BINGHAMTON REVIEW Editor-in-Chief Contents
P.O. BOX 6000 BINGHAMTON, NY 13902-6000 EDITOR@BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM
Founded 1987 • Volume XXXII, Issue I Tommy Gagliano
Managing Editor Brian Murray Copy Desk Chief Brian Murray Business Manager John Restuccia Social Media Shitposter John Restuccia Editor Emeritus Patrick McAuliffe Associate Editors Adrienne Vertucci Staff Writers
Matt Gagliano
Contributors Sam Kaplan Emerald Ashe Harold Rook Isaac Levine
Special Thanks To:
Intercollegiate Studies Institute Collegiate Network
THE ABCS OF BINGHAMTON
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by Our Staff
Editorial by Tommy Gagliano Press Watch by Our Staff Progressive and Pro-Israel by Emerald Ashe Area 51 and Weaponized Depression by Patrick McAuliffe
9 A Red Dot in a Sea of Blue; byJohn Restuccia The Importance of Senator Akshar 10 The Progressive Rise in “Progreesive” Violence
by Harold Rook
12 Old Man Yells At Clouds 14 A Crisis of Confidence 15 Binghamton Crossword!
by Tommy Gagliano by Brian Murray by Our Staff
Binghamton Review was printed by Gary Marsden We Provide the Truth. He Provides the Staples
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! Direct feedback to editor@binghamtonreview.com 2
BINGHAMTON REVIEW
Vol. XXXII, Issue I
EDITORIAL Dear Readers,
From the Editor
Well hello there! Congrats on picking up a copy of the best paper this university has to offer. Hopefully you’ve had some time to settle in to this new academic year, or if you’re a freshman, get used to life here at Bing. My name is Tommy Gagliano, and I’m the new Editor-in-Chief of Binghamton Review. You are currently reading my first-ever editorial for the first-ever issue of Binghamton Review produced with me as the EIC. I’m super excited to see what we can accomplish this year, and we have some quality content for you right off the bat. If you’ve read our paper previously, you’re probably familiar with the ABCs of Binghamton that we do at the beginning of each year. That can be found on page 6. Check it out if you want to learn more about the university you attend and the city you live in, presented in an alphabetically organized way. After learning your ABCs, try using your new knowledge to solve our Binghamton crossword puzzle on page 15. If you’ve been craving new material from the writers you loved so much last year, the long wait is finally over. John Restuccia, our new Business Manager and Social Media Shitposter this year, jumps right back into the action on page 9, with his opinion on why New York State Senator Fred Akshar is crucial to New York politics. Our new Managing Editor and Copy Desk Chief Brian Murray returns as well, as he lays out a fictional (yet plausible) discussion between former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and current New York governor Andrew Cuomo that he titles “A Crisis of Confidence.” Speaking of returning writers, there is a piece on page 8 about Area 51 by someone that should be familiar to our loyal readers. Patrick McAuliffe, who served as our Editor-in-Chief for the past two years, is back to discuss memes and what they mean about our culture. While on the topic of memes, if you’d like to see me become one, check out my boomer post on page 12 where I yell to the clouds about the evils of smartphones. We also have a lot of contributions from new writers in this issue. Emerald Ashe discusses why he supports Israel despite being a progressive, Harold Rook analyzes the recent increase in violence from both extremes of the political spectrum, and Isaac Levine provides your daily dose of pop culture with a couple of song reviews. I’m really proud of the content our staff produced for this issue, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you think what we do is pretty cool, and want to get involved, our meetings are Tuesdays at 6 PM in Old Rafuse 115. Come on by and join the fun. Or, if you have questions or feedback, feel free to send an email to editor@binghamtonreview.com.
Sincerely,
Tommy Gagliano Binghamton Review is a non-partisan, student-run news magazine of conservative thought founded in 1987 at Binghamton University. A true liberal arts education expands a student’s horizons and opens one’s mind to a vast array of divergent perspectives. The mark of true maturity is being able to engage with these perspectives rationally while maintaining one’s own convictions. In that spirit, we seek to promote the free and open exchange of ideas and offer alternative viewpoints not normally found or accepted on our predominately liberal campus. We stand against tyranny in all of its forms, both on campus and beyond. We believe in the principles set forth in this country’s Declaration of Independence and seek to preserve the fundamental tenets of Western civilization. It is our duty to expose the warped ideology of political correctness and cultural authoritarianism that dominates this university. Finally, we understand that a moral order is a necessary component of any civilized society. We strive to inform, engage with, and perhaps even amuse our readers in carrying out this mission.
Views expressed by writers do not necessarily represent the views of the publication as a whole. editor@binghamtonreview.com
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CPampus resswatch “Social media secures white supremacy’s role in gun violence” Miranda Jackson-Nudelman, Pipe Dream 8/22/19 “More than a simply stated gun violence problem, specifically, America has a problem with white men’s gun violence.” Any other race is allowed to shoot as many people as they want, but white people need to stop. “Although there’s a clear divide within the discussion of gun violence causes, a psychological and statistical understanding of possible contributing factors provides much greater insight than playing a superficial blame game.” “Now watch as I completely ignore this statement and play a superficial blame game NOT rooted in psychology or statistics.” “[The shooters] are exposed to subtle racist, homophobic and sexist ideas through memes, tweets or statuses, and when repeating and sharing them, they’re largely called out and shamed by those they are attacking through these “jokes.” Then just learn to take a joke. Problem solved. “Young men seek to find blame for their circumstances, consequently narrowly targeting their anger at marginalized groups.” Targeting your anger at a specific group of people? I’m sure the writer of this article would never do that. “Determined to do anything in their capacity to remedy such feelings and standing in the world, the ease of obtaining a gun in this country aids the white gunmen’s plight along with support from a hateful online community.” Because whenever I’m feeling frustrated, my first thought is “let me go buy a gun and kill a bunch of people”. Then everyone online is like “hell yeah, that’s a great idea”. Just a regular Friday night.
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Written by our Staff
We know you don’t read the other campus publications, so we did it for you. Original pieces are in quotes, our responses are in bold.
“Are we desensitized to the value of our money? Hannah Gulko, Pipe Dream 8/26/19 “You’d think that such a crippling number [of student debt] would be obviously impactful on a student just out of high school, yet the financial aid system is strategically designed to minimize the student’s understanding of the magnitude of the liability that they’re taking on.” I’m pretty sure we all knew how ridiculously overpriced college is, why else do you think we went to a SUNY school? Not to mention that the government makes a pretty penny off of student loans as well, driving up tuition costs in a skyrocketing spiral. “A minimalist lifestyle isn’t just reflected in Urban Outfitters’s black-andwhite motifs with natural wood tones, to which I, of course, subscribe.” No one cares. You could virtue-signal in so many different ways, but looking to Urban Outfitters is a new one. “Israel’s barring of congresswomen is silencing free speech” Seth Gully, Pipe Dream 8/22/19 “In any other instance, it is clearly evident that to ban someone simply for their political views is against the spirit of free speech, and if that is something
we value, then it follows that we ought to be against its violation.” Many times, when confronted with free speech they find offensive, some on the left counter the cries of free speech violation with something along the lines of, “You can say what you want, but I don’t have to listen.” Israel is choosing not to listen. And on the international anarchic stage, there’s not much anyone can do about it. “...Israeli law bars entry to individuals who support the BDS movement. This is something that should alarm all of us. It is a flagrant freedom of speech violation.” What do you think is the core goal of BDS? Think critically. The organizers of BDS have explicit opinions in toppling the State of Israel. So, acting out of defense, they blocked two supporters of the movement from getting into their country. Canada would do the same thing. Singapore would do the same thing. Why should Israel be an exception? Or should we Jews just lie down and take whatever the world gives us? Oh, and freedom of speech, I’m sure you know Hamas and the Palestian Authority are the world’s biggest advocates of that ;)
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PROGRESSIVE AND PRO-ISRAEL
Progressive and Pro-Israel By Emerald Ashe
L
ast week, the 45th president of the United States said “any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat show a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” Not even touching the fact that this represents deeply embedded falsehoods of the American Jewish community’s “dual loyalty,” this is the absolute wrong way to go about this. If Trump truly wants to win over and mobilize the Jewish people, he needs to adopt the cultural tradition of perpetual nagging and belittling. Jokes aside, over 75% of the American Jewish population votes Dem according to the New York Times. Our President assumes that us Jews cannot possibly vote Democrat anymore because of the two members of the party that are openly anti-Israel, Rashida Talib and Ilhan Omar. He assumes that their narratives dictate the views of the party as a whole. Do not assume that I blindly adopt the fringe ideologies of two members of congress. Do not assume I will vote for you because you use my people as a political shield. I assure you, Mr. President, I vote for people who share my views. If I was in their districts (which I am not) I wouldn’t vote for them in the next election. However, I would consider myself to be a progressive, and I reliably vote Democrat. I’m not quite full socialist, not quite full capitalist. I believe in the equality of genders. I believe that people of any sexual identity and orientation should be allowed to express themselves and live their lives. I believe in self determination. I believe in free speech. This inherently makes me support the State of Israel. Israel is the only state in the region that embraces Western values of personal expression. It’s hard to avoid a pride flag in Tel Aviv, which is also considered the vegan capital of the world, and second to the Bay Area when it comes to tech. The socalist in me loves the idea of the Kibbutz, which is how the early Israeli economy came to be. Gender equality? Setting aside the fact that Jewish culture leans matriarcal, both men and women are drafted into the armed forces and given equality of opportunity. Do I have to worship the current Netanyahu administration? No. I disagree with a substantial amount of his actions, but that does not mean I cannot support Israel at its core. Do not assume that I see only black and white.
“B-b-but Emerald, the new wave of progressives hate Israel! How can you not?” You’re right, they do. There is a growing section of progressives that view Israel only as an occupying force, randomly oppressing and shooting at Arabs for no apparent reason. The soundbite media culture we have perpetuates that narrative. If I had no knowledge of the conflict, and I came across videos from the protests at the border, I would probably support their cause too - if I never truly looked into what was going on. These soundbites fit perfectly into the image of global social justice if you do not understand what a “free Palestine” would look like.
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“...okay what does a ‘free Palestine’ look like to you, Mr. Ashe?” The governments in charge would create a nation no different than Jordan. Or Syria. Or Libya. Another Middle Eastern nation that is disorganized, systematically and institutionally oppresing women, minorites, and homosexuality. Why is there this narrative that a free Palestine would be a utopia of equality? Do modern progressives realize they are actively supporting organizations that literally lynch gays? Do they not see how this actively goes against the ideologies of progressivism? Excuse me for not wanting to support a nation ran by Hamas - an internationally recognized terrorist organization that openly wants to expel Jews from the planet, or the Palestinian Authority - which just last week officially made all LGBT media and movement illegal. A small step above Twitter slacktivism, we find BDS, a completely unrealistic movement for the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctioning” of Israel and Israeli products and services. The hard truth is that Israel makes products the world wants and needs. The forces of the global economy override any narrative of claimed oppression. If you want to support BDS, go right ahead. Don’t use anything that has an Intel chip in it. Don’t use Google, or Facebook, anything Microsoft, Apple, or leave a voicemail; all that software was developed and improved on in Israel. Don’t drive a Ford or GM car, they have research offices there. Just use Palestinain made products instead… wait, what do they make again? This movement is supported by the congress members Rashida Talib and Ilhan Omar. Combined with their itinerary backed by anti-israel organizations, their plans for a trip to “Palestine” were blocked by Israel, a recognized state with airports. Big surprise. It’s the equivalent of me getting upset over not getting into Chi Phi after calling them a Rape Frat ran by mysoginistic, alcoholic meatheads. This event is what prompted Mr. Trump to make his comments about the loyalties of American Jews. I’d like to end this trainwreck of an article by leaving a short message to progressives, conservatives, and my President. I think Ilhan Omar and Rashida Talib were presented with a great oppourtunity to represent a growing segment of the American people; Immigrant and Muslim Americans. I think they dropped the ball. I think their embedded anti-semitism has been exposed, and I do belive they are anti-semetic. Nothing they can say can change my thoughts on that, but they do have a constitutional right to say what they want. I think they willingly fell into a media vacuum, and I do feel somewhat sorry for them as people. But do not assume that I see only black and white. Do not assume that I blindly adopt the fringe ideologies of two members of congress. And do not assume I will vote for you because you use my people as a political shield.
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ABCS OF BINGHAMTON
The ABCs of Binghamton
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By Our Staff
Asbestos - Currently being taken care of in the University Union and ignored in every other building on campus.
Greek Life: Get ready to experience debilitating fatigue, failing grades, and maybe a serious drug problem the semester you get involved in this.
Binghamton Review: BU’s Last Refuge of Scholars; the only publication on campus that’s worth reading.
Hinman: RIP to the Hinman Dining Hall. Have fun walking up to App in the snow, Hinmanites!
College in the Woods: Yes, that is weed you smell.
Intelligence: You don’t really need it to get into Binghamton, but if you’ve got any you’ll be writing for the Binghamton Review.
Deer: There’s a ton of these beautiful majestic creatures and they love to roam freely on campus. If you’re from Long Island, please refrain from running over one of these with your dad’s Jeep Wrangler.
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Job & Internship Fair: The planned opportunity to network with potential employers that you’ll definitely forget to go to.
Engineering Building: Most likely designed by Watson students because it’s perennially under repairs and in need of redesign.
Karl Marx: History has not been kind to this revolutionary, seeing as every attempt to implement his ideas has resulted in mass starvation and totalitarian regimes. Regardless, every professor on campus will still try to instill his ideas in your head.
Fleishman Center: The most underutilized resource available to students. Make an effort to go there at least once while you’re still in college.
Lecture Hall: The home of bullshit introductory classes that no one goes to, and one of the best places to pick up the latest copy of The Binghamton Review.
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Mountainview: The best dining hall, in the least convenient location.
ABCS OF BINGHAMTON
Tully’s: HI HOW YA DOIN???
Nature Preserve: You’ll visit this place once or twice while you’re here. If you’re lucky you might even catch some townies dropping acid.
UPD: Yes, they are real cops. Yes, they can arrest you. Yes, you are being detained.
Old Rafuse: The location of the new Binghamton Review office! Come on by, preferably on Tuesdays at 6 PM.
Vestal: BU’s actual location, with slightly more shopping centers and slightly less heroin than the real city of Binghamton.
Pipe Dream: A collection of students pretending to be journalists, covering exciting and important topics such as “Pharmacy School waits on laboratory equipment” and “Bee pollinator boxes to be installed in Nature Preserve.”
Weather: Who needs Fifty Shades of Grey when the sky can do that anyway? For extra kink, it gets really fucking cold.
Quality Discussions: You won’t find many of these in your classes. You’ll have to actually leave your dorm and do something if you want to talk to someone interesting.
Xanax: We’ve got less of a prescription drug problem than the other SUNY schools but we’re still a state school, be sure to avoid this one at all costs.
The Rat: Don’t forget to bring an index card with “I’m 21” written on it or they might not let you in.
YouTube: Mostly just a platform for Joe Rogan to discuss using DMT to talk to extraterrestrial beings, and for awesome content on the new Binghamton Review channel. The rest of the website isn’t really worth your time.
School of Management: The easiest school at Binghamton. Attendance is 90% of your grade and you’ll still get Cs.
Zionist Organization: The second-largest group of yentas on campus.
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AREA 51 AND WEAPONIZED DEPRESSION
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Area 51 and Weaponized Depression By Patrick McAuliffe
T
hanks for stopping by, dear reader. My name is Patrick, former EIC-turned-Review groupie. It’s good to be back in the saddle and writing again after a summer (and the beginning of the rest of my life) of mindless obedience to the capitalist system. If you find yourself nodding along with that sentiment, you may be pleasantly - or unpleasantly - surprised with what you find here at the Review. We’re all about capitalism! Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t sit down and enjoy, or at least think about, what we have to say. You might just learn a thing or two. For example, many of you know, especially if you’ve looked at the Internet at least once over the summer, that the first-ever full-scale raid of Area 51 was planned for September 20th. The Facebook event, before it was taken down, was aptly, and perhaps morbidly, named “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us.” Its description read, “If we Naruto run we can dodge the bullets.” This is such a patently ridiculous thing to do that, if you’re anything like me, your irony senses began tingling at maximum level. Clapping alien cheeks? Finding lost relics from pop culture and science fiction? The sheer emotional swell of Kyles and Karens fighting side by side that not even the final battle of Avengers: Endgame could top? It’s enough to make a person look up plane ticket prices to Nevada for the weekend of the 19th-22nd, even if just to see the spectacle unfold (which I plead the Fifth on). However, what if there was a deeper meaning to all of this? A YouTube channel called Wisecrack did an excellent video on this topic that I’m condensing and analyzing through my own lens, but I do still recommend checking out their video. The fact that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people were, at least in theory, ready to ride into certain death because of a meme is astonishing but also unnerving to anyone paying close attention. If I or anyone else had decided to participate in raiding Area 51, we would be a bunch of out-of-shape, directionless, leaderless people facing the might of the US military. After the first few thousand Kyles piled up we might have had cover from the guns, but tanks, planes, and drones can beat a Naruto-running weeb any day. Those plane tickets to Nevada would be a one-way trip (again, not naming any names here, but it might have saved dead me about $500, $300 if I hypothetically flew to Philly). This Area 51 raid is just one example of a deep problem I’ve had with millennial humor that I haven’t been able to conceptualize until recently. Now, don’t start calling me a boomer because I’m dropping the m-bomb; the more ridiculous a meme is, the more I find myself laughing for some unknown reason. The problem lies in the irony of memes that many young people have filled the Internet with in the last five years or so. The most shareable content, or at least the stuff I primarily see, is something along the lines of “My brain is telling me to eat a vegetable or get enough sleep, but what I’m hearing is iced coffee and cocaine”. You’ll see lots of these: usually images of text, sometimes accompanied with a GIF, that chops up feelings of depression or anxiety into small, shareable bites. I don’t
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know how many times someone has shared some tweet with me that explains some terrible pattern of behavior or feelings of repressed trauma and laughed out loud, saying, “Wow, it’s me!!”, before resuming their previously scheduled scrolling. Life can be absurd sometimes, I understand that, and I’m not one to forbid making humor out of a shitty situation; “laughter is the best medicine” and other such adages. The concern is that, through the power and permanence and instantaneous nature of the Internet, ironically using depression memes as a form of condensed therapy becomes a never-ending cycle. You can literally be ironic about your depression for hours if the Algorithm(™) builds your social media feed that way. For anyone that has lived in a state of irony for an extended period of time, such as whipping and nae-naeing as a joke or saying a certain phrase and finding you can’t stop, eventually the irony becomes unironic. People never get help for the problems they see in their memes because they’re too busy laughing at them, and crying underneath. The free catharsis provided by depression memes becomes a sinkhole that is very difficult to escape from. So where, then, is the balance? The constant state of depression we have now isn’t sustainable for true mental health, but banning such memes outright would be unhelpful (we’d just go back to the old days of more repressed feelings) and egregious (a major free speech violation). In this writer’s humble opinion, the balance is in a shift in mindfulness. Stepping outside of yourself and achieving true irony is when you can laugh at any ridiculous or depressing meme while still seeing it for what it is: just a meme, that in no way is a reflection of reality or a healthy lifestyle. They’re a great pastime in the waiting room of a real therapist, or on a plane ride to a vacation that isn’t in the Nevada desert. Our minds are a beautiful, complex thing, and they should be used to control our irony, not as a target for an Area 51 guard.
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A RED DOT IN A SEA OF BLUE, THE IMPORTANCE OF SENATOR FRED AKSHAR
A Red Dot in a Sea of Blue; The Importance of Senator Fred Akshar By John Restuccia
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ew York State is changing rapidly. In the most recent months, politics seems to be moving even farther to the left, with the election of people like Alexandria OCRAZIO-Cortez. The New York State government is completely dominated in all branches by the left. Just look at our current reigning King, Andrew Cuomo, who cares nothing about the state or the debt we are in. A Democrat-lead assembly with Carl Heastie, an assembly member that has shown a problem detailing campaign expense for some mysterious reason. Of course there’s the one and only Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who helped to completely dissuade Amazon from setting up shop in New York, costing the state millions in revenue. All levels of Albany have clearly failed. However, as I look on to the dreary horizon that is New York politics, I do see a blip on my radar that indicates hope. That blip is my state senator, Fred Akshar. State Senator Akshar took office after the passing of Thomas Libous, another titan in Albany. Thomas Libous was an incredible state senator, greatly reshaping the Broome County Area. He was not only a good man, but a great one that changed Broome County for the better. Senator Akshar is his successor, and has without a doubt has been a fantastic state senator. My major problem with most politicians is that they tend not to remember their roots, nor do they understand the common constituent. Politicians often do not work blue collar jobs, and therefore don’t understand the working individual’s problems. Working individuals are the backbone of this great land, making up a majority of Americans. Fred Akshar came from humble beginnings, working for the police force, specifically in the sheriff ’s office. To me this symbolizes something greater than politics. Fred Akshar is a man who has shown he cares about our community, even before running for office, by making
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us all a little safer. He never forgot this, as he continues to show great support to those serving the community, a trait that is seemingly becoming more rare. When he first got to the Senate, Fred Akshar turned his attention to the opioid epidemic, an issue that has begun to strike the core of America. This crisis may not be exclusive to Broome County, but it certainly has hit the area hard. With a background in law enforcement, Akshar is one of the only people in Albany who has hands-on experience with the drug crisis facing our community. So often people in Albany take a position or seat on a committee they know nothing about, directly affecting thousands of New Yorkers. For once, Albany has a representative who understands his strengths, as well as his limitations. Speaking of Fred Akshar using his strengths, each committee that he serves on is a field that he has a background in, or a fantastic understanding of. He is on the Alcoholism and Substance Committee as well as the Crime Victims, Crime, and Correction Committee, a perfect fit with his previously discussed law enforcement background. The other committees he is currently on include the Codes Committee, Labor Committee, and the
Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business Committee. While he does not have a direct background in these fields, his experience comes from the conversations he is known to have with local businesses. Consistently on his social media, he is shown staying in the district visiting our communities and local businesses to better understand the problems that relate to these committees he serves on. The reason I write this isn’t just to make a puff piece about one of our community heroes, but to demonstrate how important a good public servant can actually be. Oftentimes, corruption overshadows the good that leaders do. To be fair, in New York State we tend to have a lot of corruption. In this current New York political climate, it is easy for anyone to fall into the trap of viewing everyone in Albany as a corrupt hack. I myself fall into this mindset. However, Akshar is an exception that reminds me that there’s hope in Albany. If Andrew Cuomo is the Emperor in Return of the Jedi representing the evil of the galaxy, Senator Akshar is Luke Skywalker bringing balance to the political spectrum by preserving a conservative voice in Albany.
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THE PROGRESSIVE RISE OF “PROGRESSIVE” VIOLENCE
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The Progressive Rise of “Progressive Violence” By Harold Rook
A
h, the current political climate. So welcoming, warm, and not completely polarized to the point of absolute tribalism. Imagine if we got to a point in US politics where we had two radical extremes actively committing violence and terror in the name of their supposed ideals. That would be crazy, right? Unfortunately, this hope for moderation is becoming less and less likely as Americans drift towards the political extremes. This can be seen with the emergence of the Alt-Right, a repugnant mix of white nationalists, ethnic-identitarians, and far-right activists. Additionally, a political opposite has also been generated from the increased sense of radicalism, being the progressive leftists. To be clear, I want to distinguish between liberals, those that promote tolerance, equality, and civil liberties, and leftists, those that emphasize collective action, equity, and classism in today’s politics. Even for this discussion, I am only referring to a subsection of radical leftists, those that identify as democratic socialists, communists, and anarchists, when I use the term “progressive leftist.” The violence and extremism of the Alt-Right has been (rightfully) noted and condemned by the public and media, with Charlottesville cementing the group as racial demagogues. What has not gotten necessary attention is the simultaneous rise in an illiberal, intolerant, and violent group of leftists that have no qualms disregarding American values and the law to push their message into the public sphere. These extremists have manifested themselves under several groups, such as Antifa and By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) and have become increasingly aggressive to anyone that deviates even slightly from their views. The recent growing wave of violence by these groups in the name of their supposed “progressive” goals should be highly concerning to the public, especially to those that value American principles of freedom, opportunity, and individualism.
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For this little journey of radicalism and violent extremism, let’s start with something minor. On June 20th, 2019, a demonstration by the far-right Proud Boys was protested by Antifa in Portland, Oregon. During this time, a journalist named Andy Ngo was closely covering the event. Ngo works for the conservative-leaning Quillette, and has been a frequent critic of Antifa, although he himself was only there to document the protest. So how might a radical, extremist group
“Yet while there are many today that value intersectionality as a core belief to approach politics, there has been little response to the beating of someone within the LGBT community, save for the bare minimum: disavowing the attack but not the perpetrators.” react when a gay, Vietnamese journalist, who is critical of their actions and goals, starts to document their protest? Why, by stealing his camera, throwing milkshakes and silly string at his face, and beating him to the point of a brain hemorrhage, that’s how! Despite this clear injustice, Ngo was labeled as an “Alt-Right Infiltrator” by the group, with many news outlets either downplaying the event or some even claiming that Ngo was nothing more than a grifter looking to provoke violence. Yet while there are many today that value intersectionality as a core belief to approach politics, there has been little response to the beating of someone within the LGBT community, save for the bare minimum: disavowing the attack but not the perpetrators. In a society that values freedom of the press, even when such press disagrees with you, the beating of a journalist should be seen as a clear warning that these “Anti-fascists” are not seeking opportunities to exchange ideas, but rather to impose their ideals onto the public and to crush any form of descent.
Perhaps progressive violence shouldn’t be so concerning. After all, who could possibly make a claim that mainstream politics has figures that embolden acts of terror? Could you imagine a progressive politician using rhetoric to inspire a terror attack on a US facility? Who could possibly do that? Certainly not Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez! She’s the progressive superstar, the perfect face for the party whose symbol is a jackass. This modern Einstein of politics has always made completely accurate and truthful claims about everything, which are 100% nonconsequential. Why, take one of her most recent statements about the ICE facilities, how she believes that US facilities are “concentration camps” for illegal immigrants. Why Alexandria, great comparison! So true and to the point, only you may want to move your soapbox to the left, so it isn’t on six million Jewish graves, but otherwise preach sister! Stating (clap) the (clap) facts (clap)! Imagine if some anarchist terrorist affiliated with Antifa heard this and decided that, on July 13th, 2019, in Tacoma, Washington, that he was going to firebomb an ICE facility. That would be ridiculous right? Oh wait…that did happen? And the terrorist wrote a manifesto that claimed he “was Antifa” and that he was going to free the immigrants placed in a concentration camp by a “fascist regime”? And that, although he was stopped before causing too much damage, Antifa came out to call him a martyr for their progressive cause? Well, that’s not because of Alexandria’s progressive message that was clearly not inaccurate, degenerate, and antisemitic! I’m sure that our progressive intellectual goddess, the Lennon/ Lenin of the Beatles-esque “Squad” can provide an answer! Oh wait…she has ignored all questions related to the incident and if she may have inspired this terrorist? These are lies! All of them! In all seriousness, however, I have message directly for Ocasio-Cortez: stop pretending that your progres-
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BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM sive lies are not dangerous, because for every time you make them, you inspire domestic terrorists to do what they do best, commit domestic terrorism, all in the name of your leftist vision. I also want to briefly mention the shooting in Dayton, Ohio, on August 4th, 2019. Following the shooting in El Paso, Texas, several hours before by an eco-fascist (yes, somehow that is a thing), another shooter opened fire on a crowd, killing ten people and injuring many more. Although the shooting itself was not politically motivated, it should be noted that, upon further investigation, the shooter was found to be an avid supporter of Antifa and a leftist progressive. However, the shooter himself had a long history of misogynistic and antisocial behavior, going as far as to get expelled
THE PROGRESSIVE RISE OF “PROGRESSIVE” VIOLENCE from his school for creating a “hitlist” of his fellow classmates. It is clear enough that the shooting itself was not inspired by his political beliefs, but rather his misanthropic behavior. The reason I am discussing this incident is that it is still unclear if these political beliefs were a product of his misanthropy, or if his misanthropy was reinforced through his political beliefs. The beliefs of many of these radical groups tend to disregard individualism in favor of collectivism, which by consequence can dehumanize people in the ices of a sociopath. Whether his political beliefs were a primary cause of the shooting is not on the table, but what should be up for debate is to what extend these ideologies played in the shooter’s clear signs of sociopathy. Any form of violence, be it from
the Alt-Right or progressive leftists, should have no place in a society that values free speech, democracy, and open debate. Acts of terror only serve to further divide us as a country, with an emphasis placed on tribalism as opposed to communication. We are aware of the dangers of the Alt-Right, but can we say the same about the radicals on the left? These two fringe groups are a product of the current political climate, so we should not delude ourselves into thinking that these progressive leftist groups are not an issue when this progressive violence is becoming more prevalent in society. It is therefore our responsibility to shine a light on the acts of political violence that are committed by any group, as doing so will lead to a healthier public discourse.
Isaac’s Song Reviews By Isaac Levine
Song: CAN’T SAY Artist: TRAVIS SCOTT Album: ASTROWORLD
Song: NO HALO Artist: BROCKHAMPTON Album: GINGER
Around this time last year, Travis Scott released his highly anticipated album ASTROWORLD. A far cry from Rodeo’s goth-trap, the first half of ASTROWORLD stands as the example of Travis fully submerging himself into the mainstream, with SICKO MODE being the breakout single. However, the second half of ASTROWORLD is where the gems are. Here we find CAN’T SAY. A spacious, bouncy, sexy beat produced by Wondagurl gets ridden by Travis and his buddy Don Toliver, creating an atmosphere that is nocturnal yet alive.
If you listen to albums correctly, the first song you will hear off of BROCKHAMPTON’s new album will be NO HALO. An extreme departure from their signature grimey digitized sound and patented flow, NO HALO emphasizes acoustic instruments, with a melodic guitar loops and near analog sounding drums along with a refreshing flow from Matt Champion. I’m not one for listening to lyrics on the first run, but his tone links up perfectly with the sad strumming of the guitars. The bass drops as a feminine call rings out, “I’m sure I’ll find it....” The reverberating sticks knock in the free space. The whole feeling is hollow and hopeless. However, I cannot shake this feeling that this song, although powerful, feels manufactured. It almost feels like they sat in a room and said “let’s make a sad song.” When it comes to the entirety of the album GINGER, it’s been about a week and I haven’t been able to make it past the third song.
This song is best listened to while facefucking a tinder hookup in her dorm room at the Nanyang Technical University in Singapore. Standout Line: “Shawty lick me clean the way she suck me off.” Rating: 8.5/10
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This song is best listened to while driving on an empty highway at night, contemplating why your dad doesn’t love you enough. Standout Line: “I’m sure I’ll find it..” Rating: 7/10
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OLD MAN YELLS AT CLOUDS
Old Man Yells At Clouds
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By Tommy Gagliano
A
m I really about to go on a rant about smartphones, and “technology bad,” and how the younger generation sucks? Am I really about to out myself as a boomer trapped in a 20-year-old’s body? Am I seriously about to become the epitome of the “Old Man Yells at Clouds” meme? Well, if you’re reading this, that must mean this was published. So I guess I am. This past summer was my fourth year working at a summer camp on Long Island. I absolutely love working there, despite the hot temperatures, long hours, high stress, and awful pay. My first two summers I was a counselor for the youngest campers, some of whom were as young as three years old. Working with that age group was a ton of fun for me, so I was not thrilled when I found out that for my third year I was being moved all the way to the other end of the spectrum, and would be a counselor for the middle school campers. My disappointment quickly vanished, however, as the kids turned out to be pretty awesome, and I ended
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up enjoying the summer of 2018 even more than the previous two. This past summer, I was promoted from a counselor to a Graduate Travel Program Specialist. I would be with the same age group as the previous year, but instead of being a counselor on campus, I would travel somewhere different with a group of kids every day. It was fun, but the experience was very different than being a counselor on campus. One major contrast was the use of smartphones. On campus, cell phones and other electronic devices are not allowed. On the Graduate trips, however, there are no rules against them, and their presence completely changes everything. Boomers love to talk about how young people are “addicted” to their smartphones, and I used to think it was nonsense. However I now believe that there may be some merit to that idea. While “addiction” may be a stretch, the amount of time many of my campers spent on their phones was quite concerning to me. Every day by 10 AM I would hear campers asking
others if they had a portable charger. A majority of them would spend the entirety of the bus rides to and from our trip locations on their phone. We would often hear random noises and meme songs coming from YouTube videos in the back. There was a group of boys that spent all of their free time playing Pokemon Go, which was particularly annoying for me and my co-counselor when we were walking through Manhattan with sixteen kids after seeing Aladdin on Broadway, or walking through the Bronx with twenty-five kids in the mass of people leaving the Yankees game. But the most concerning part of all was the social media obsession. On the whole, social media was a major part of my campers’ lives, specifically the girls. The biggest offenders were Snapchat, Instagram, and worst of all, TikTok. (TikTok isn’t the worst because of the effects it had on my campers, it’s just the worst because the content on there is absolute cancer.) Countless discussions were had about how many followers one girl had, or
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how many likes another got. I once saw one of my campers, a 13-year-old girl, scrolling through a seemingly-endless list of Snapchat friends. I inquired about how she knew so many people, and she admitted to me that she had no idea who most of them were. I then asked why she added them, and her response was simply “views.” I had a similar conversation with another girl, who also told me she adds random people on Snapchat “for the views.” Aside from the obvious dangers of adding people you don’t know to a social media platform that displays your exact location, it was worrying to me that they cared so much about the number of people that saw their random photo of what they were doing every day. The negative effects of social media were particularly obvious with one 12-year-old girl. She never put her phone down; she was always either on Snapchat or TikTok. She talked to me a lot, but the majority of our interactions were her showing me pictures from her gallery, or showing me TikTok videos that were not only cringey, but actually made me uncomfortable. The effects that this unhealthy social media obsession had on her mental health were glaringly obvious. Despite being a pretty girl, who at least one boy in the group had an obvious crush on, she was extremely insecure about her looks and her body. She referred
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OLD MAN YELLS AT CLOUDS
to herself as “fat” on more than one occasion, including at Splish Splash, when she didn’t want to change into her bathing suit. (I convinced her to do so by saying that I would take off my shirt if she wore her bathing suit and we would face our insecurities together, so to all the people that I scarred with my scrawny, pale chest, its her fault, not mine.) Regardless of what we were doing, she never felt that she was good enough. Social media addiction is both a cause and an effect of this, as the likes, views, and followers were the only things that could make her feel like she had worth. The problem with smartphones isn’t just with the kids, though. The parents are, arguably, even worse. Almost all of my campers, whose ages ranged from 11 to 14, were being tracked in some way by their parents. Most of them had their location monitored constantly through the GPS on their phones, and many of them told me that their parents read through all of their text messages. We even had one mother complain because she was tracking her 14-year-old daughter’s speed, and it showed that she was going “almost 70 miles per hour” on the Long Island Expressway. To me, this is an extreme invasion of privacy. If someone is old enough to have a smartphone, they are old enough to text without having their messages read by their parents. If they are old enough to go places
on their own, then they are also old enough to be trusted to go those places without being tracked like some kind of chipped pet. Any parent-child relationship that lacks the trust to let the son or daughter go places without constant GPS surveillance, or to text their friends without having all of those messages read, is an unhealthy one. By trying to extend so much control over their kids, these parents are taking away their children’s opportunities to learn. Part of growing up is making mistakes, and learning from them. If parents keep their children in a bubble their whole lives, how will they ever survive as adults? Maybe this makes me a boomer, but I’m starting to see how bad the negative aspects of smartphones really are. Obviously having constant access to the Internet on a device that fits into your pocket is awesome for a lot of things - but there are side effects. From social media obsessions affecting mental health, to helicopter parents treating their children like property, the rise of smartphones has caused some really negative changes to what it means to be a kid.
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A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE
A Crisis of Confidence
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By Brian Murray
I
t is 3:17 pm. Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie had just left a meeting with his advisors discussing the future of the new Christie Institute of Public Policy, a non-partisan think tank for aspiring law students who have ambitions of one day holding public office, the expressed goal of which is to bring back a sense of “civility” to modern public discourse. The meeting was cut short because Christie had already made plans to meet at the New York State Executive Mansion in Albany to discuss current matters with his good friend and former colleague, Andrew Cuomo. Upon arrival, Christie parked his 2013 grey Chevy Malibu in Cuomo’s driveway next to the 2015 red Nissan Altima that Cuomo’s girlfriend occasionally uses to get ingredients for her cooking show on the Food Network. Christie knew that Andrew Cuomo would probably be waiting in the foyer for his arrival, so he decided to knock on the front door as opposed to ringing the doorbell. Cuomo swiftly answered the door wearing a tucked-in blue dress shirt and khakis, holding his copy of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest with three bookmarks protruding from the top of the pages. “Hey Chris! How’s it going?” Cuomo said with visible delight as Christie entered his home. “Not too bad.” Christie answered bluntly while taking a moment to look around the room. Christie noted to himself how nice Cuomo’s home was, though he couldn’t help but notice how Cuomo had as many framed pictures of his cats hanging on the walls as his kids. He let out an impressed but short “wow” before stating “This place makes mine look like a shack, my compliments.” “Thanks,” replied Cuomo “Care for a drink?” he said, while holding out of a bottle of Southern Tier IPA. Christie normally wouldn’t start drinking at this time of the day, but it had been a long week for him and he felt comfortable enough with Cuomo that he
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accepted the offer, thanked him, and took a relieving sip before setting it down on one of the ‘I heart NYC’ coasters that Cuomo had left on the table by the couches in his living room. “Yesterday I was at the supermarket getting basil for some new gin cocktail recipe I want to try out.” Christie stated, hoping to elicit a quick conversation starter to get his mind off his recent personal troubles. “While I was waiting in line, the older woman in front of me was buying like, five massive bags of cat food.” “Okay.” Cuomo said wondering what the point was with this extraneous deviation from their normal conversation topics, such as The George Washington Bridge or the Lincoln Tunnel. “She told the cashier she had like twenty or thirty cats back home, and all I could think about was how selfish she was being. Like, think of it this way. She looked to be around seventy or eighty years old.” “Okay.” Cuomo replied quietly hoping that Chris Christie would get to the damn point already. “So, why’s she being selfish?” “Well. She’s not going to live forever. When she dies, what’s going to happen to those cats?” Christie asked hoping Cuomo would understand why he was concerned.
“I don’t know what grounds you have to criticize this woman’s choices.” Cuomo stated assertively. “What grounds? This is animal abuse! Not directly or anything but these cats are probably used to being fed by a person. How are they going to survive without this woman buying five bags of cat food every time she leaves the house?” “She probably knows someone who could take care of them if something happens to her.” Cuomo rebutted “Besides, cats are natural predators. They’ll be able to take care of themselves if they have to.” “Are you smoking reefer?” Chris Christie interrogated “This woman lives with thirty cats. Do you really think she knows other human beings?” “Why are you being so disrespectful to some woman you don’t even know?” Cuomo countered “How can you just make these absurd assumptions about someone you’ve never even met?” “Hold on. Were you trying to argue that all of those cats would be fine because cats are natural predators?” Christie asked while ignoring what Cuomo had just said “How the hell are they going to hunt without their claws? Huh? You know everyone in New York state declaws their cats!” “Oh yeah?” Cuomo said, “Well not anymore!”
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