YOU SHOULD LEARN HOW TO SAY IT

So, the Great Replacement Theorists had a bad day last week, when we all woke up in our different time zones to the news that young Mr. Z. Mamdani had been elected Mayor of New York City. In contrast to them, I'm so happy about this that all my sentences are sounding poetic.

- By: Devika Brendon

He first got my attention because his main competitor Mr. Cuomo seemed to find it difficult to pronounce his surname. He said, rhythmically like a rapper, "The name is Mamdani. M. A. M. D. A.N.I. You should learn how to say it." Having one's name mispronounced is a micro aggressive discourtesy that all immigrants experience, and it's at the heart of the multicultural culture that New Yorkers exemplify. If you meet me, and my name is unfamiliar, and my face is different, and my history is different from yours, if you want to get to know me, as I am, not as a stereotype, or a caricature, ask me: 'How should I pronounce your name?' It's a first step. Extend to me some grace, and some respect, and some empathy. We can build a civilization on that.

Mamdani has been elected against every attempt to discredit and challenge his right to try to represent the citizens of the most famous City in the USA. As a recent citizen, naturalized in 2018, and born of immigrant parents on both sides, from South Asia and Africa, his electoral success threatens the white supremacist narrative which is being aggressively pursued by the current US administration.