The DNA and Genes of Politics

"It is because of your genetics!" roared Chief Minister Modi with his right arm outstretched upward in a salute to his cheering and adoring audience. My cousin and I had just arrived in the Fort Lauderdale convention hall in March 2005 to witness Modi's televised address to the predominantly Gujarati audience at the Asian American Hotel Owners Association national convention. Modi could not attend in person, having been banned by the US State Department for his 2002 role in genocidal riots by Hindus against Muslims in his home state. His reference was to why the assembled Gujarati audience excelled in America's lodging industry, having become its dominant cultural force in just five decades. It wasn't their training or culture, it was their blood and genes. Genetics makes ethnic cleansing quite easy and clean. 

While his message remains the same, what a difference this time around. Standing on the red carpet greeted by the President of the same United States that had once denied him a visa, Modi proclaimed how democracy was in India's DNA and how respect for human rights was built into India's cultural fabric. Of course, Modi is mistaken, as he had been in 2002, and as he is governing with an iron saffron fist in his own country, pushing aside the very freedoms and liberties that have made India the world's largest democracy. But who is counting? President Biden -- who fist pumped Prince MBS, on whose order an American Washington Post journalist was dismembered at a Saudi embassy -- isn't. Words over deeds, form over function. 

Welcome, Prime Minister Modi. You'll find yourself home here.

Biden Seeks to Bolster Ties With Modi While Soft-Pedaling Differences

Freedom of speech, Trump and Parler...

Censorship. Free Speech. First Amendment. Competition. Liberty.

These are the rally cries from erstwhile conservatives who have, over the past few years, increasingly become advocates for the First Amendment and free speech, especially on the internet. This wasn't always the case, of course. It was the Supreme Court's liberal wing in Cohen v. California that decriminalized the wearing of the now infamous "F*ck the Draft" jacket in a California courthouse. But then again, these "conservatives" aren't really conservatives, either.

The storming of the Capitol by an angry mob of Trump supporters last Wednesday, was the tipping point for tech giants Google, Apple, Amazon and Twitter.  Each was a factor in Donald Trump's meteoric rise to become President, and each played a role in the violence in DC last week. Likely driven by concerns over their own culpability, by last night Twitter had suspended Trump for life, Facebook had removed Trump until the peaceful transfer of power on inauguration day, Google and Apple had removed access to the parler app from their app stores and Amazon web services had dismantled parler's internet backbone. 

Parler is the increasingly popular site and app that serves as a Twitter clone and is favored by the far right for its promise of free speech. This promise is the basis for Google, Apple and Amazon's actions against parler. Facebook and Twitter both moderate their users' posts for a range of infractions ranging from copyright violations, hate speech, sex work-related material, and violations of federal criminal law. The ability to moderate content without liability is exactly what Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects, and what Donald Trump, amongst others, seeks to abolish.

Commentators have cried foul, citing censorship as an evil that must be eliminated from the internet. Most notions of improper censorship concern action primarily from a government or controlling body, not private actors. Here, the tech giants have stepped in to eliminate a voice (Donald Trump) and a channel (parler) from popular internet locations. Parler's 28 year old CEO, John Matze, in a post to his users on Sunday, suggested that tech giants had acted in concert to "kill competition in the market place" and "remove free speech off the internet." 

Of course, Matze's youth likely explains his legal and technological folly. On the legal front, there is diminishing protection, even under the First Amendment, for speech as it turns to conduct and morphs further to violence. Napster, for example, once the darling of the internet, quickly learned that its free speech cape had a massive hole for speech that violated copyright laws. Here, parler and Matze attempted to build an unregulated mosh pit of speech, a watershed for wackos, upon an internet backplane subject to some, even if little, regulation. Matze could have built his free speech castle on firmer ground, avoiding the building blocks he chose, but then again who amongst us can avoid the lure of our favorite Dr. Evil doppelganger, Jeff Bezos? 

While there will be free speech and technology situations which give rise to credible concerns of improper "censorship" even by private actors, this isn't one of them. Inciteful speech, especially that which actually results in violence, has long seen little protection under the law. Speech which leads to bodily injury or death, such as falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater, is understandably subject to criminal sanction. By assembling an angry mob, stoking their passions and effectively giving them marching orders, Trump and his enablers incited violence last Wednesday, in the first massive incursion on the Capitol since the British attack in 1814. For that act alone they have finally lost the technology cape that gave them such long and sustained flight. 

Free speech has a heavy cost which society has decided to pay in the interest of liberty. Centuries of constitutional law has etched the contours of the delicate balance between freedom and responsibility. Without one, the other cannot survive, a lesson Messrs. Trump and Matze have yet to learn. 

John Matze's note to his users on Parler

Disparate Justice in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts

I have long decried disparate treatment of citizens by governments. Tyngsboro Massachusetts is an egregious example. Several members of the Board of Selectmen there fought to protect this now arrested police officer, over the objections of the well respected police chief. The Chief had placed the officer on leave only to have the board second guess his judgment. Last month, the town's Board again overrode the police chief's decision to place another member of the department on leave following “racially charged social media posts." The twenty-four year old chair of the board has publicly chastised the police chief when law enforcement or due process gets in the way. Last year, the same board colluded with a local bank to deprive those they disfavored of important due process rights. The message is clear. If they like you, you can't do wrong. If they don't, heaven have mercy. George Washington wrote, that "the true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government." You've got some firming up to do, Tyngsboro.

A campaign gone by...

The last two years have defined over stimulation. Troca Hotels acquired its fourth project, Troca One, and I decided months later to run for Congress. I have yet to compile my thoughts and learnings from the campaign into a working document. The campaign's website should still be live for a bit. If you're curious, check it out by clicking here.

What's REALLY wrong with Donald Trump. My thoughts on American Constitutionalism

Beej's Sunday Video Blog - Sunday, March 13, 2016 (North Andover, MA)

I discuss Donald J. Trump, my father Dr. Mukti L. Das, the Republican National Committee, Senator Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton, Senator Ted Cruz, Georgia, Jeb Bush the United States Constitution, my college friend Dan Haley and his former boss Mitt Romney, growing up in Massachusetts and other such topics. The first Sunday edition of my Video Blog is here for your consideration. I found inspiration from John Legend's very public discussion with his classmate at UPenn, Donald Trump Jr., in which he called Trump's father and many of his supporters racist. While I have not formally done the same, I feel Trump's danger emanates from an equally pernicious place. Let me know what your thoughts are.

A Flooring Lesson Learned

I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you shortly. The post has been temporarily removed for edits. 

- Beej

UMass Lowell: Age Discrimination is Wrong

I wanted to share with you an important and difficult announcement. My mother, Prof. Mitra Das, started teaching at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1972 and became a tenured member of the faculty in 1979. She has nurtured the University's mission to educate its students and promoted its best interests during her more than forty-two years of service. Over the past several weeks, she made the difficult decision to sue the University for age discrimination. I cannot be more proud of her.

I did not initially believe that the institution that mom has spent the bulk of her adult life and professional career -- and a place I used to wander with amazement as a child -- had grown hostile to older faculty. Alas, after observing the legal process, which has included interviews with nearly a dozen faculty members at Lowell and analyzing the huge evidentiary trail, it now appears clear that there is a war being waged against older faculty members by the administration, and particularly by Dean Luis Falcon and Provost Ahmed Abdelal.

At an age when many of her peers have given in to the hostile work environment being created at Lowell and have retired under duress, I am so darn proud that my mother -- my intellectual and spiritual role model, has not. Universities are made stronger when they embrace both the innovation of youth and the wisdom of experience, and I feel more alive today because mom is standing up for those principles. Good luck, mother, on your fight. I know you will prevail, and we will all be better as a society for your efforts. You have always taught me to stand by my core principles. I love you for doing just that.

Prof. Mitra Das at the beginning of her teaching career at Lowell State College
(now the University of Massachusetts Lowell) in 1972

 

 

Prof. Mitra Das in her last few months as Chairperson of the Department of Sociology
at University of Massachusetts Lowell. She has served as Chairperson of the Department
of Sociology over three different periods, the first from 1987 – 1993, the second in 2004,
and most recently from 2011 - 2014, under the leadership of five different deans

You had me at Chatrapati...

I wrote about my positive arrival experience at Bombay's airport. With my departure to London today, I have completed my first arrival and departure sequence from the new international terminal.

I must admit, I'm impressed.

You had me at dedicated, fast and friendly business class checkin, security and immigration. You just overwhelmed me with flowing natural light, convenient gate access, impressive retail, moving walkways everywhere, high vaulted ceilings, creative art installations, green eco-walls, water features galore... and that's just the start.

People who read my posts know how critical I can be. First impressions here are very positive. Well done Bombay, well done.

Tons of natural light, high ceilings and no lines welcomed me to the new departures terminal.

Moving walkways, eco-walls, and convenient gate access? Yup.

Hello Boston!

According to the Boston East India Hotels business plan, "instead of catering to primarily Western or American travelers, hospitality companies of the future must plan to be conversant and proficient in the needs and desires of global travelers."

This "Hello Boston" ad for Emirates Airlines' new service to Boston from Bombay (via Dubai), which blanketed Linking Road in Bandra, Mumbai, today shows the resonance of our vision as we build our Troca Hotels brand into a collection of exceptional lifestyle luxury hotels in global gateways designed for travelers from around the world exploring an ever expanding universe.

Bombay's Airport Grows up - First Thoughts

I had heard a few rumblings about the new international terminal at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Having lived in Bombay for several years a few years ago, I remember the airport being the bane of my travel existence. Dusty, dirty, functionally difficult, it was everything I didn't want in a travel experience.

I am happy to report that things have changed. Here are my first thoughts from landing at Bombay after a red-eye flight from London on BA199: Arriving at BOM was a breeze. Lots of carpeted territory to cover, but miles of moving walkways to assist.  I felt like I was at Delhi's airport, perhaps without the chauvinism and fear of being shot on the highway.  I thought the art and installations were - dare I say - interesting, and this was the first time in my life that Bombay immigration wasn't revolting. That said, the customs bit was still overkill, including the massive "x" marks they scribble in chalk on suitcases they suspect contain an extra few Rupees of goods. Saw a few nice suitcases indelibly marked so.

Parking and airport exit also happened smoothly. Yes, that's right. Smoothly. All in all, though, positive marks for an airport experience I once dreaded. Thankfully, the one hour backup steps away from the airport on the Western Express Highway traversing the ill-placed and poorly-timed construction effort on one of Mumbai major arterial highways reminded me, alas, I was back in Bombay. Unlike the US, however, this was likely sheer incompetence at the highway planning department and a healthy dose of low level corruption than the efforts of a New Jersey Governor Christie wannabe at work. Ahh, Mumbai, there you are!