Naomi Klein
On Fire
The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal
- Special Announcements:
- *Naomi's new book On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal will be released in the US, UK and Canada on September 17, 2019.
- * Naomi has been appointed the Inaugural Gloria Steinem Chair for Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ)
- * The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists is available in bookstores and to order now
- * PARA LA EDICIÓN ESPAÑOL
- * All royalties from the sale of The Battle for Paradise in English and Spanish go directly to JunteGente, a gathering of Puerto Rican organizations resisting disaster capitalism and advancing a fair and healthy recovery for their island. For more information, visit juntegente.org.
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A Night When The People Holding Open the Doors Were Happier Than The Ones Walking Through Them
Huffington Post
Since I already sent my serious post, I just wanted to chime in with an anecdote. I was in Washington D.C. last night, staying two blocks from the White House. At 11:30 pm, a half hour after the results were announced, I happened to walk past a very stuffy private club, one that, as far as I can tell, is populated exclusively by hardcore Republican men in their later years. It's the kind of place where you can imagine lobbyists slipping bribes to judges, and Central American coups being plotted... or maybe it's just me. Anyway, as I passed by, two men in black uniforms were high-fiving each other and hooting with delight. From what I could tell, one man was the doorman at the club, the other the chauffeur for one of the club members. Both were African American.
Just then, the club door opened and a bloated, red-faced stereotype of a man walked out. He was utterly miserable; he defined the word "scowl." The two uniformed men immediately returned to their duties: one held open the club door, the other held open the car door. But as they stood at attention, I'm pretty sure I noticed them share a furtive smile.
That, for me, was D.C. last night. Of course the dynamics of wealth and privilege that define the city are still intact. But for one night the people holding open the doors were a hell of a lot happier than the ones walking through them.
Since I already sent my serious post, I just wanted to chime in with an anecdote. I was in Washington D.C. last night, staying two blocks from the White House. At 11:30 pm, a half hour after the results were announced, I happened to walk past a very stuffy private club, one that, as far as I can tell, is populated exclusively by hardcore Republican men in their later years. It's the kind of place where you can imagine lobbyists slipping bribes to judges, and Central American coups being plotted... or maybe it's just me. Anyway, as I passed by, two men in black uniforms were high-fiving each other and hooting with delight. From what I could tell, one man was the doorman at the club, the other the chauffeur for one of the club members. Both were African American.
Just then, the club door opened and a bloated, red-faced stereotype of a man walked out. He was utterly miserable; he defined the word "scowl." The two uniformed men immediately returned to their duties: one held open the club door, the other held open the car door. But as they stood at attention, I'm pretty sure I noticed them share a furtive smile.
That, for me, was D.C. last night. Of course the dynamics of wealth and privilege that define the city are still intact. But for one night the people holding open the doors were a hell of a lot happier than the ones walking through them.
