦Nov 7

@ilumium Unfortunately, at least here in Germany, "Tuesday" is nearly over.

@ilumium Completely agree . Something very rare especially in us o politics. Although I see it creeping into Canadian politics to. Remember if you don't get out and vote it is the same thing as saying you like the guy who won. BABA ( BUY ANYTHING BUT AMERICAN)