Sid Rosenberg v. Mayor Mamdani

[kevtronics]

As reference, I have lived or worked in over 20 countries, most in this hemisphere but as far apart at the Emirates and Pakistan. I've seen what happens when "liberal" politicians promise too much and, usually, end up creating a repressive government to stay in power.

Once again, what happened to you in Latin America 60 years ago is not a defense for condoning racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia.

And is "Mamdani" really that hard for you to learn how to spell correctly? Or are you purposely writing it wrong, like all the MAGA people who still pronounced Kamala wrong even after being repeatedly corrected?

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

That is not "racist". It involves, to generalize, religion. Religions are not races.

You know damn well it’s about more than his religion. That is one component of the bigotry.

It is comical how it’s perfectly ok to be loathsome bigot, just don’t use the “r” adjective.

Again, I am critical of the language he used,

Did he not use strong enough bigoted language?

which was just plain rude..

That’s how we’re trying to minimize it? Rude. Not offensively bigoted. Just a tad rude.

But Sid disagrees with Mandami's policies, his criticism of Israel,

None of which justifies the language.

his attitudes towards radical Muslims.

“Radical” has lost any meaning. It’s anyone with dark skin and who is a Muslim.

There is nothing bigoted in, let's say as an example, "I think radicalized 'from the river to the sea' Muslims should be stopped"

Stopped from what? Speaking? Living? Come out and say it.

Yet there is an ocean of economists who believe that Mandami's concepts of economics are flawed and come from idealism rather than realism.

Do those economists go from the river to the sea? Guess what, there are economists who believe the opposite. And none of that has bearing on the vile language he deliberately chose.

That is fair to comment on, whether Sid does it on the radio or in a tweet.

Then comment on the merits of policy.

So you are equating a poorly written criticism of what the writer considers to be bad for New York City with bigotry and racism?

I’m comparing blatant ethnic and religious bigotry to ethnic and religious bigotry. It’s not just “poorly written” to call someone a cockroach and jihadist.

So, to simplify, you equate poor writing with racism and bigotry?

To simplify, I’m calling bigotry bigotry.

As I said, poorly written. "Cockroach" is a mild insult as today's insults go.

Just a casual little dehumanizing slur based on the color of his skin and his religion.

As to "jihadist" I submit that many, including Trump, have rejected the label, with Trump calling Mamdani a "very rational person" and dismissing the "jihadist" claims made by political opponents.

Sid wrote the message.

That attempt to establish "jihadist" as a sobriquet for Mandami fails on all counts, but certainly is not racist... it is jut a poor analysis of Mandami's world view.

A poor analysis? When did the Mayor advocate jihad? Hint: he didn’t. You and Sid know damn well what that term is supposed to mean as a slur.

If you define a "bigot" as one who is intolerant, a prejudiced person, a fanatic, or a chauvinist. I guess that term fits.

Yeah, I guess it does.

But probably all of us are fanatic over something, prejudiced against something else, so the term is either terribly broad or terribly misused today.

And we don’t all go calling someone those terms.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Once again, what happened to you in Latin America 60 years ago is not a defense for condoning racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia.

And yet…..

And is "Mamdani" really that hard for you to learn how to spell correctly?

It’s juvenile behavior.

Or are you purposely writing it wrong,

Yes

like all the MAGA people who still pronounced Kamala wrong even after being repeatedly corrected?

Yes

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

I did actually mean to link to the page in my initial post, but the definition proving my point is actually labeled as "dated", arguably the polar opposite of "woke".

Woke has become the catch all for anything and everything

 

[davideduardo]

Once again, what happened to you in Latin America 60 years ago is not a defense for condoning racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia.

I still work in several nations in Latin America. I simply began living working there about 65 years ago. Never stopped.

And is "Mamdani" really that hard for you to learn how to spell correctly? Or are you purposely writing it wrong, like all the MAGA people who still pronounced Kamala wrong even after being repeatedly corrected?

Sorry, I did not realize I was misspelling it. I am dyslexic (why I dropped out of American high school very early on), and it looks fine to me.

I still don't know how to correctly pronounce Kamala, maybe because she used so many accents in her short campaign that I am thoroughly confused. Of course, having a "what you see is what you say" principal language, I don't understand why "Letitia" is pronounced with a "sh" sound in the middle; to me it is "Le-tit-y-a".

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

And such a total lack of knowledge of economics that he does not know that, somehow, this has to be paid for.

It’s almost like he believes in spending in a way that supports those priorities. He’s not unaware that things cost money.

To many, his lack of defense of Israel after the October 2023 Palestinian attack would, in the mind of some, be enough to consider Mandami a radical.

Oh, and who are “some” as if we don’t know. So he didn’t say the mandatory things you think he should have, and that means he supports what happened. All of which ignores all of the events that preceded October 2023 against Palestinians.

Ah, we got to the bottom of this. It's those nasty Christians who founded this country...

Founders? Afraid not. Didn’t invoke the people who have been dead for two-plus centuries.

Back to radio and Sid: he has all the rights given to all of us to express his opinion. But in this case, even many supporters of his perspective think he used poor and, perhaps, incendiary, phrasing in expressing his viewpoint.

It’s about as “perhaps” incendiary as pulling out the n word.

 

[davideduardo]

And yet…..

It’s juvenile behavior.

No, it is dyslexia... the reason I had to drop out of high school. So you are being prejudiced against people with disabilities now?

I thought this was about a web post by a NYC radio talk host that was poorly thought out insofar as its language was concerned.

Yes

Dyslexia.

Yes

Dyslexia. I can't see the difference where two letters are inverted. I can't spell even the most common multi-syllable words in English without a dictionary. Yet I can be almost 100% perfect in Spanish

 

[davideduardo]

And is "Mamdani" really that hard for you to learn how to spell correctly? Or are you purposely writing it wrong, like all the MAGA people who still pronounced Kamala wrong even after being repeatedly corrected?

Following up: I discovered that the first time I wrote the name, wrong, I had accepted it into my web dictionary. I just fixed it.

Again, spelled either way it looks the same to me.

Google AI says, "Dyslexia is estimated to affect approximately 10% to 20% of the global population, making it the most common learning disability. While estimates often cite around 1 in 10 people, some studies suggest that up to 20% (or 1 in 5) of people may show signs of dyslexia."

In specific, difficulty writing is dysgraphia. Look it up.

In fact, for my website I have a handful of volunteers who check everything I post for errors that spell correct does not get (right spelling, just for a different word and the like) so I can immediately fix them.

 

[gr8oldies]

No, it is dyslexia... the reason I had to drop out of high school. So you are being prejudiced against people with disabilities now?

I thought this was about a web post by a NYC radio talk host that was poorly thought out insofar as its language was concerned.

Dyslexia.

Dyslexia. I can't see the difference where two letters are inverted. I can't spell even the most common multi-syllable words in English without a dictionary. Yet I can be almost 100% perfect in Spanish

My wife has dyslexsia. She mis-spells but once she knows a proper name's spelling, she doesn't continually mis-spell it. There's also spell-check.

 

[davideduardo]

My wife has dyslexsia. She mis-spells but once she knows a proper name's spelling, she doesn't continually mis-spell it. There's also spell-check.

Spell check is not useful with proper nouns. I found I had misspelled Mamdani and then accepted it as "add to dictionary" despite it being wrong; it did not look wrong to me.

As mentioned, I have always had a lot of trouble with spelling in English, probably why I adapted so well to Spanish. I can not memorize things I can not visualize.

Spell check can't tell if "whose" should be "who's" either. Even worse, it will accept a misspelling if there is another word spelled just like my miss-spell!

 

[gr8oldies]

Spell check is not useful with proper nouns. I found I had misspelled Mamdani and then accepted it as "add to dictionary" despite it being wrong; it did not look wrong to me.

As mentioned, I have always had a lot of trouble with spelling in English, probably why I adapted so well to Spanish. I can not memorize things I can not visualize.

Spell check can't tell if "whose" should be "who's" either. Even worse, it will accept a misspelling if there is another word spelled just like my miss-spell!

Grammarly can help with some of that too. It's a great tool, even the free version. It's not unknown for me to mess up my who's/whose, You're/your.

 

[Larry]

How the heck has this thread not been closed? Most of the posts in the last 3 pages (of 4) are almost singularly focused on politics.

 

[Weiserguy]

How the heck has this thread not been closed? Most of the posts in the last 3 pages (of 4) are almost singularly focused on politics.

Slow news day? Only one Middle East going up in flames?

 

[davideduardo]

How the heck has this thread not been closed? Most of the posts in the last 3 pages (of 4) are almost singularly focused on politics.

I realize this, but the subject is the content of a web post by a talk host on WABC and the resultant criticism of his opinions and his way of stating them.

The consequential discussion has involved whether the content of the statement was, of itself, racist or prejudiced. As such, it is relevant... to some extent... on radio only because the core subject is about a radio talk host.

Of course, some posters decided to ridicule my dyslexic spelling of the mayor of New York (I won't even try to write it again as I can't tell the difference) and tell me that my perspective on what Sid said is wrong. My point is that the comment, even if said on the radio, is opinion and not illegal.

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

I don't know about everyone else, but I created this post to discuss the radio-specific issues. And my own comments have stayed on that track.

 

[KilowattKat]

I don't know about everyone else, but I created this post to discuss the radio-specific issues. And my own comments have stayed on that track.

These were comments that were made on the host's personal X account, and not made on WABC over the air, or the station's website or social media accounts. So, not much to do with radio directly. Just clarified what a hate- filled bigot the host.

 

[vw86]

The irony of course is that if this was a post about a host/show that was on the other side of the aisle, the individual making multiple posts defending the behavior and words of Sid Rosenberg would be the first to shut down the conversation.

 

[L Chanon Gade]

This is the sort of thing these garbage talk shows inspire.

Gracie Mansion mayhem: Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter’s bigoted protest sparks outrage and violent clashes | amNewYork

Fists flew and pepper-spray blew outside of Gracie Mansion on Saturday afternoon as New Yorkers clashed with far-right influencer Jake Lang and his posse,

www.amny.com

Don't bother with boilerplate about "there is no proof that these people listen to these shows" --of course some do. The OTA shows lead their listeners to the social media of these hosts where the raw hatreds get espoused. When a cynical degenerate such a Rosenberg pumps this bilge, there are morons listening..and sometimes acting.

I live in Manhattan and know Mamdani as well as "AOC". They are good, sincere public servants who face regular death threats from these "people".

Thirty-plus years of this rot has damaged our nation. It is reaching critical mass now and will not end well.

LCG

 

[davideduardo]

The irony of course is that if this was a post about a host/show that was on the other side of the aisle, the individual making multiple posts defending the behavior and words of Sid Rosenberg would be the first to shut down the conversation.

I don't see anyone defending the way Sid worded his opinion piece online. It seems everyone agrees that it was nastily written; some find to feelings about the mayor to be correct but wrongly expressed while others find even the opinion to be wrong.

I hope all can agree that Sid has the right to express his opinions, even if they are vulgar, nasty or offensive to some.

There have been many posts here about our current president that are, in the opinion of his partisans, even more distasteful. Except when they had nothing to do with broadcasting, they have nearly all remain in place.

 

[TheBigA]

I haven't seen anyone post that Rosenberg has apologized for his Mamdani comments:

Did Sid Rosenberg apologize? Radio host back on air after calling Mamdani a 'cockroach'

Right-wing radio personality Sid Rosenberg returned to the airwaves Wednesday to issue an apology to Zohran Mamdani after receiving fierce backlash for calling the New York City mayor names and a “Jihadist.”

www.nbcnewyork.com

Radio host apologizes for calling Mamdani a ‘radical Islam cockroach'

Right-wing radio personality Sid Rosenberg is apologizing for his comments made about NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, which received fierce backlash this week. NBC New York’s Melissa Russo reports.

www.nbcnewyork.com

He apologized on the radio for comments he made on X.