Princeton's Left Political Publication December 10, 2019 Masthead

Editor-in-Chief Beatrice Ferguson ’21 Managing Editor Alec Israeli ’21 Senior Editors Chaya Holch ’22 Marc Schorin ’22 Staff Editors Tori Gorton ’21 Jane Markley ’22 Noam Miller ’21 Joshua Judd Porter ’21 Copy Editors Molly Cutler ’23 Rebecca Han ’22 Maryam Ibrahim ’23 Design Editor Kai Tsurumaki ’23 Digital Editor K Stiefel ’20 Treasurer Liam Lonergan ’23 Staff Writers JD Copeland ’23 Cole Diehl ’20 Joseph Feng ’22 Braden Flax ’21 Miguel Gracia-Zhang ’23 Mary Alice Jouve ’23 Chase Lovgren ’21 Rebecca Ngu ’20 Tamica Perera ’22 Emma Popham ’21 Chris Russo ’20 Nalanda Sharadjaya ’21

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2 The Prog IssueIssue 2 - 5October - December 2019 2019 Table of Contents Much Ado About Discourse 4 Braden Flax

“Grassroots Organizing 101” and the 5 Coalition of the Progressive University Community Liam Lonergan

The Amazonian : Exacerbating 6 Fault Lines In The Mary Alice Jouve

The Communist on Witherspoon Street 17 Maryam Ibrahim

Beyond Performing Eco-Friendliness 8 K. Stiefel

Why is Left-Wing Student Art Bad? 10 Marc Schorin

Israel’s 2019 Elections, Explained 11 Kai Tsurumaki

Issue Issue5 - December 2 - October 2019 2019 The Prog 3 Much Ado About Discourse Braden Flax

hen we discuss ideas, even on a col- gether in disinterested contemplation, to be of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (it clearly does, lege campus, it is the case that such filtered back into the social sphere only as a but I recognize I'm unlikely to win this one) may Wdiscussions have consequences. Such self-righteous afterthought. not be the best way to spend our collective time implications apply not only to the outer world 3. Those who are marginalized are in a and intellectual effort. Aside from the fact that which we will increasingly influence, but also very different position. They may enjoy dis- people who are still obsessed, for example, with to the very people who are involved in, or sub- cussion for its own sake, and they may real- race and IQ fall into this category, this is not jected to, speech that minimizes us to a point of ize the utility of language in developing their what we're talking about; rather, people are im- perceived worthlessness. The ideas that we're perspective, making their case, negotiating plicitly diminished and dismissed according to exposed to and that are legitimized in our envi- with adversaries, and communicating inter- traits, many of which are uncontrollable, that are ronment lay the foundation for our future con- nally. But when it comes to their fundamen- historically the basis for grotesque treatment and duct, and they can have negative impacts for us tal rights, which are under greater threat than systematic dispossession. personally. Unfortunately, there are those who their antagonists care to admit, language Let's take the case of Ben Shapiro, who would counter that, instead of actions, words are cannot be their only recourse. recently stood a chance of being invited to our to be uniquely prized and upheld as the tools of own campus. According to the pretense of the the trade in an atmosphere of academic apathy. Are words actions? Well, it depends. initiative through which his candidacy was ad- Further, sophistry represents the end as well as There is a sometimes useful distinction between vanced, he would, after receiving more votes the means; or to be more precise, it would be as speaking and other forms of expressive behav- than some of his competitors, have been wel- such if it were not so relentless and never-end- ior, but what we say to one another drastically comed to give insightful and productive speech. ing. Resolution, we are assured, can be achieved shapes future interaction, from individual rela- Following this, people would be expected to en- through debate; a robust exchange of ideas can't tionships to political realignments. More to the gage with him according to the rhetorical pillars help but to eradicate ideas that don't make sense, point, speech can have debilitating effects on of right-wing victim culture: civility and defer- refine those that are more defensible, and ulti- those who are exposed to it. While it may not ence. In other words, people should bring aca- mately lead to a Platonic paradise of intellectual make sense to criminalize verbal provocation as demic quibbles and soft-spoken nuance to what vindication and conceptual actualization. Un- we do more explicit forms of physical violence, would then be a one-sided roast, a theatrical ex- fortunately, to espouse this perspective is to ig- one might be inclined to forgive an increased hibition of one-liners executed just well enough nore history, misunderstand the place of words sense of compassion for victims and harshness to titillate the sensibilities of those with nothing in affecting change, and, if one is not careful, to to perpetrators, even if the offense is delivered better to do than to inflate, mock, and lament the support the very steps backward that discourse from behind a microphone. After all, there is a presence of SJWs. Whether or not we are pre- is supposedly so well-suited to guard us against. context for speech; some, delivered aggressive- pared for him is almost beside the point; if we A skeptical reader may prematurely ob- ly and in service of pervasive, unjustified power lost in the court of childlike jeers, this would be ject that, on the one hand, the author claims that structures, is in actuality accompanied by the a function of shallow performance, rather than words are linguistic fillers for conceptual phan- capacity for even more serious affronts. Campus the deep intellectual engagement that is suppos- tasms that don't really manifest in the material trolls and the like, therefore, are merely the allies edly the objective. world, and therefore that they should not monop- and spokespeople of more dangerous reactionary Fortunately, Shapiro's nonsense proved olize our attention. On the other, he ascribes to elements, whose behavior is fairly unambiguous- too much to be implicitly endorsed, even by the them the potential to dehumanize those who are ly beyond offensive language. institution given the geographically imprecise, apparently such snowflakes that they can't even Do power differentials really exist, and but historically apt, designation of “Southern ward off such ineffectual, nebulous rhetoric. are they really that awful? Well, yes, they exist; if Ivy.” (Though in his place, the most votes were What hypocrisy! Perhaps this critic might have you doubt it, try teaching a class spontaneously in received by the most recent CEO of American a point, if the first paragraph really were advanc- your professor's place. More fundamentally, the imperialism, President , who, al- ing the perspective that could be most uncharita- most pronounced divide in our society is that be- though a better speaker by leaps and bounds, is bly attributed. Such an uncharitable attribution, tween laborers and their bosses, rendering neces- even more questionable on multiple fronts.) Ob- though, would fly in the face of an honest de- sary a revolutionary displacement of a decaying jections to executive power notwithstanding, the bate, so I trust an opponent would never stoop so social order. But back to the question of speech, mindset that allowed Shapiro to be brought up in low. Nevertheless, I prefer to cover my bases, so one might wonder if differentiation of roles (be- the first place is the issue at hand. The idea that ahead with the clarification: tween students and instructors, for instance) is his words impact different people in the same really a hierarchical one. Maybe it's not, in some way runs contrary to any adult understanding of 1. Discourse should not be the sole, or pri- far-off future, but we live in the reality that we history and may even be, dare I say it, illogical. mary, object. Words are, in fact, significant, have to navigate day-by-day, even if we strive to He uses different words, in a different tone, with but even more so as deployed by those with transcend it in our politics. So yes, it's pointless different motivations, and with access to a plat- unrestricted access to an audience and the to pretend that hierarchies, many of which are form that most of us are not used to. It's worth authority of a university. unjustified, don't exist, and it follows that speech considering the surrounding context of speech 2. It is unnecessary for those at the top, as it by different people is received and processed dif- not so it can be repressed, but so that it can be were, to express urgency and defensiveness, ferently according to their relative ability to be understood and combated when necessary; there other than as a tactic of propaganda. Since heard and taken seriously. Sometimes, this is all is a difference, after all, between non-invitation the table is already tilted, their words go fur- too necessary; constantly indulging people who and censorship, and just as stark a distinction ther than those of their opponents, and there's say the Earth is flat, or that English is the only between institutional, top-down shutdown and no need to think of their jibes as anything real language, or that rudimentary mathemat- bottom-up opposition. other than the sparks of minds clashing to- ics demonstrates incontrovertibly the existence

4 The Prog IssueIssue 2 - 5October - December 2019 2019 “Grassroots Organizing 101” and the Coalition of the Progressive University Community Liam Lonergan n Saturday, November 9, members of the aggression experienced by the protestors. solutions together. a range of progressive activist groups She stressed the importance of sharing respon- “A lot of students are doing a lot of orga- on Princeton’s campus met in Whig sibility within an organization, particularly in nizing work on campus, but they’ve never done Hall for an interactive workshop representing the group to the public. Sharing the formal training and feel uncomfortable calling Ocalled “Grassroots Organizing 101,” the first of role of group speaker helps diffuse the poten- themselves organizers,” Eisenhour said in an in- a three-part inaugural community organizing tial risk of targeted violence amongst the whole terview after the first event, describing the- in training series. Two local activists, Antonne Hen- group and presents a larger-seeming front to the tent behind the workshop series as “creating a shaw and Alexis Miller, spoke about their expe- public as compared to one or two delegated rep- space for ideas and collaboration to thrive.” She riences in organizing, including working within resentatives. In addition, it reduces the risk of added, “Students have a much bigger influence coalitions, horizontal leadership structures, and the movement’s message being co-opted and when they’re working together… because a lot centering the voices of directly impacted indi- distorted by one or a few individuals. of the stuff we’re trying to work through, trying viduals. Henshaw, a formerly incarcerated activ- Both local activists continually reaf- to do, has been done by someone else before.” ist and master’s candidate at Rutgers–Camden, firmed the importance of communication, since The first workshop also represented an initial organizes through NJ-CAIC (Campaign for Al- community organizing is fundamentally about step in strengthening ties between progressive ternatives to Isolated groups on Prince- Confinement) and is ton’s campus, with the vice president of the goal of establish- Wo/Men Who Nev- ing an interorgani- er Give Up. Miller, zational framework, a J.D. candidate at called the Coalition Rutgers Law School, of the Progressive is a lead organizer University Commu- with the Patterson, nity. NJ, chapter of Black “Even if our Lives Matter. The movements all look two main organiz- different, there are ers of the series are universal skills and Amanda Eisenhour challenges… that we ‘21, co-president of all share,” Lehmann Students for Prison said. “It’s a mat- Education and Re- ter of [saying] let’s form and a junior in actually create an the Department of organized group… African American Photo from the first grassroots organizing training. to create robust re- Studies, and Rafi Lehmann ‘20, a leader with Credit: Rafi Lehmann lationships.” Referring to the challenge of or- the Alliance of Jewish Progressives and senior ganizing student-activists at universities when in the Department of History. one quarter leaves each year, he added, “Be- Groups involved in the event include working with other people, who each have their cause of the rapid turnover within progressive the Alliance for Jewish Progressive (AJP), the own connection to an issue. Henshaw advocat- groups, we’re in a constant state of recruitment Princeton Environmental Activism Coalition ed outside activists begin relationships with di- and training… we often don’t have a chance to (PEAC), Princeton Students for Immigration rectly impacted communities by asking whether step back… If we form this coalition, that al- Empowerment (PSIE), Students for Prison Ed- anything the outside activists are doing is hurting ready quintuples the number of people exposed ucation and Reform (SPEAR), and the Young them or making things worse, since people who to these ideas, ideally.” Democratic Socialists (YDS). are directly impacted have firsthand knowledge “I don’t think it’s something that can be At the workshop, the students and local of the situation. He also discussed his experi- led by any single person,” Eisenhour said of the activists discussed how to form partnerships ence organizing towards achieving anti-carceral Coalition. “My vision for it… is a space where between students and other communities, how legislative gains in the New Jersey Legislature, people can share knowledge about organizing to work with partners’ individual strengths, ex- which has involved navigating relationships work on campus… So many of the things that periences, and privileges, and how to organize with a variety of people. we work on are interrelated.” without co-opting. Miller recounted an instance Members of the progressive organiza- “I’ve felt even since freshman year that when white allies formed a human chain around tions present also discussed with each other and this is something that needed to happen,” Leh- black activists at a protest, preventing law en- with Henshaw and Miller the challenges they mann said. “We’re building real power with this forcement from reaching them and decreasing currently face in their work, coming up with coalition.”

Issue Issue5 - December 2 - October 2019 2019 The Prog 5 The Amazonian Synod: Exacerbating Fault Lines In The Catholic Church Mary Alice Jouve or the past several decades, fault lines people can distribute Communion have been forming in the Catholic and play a pastoral role in communi- Church. Leaders and members find ties. However, major doctrinal chang- themselves divided on how the Church’s es such as these cannot be made in a Fteachings apply to myriad concerns like capital- smaller gathering such as this and ism, colonialism, and global warming. These is- will require further discussion and sues were at the heart of the Synod of approval by the Pope. for the Pan-Amazon Region, or the Amazonian The general movement to re- Synod, called by this October; how claim indigenous traditions as part of Pope Francis and the Catholic Church respond Catholicism has led to a wider call to these problems and the criticisms they face for the Catholic Church to make op- will determine the future of Catholicism and its posing climate change and capitalist relevance to the world. exploitation a moral imperative. After As he detailed in his new book, Without listening to the perspectives of Am- Him We Can Do Nothing, Pope Francis hoped azonian people affected by climate posedly achieved under capitalism. to start the process of decoupling the Catholic change, the Synod set forth the idea of “ecolog- Comments made by Catholic leaders Church’s presence in the Amazon from its long ical sin” or “an action or omission against God, against the Synod have made the controver- history of colonialism and cultural erasure. He against others, the community and the environ- sy surrounding it even more divisive. Cardinal argues that “[Christianity] is not identified with ment." This new concept recognizes the soli- Raymond Leo Burke, a leader of conservatives a particular culture,” so Church leaders in the darity between animals, the environment, and in the Church, indicated in a Nov. 9 interview Amazon should work to shape the Church and humans and that ecological sin is a sin against that if Pope Francis approved of the earli- its traditions to better serve the people who live future generations. Calling the Amazon the “bi- er working papers of the Synod, Burke would there rather than trying to erase local culture and ological heart” of the world, they recognize the consider Francis in schism with the rest of the religion. responsibility they have for their congregations Catholic Church. Outcry was also raised over a This guiding principle has led to notable and the outsized harm that global warming and ceremony held in the Vatican at the beginning of recommendations made by the Synod, as Pope imperialism will cause to their communities. the Synod where the Pope blessed a statue of Pa- Francis has emphasized the idea of synodality A number of bishops also directly con- chamama, an Andean fertility goddess initially throughout this meeting. Synodality is the idea nect climate change to corporations, asking revered by the Incans. In a statement published that both clergy and laypeople should work questions about the moral implications of sup- Nov. 12 entitled “Protest against Pope Francis's and dialogue together so that dioceses can bet- porting an economic system that is hurting the Sacrilegious Acts,” conservative Church lead- ter serve Catholics in the area, recognizing that congregations the Church is supposed to be ers decried the ceremony as idolatry and called each community has different needs and that as- ministering to. They argue that the exploitative on him to repent. More liberal Catholic Church similation is harmful. and “predatory” characteristics of capitalism leaders, like Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, say that Catholics who live in the Amazon region are in opposition to Catholicism. Protecting hu- this was simply an instance of the Church adopt- have expressed hope that the Synod will start the man rights is not only a political imperative but ing pagan iconography as it has done for cen- process of creating a Catholic tradition that they a religious one as well, since Catholics believe turies with symbols like St. Brigid’s Cross and can take ownership of. Missionaries to the Am- humans are made in the image and likeness of that it was done in solidarity with the people the azon have historically associated religion with God. The bishops set forth actions items such as Church is trying to help through the Amazonian the erasure of indigenous culture. As a Tuyuka calling on churches to divest from fossil fuels, Synod. Pope Francis has continued to support priest and a participant in the Synod, Rev. Jus- sending ministers to be posted in individual par- the inclusion of the statue, apologizing and re- tino Rezende recounted that Catholic mission- ishes to bring the climate crisis to the forefront covering the statue when it was thrown into the aries often forbade parents from passing down of parishioners’ minds, and setting up a fund for Tiber by an angry Catholic. indigenous knowledge and religious tradition. In reparations to the inhabitants of the Amazon re- Catholic missionary work has long been addition, he saw many men leave the seminary gion. associated with the spread of Western colonial- because white missionaries were forcing assimi- Efforts to make the Catholic Church bet- ist and imperialist empires. The Amazonian lation as part of becoming a priest. This has lead ter serve the Amazon region have drawn the ire Synod represents an attempt by the Church to to a dearth of indigenous priests in the region, of many conservative Catholics who are further turn towards a new way of spreading Catholi- making it harder for congregations to receive aligned with capitalist interests and wary of in- cism, using a framework closer to cultural diffu- regular Communion. digenous traditions being incorporated into the sion rather than through an air of superiority. It These problems have led some Catholic Mass. Pope Francis’s initiative to promote syn- also attempts to expose the complicity of many religious leaders in the Amazon to start creating odality has been criticized as creating a pathway Catholics in the ravaging of the Amazon as they an indigenous Catholic tradition not unlike the for Catholicism to become blended with local re- support the brutal, capitalistic domination of US other traditions that already exist in the Cath- ligious traditions. Testimonies that speak to the and the governments it backs in Latin America. olic Church such as the Eastern Rite. To solve horrific effects of logging and other extractiv- If the Church wants to continue to play the role the shortage of priests and the forcible erasure ist policies implemented by corporate-friendly of a universal moral authority, they must serve of religious traditions, members of the Synod governments are reduced to claims like that of everyone and not just an elite and privileged mi- advocated for the ordination of married priests the conservative Catholic media outline LifeSite nority. and more indigenous priests. Creating a female News, that the bishops support “nature-friendly diaconate has also been proposed so that more primitivism” instead of the progress that is sup-

6 The Prog IssueIssue 2 - 5October - December 2019 2019 The Communist on Witherspoon Street The Legacy of Paul Robeson, A Princeton Native Who Fought to Advance Equality Worldwide Maryam Ibrahim ith only about 30,000 residents, the vanced his reach across the globe. It was only in to raise awareness of and prosecute the United town of Princeton often feels as though England, where Robeson enrolled in the School States for systematic discrimination against Af- Wits only notable traits are events many of Oriental and African Studies in London in rican . The petition opened with: decades or centuries past, and, of course, its Uni- 1934, that his radical political views began to “The Civil Rights Congress has prepared versity, which attracts students, professors, and flourish. Eventually, he was encouraged to visit and submits this petition to the General tourists from all around the world. However, for the Soviet Union with an anti-imperialist organi- Assembly of the United Nations on be students specifically, the incentives to explore zation. half of the Negro people in the interest of off campus are close to zero, as we are fortunate peace and democracy, charging the Gov to have a seemingly endless amount of events, ernment of the of America guest speakers, and entertainment on campus. If with violation of the Charter of the Unit we do leave campus, it is likely in order to com- ed Nations and the Convention on the mute to a neighboring area, fulfil a referral from Prevention and Punishment of the Crime University Health Services, or run some other of Genocide." errand. Even so, there are many aspects about (We Charge Genocide, Introduction, Princeton as a neighborhood that aren’t often 1951) spoken of. While they may not be as conspic- The document highlighted the proliferation of uous as some of the city’s more famous histori- educational inequality, mass incarceration, job cal events, they are still worth remembering. An and housing discrimination, and more. The doc- unexpected feature of Princeton’s history is that ument isn’t referenced often due to its failure to it is the hometown of actor, singer, athlete, and widely circulate during an intensely anti-Com- leftist political activist Paul Robeson, who found munist period. However, it did have a clear success and respect both in the United States and reach in Europe, as it raised awareness about the abroad, even through the hardships of racism. conditions of African Americans in the US. De- As a black man navigating majority white spite highlighting many Civil Rights struggles spaces, Robeson was no stranger to blantant rac- for African Americans, Robeson’s Communist ism and discrimination, as he faced obstacles affiliations subsequently led to him to be black- based on his race in every stage of his life. Born listed from Hollywood, denied a passport from in 1898 in Princeton, NJ, Paul Robeson and his In the midst of widespread anti-Communist sen- the State Department for nearly a decade, and family lived in a home at 110 Witherspoon Street timent during the Red Scare, Robeson saw a subjected to close FBI surveillance on himself until Robeson was eight years old. They were much different world when he visited Moscow. and his family for the remainder of their lives. forced to move to the attic of a store about 30 "Here I am not a Negro but a human being for While there have been several attempts to miles away from Princeton after his father lost the first time in my life... I walk in full human disregard Robeson’s legacy, it seems as though his job at the Princeton Presbyterian Church and dignity" (The Independent, 1935). In the USSR, the residents of Princeton have not entirely for- his mother passed away. Despite tragic begin- Robeson, along with many other African Amer- gotten about Robeson’s impact. The city has pre- nings, Robeson’s polymathy flourished in high ican intellectuals and leaders, experienced a so- served his childhood home as commemoration school as he excelled in theater, athletics, and ciety where race was not the determining factor and as an “‘open house’ for the discussion, re- academics. This in turn allowed him to receive a of treatment or status in society. Robeson was view and resolution of concerns in the Wither- full ride scholarship from Rutgers, making him often questioned about why he decided to come spoon-Jackson neighborhood, with special em- only the third African American man to attend back to the United States, which is a common phasis on resident concerns, immigration issues, the university. At around the same time, Princ- question asked of those who are vocal about the cultural and social services.” Other examples in- eton was falling back towards racism. After a inequalities in their home country. Robeson re- clude a plaza and boulevard dedicated to him in short period of admission for black students pre- sponded to these inquiries with, “Because my New Brunswick. While these may not be able to World-War-I, black admission was halted until father was a slave, and my people died to build completely encompass his international awards around the post World War II era. This exclu- this country, I am going to stay here and have and recognition, they are subtle reminders of his sionary practice wouldn’t have been a surprise a part of it just like you, and no fascist-minded humble beginnings in New Jersey. to Robeson, as he struggled to find respect even people will drive me from it.” (Paul Robeson, Paul Robeson had a number of friends when he proved his merit in several fields. Al- House of Un-American Activities Council Testi- who went on to become prominent long-time though he was a star athlete, many college foot- mony 1956) faculty members at Princeton, even while he had ball teams refused to play Rutgers because he I first heard of Paul Robeson through his almost no affiliation with the university, despite was on the team. After receiving a law degree connections to a United Nations petition from living in close proximity to it for the formative from Columbia Law School, Robeson practiced 1951 entitled “We Charge Genocide: The His- years of his life. If Robeson had been admitted law for only a few years, until becoming unwill- toric Petition to the United Nations for Relief to the university, we would undoubtedly have ing to continuously face racism in firms after a From a Crime of The United States Government a building, center, or even an arch named after stenographer refused to take his diction because Against the Negro People.” Robeson presented him. Better yet, his impact in standing up for jus- of his race. Fortunately, Robeson had his acting the petition to the United Nations along with the tice and equality worldwide would likely have a and musical talents to fall back on, and he de- Civil Rights Congress, a short lived radical le- further reach both on a local and national scale. cided to pursue a full-time film career which ad- gal defense organization. The document sought

Issue Issue5 - December 2 - October 2019 2019 The Prog 7 Beyond Performing Eco-Friendliness: Why We Must Hold Institutions Accountable First K. Stiefel

ue to poor reporting, some people can prove costly.” Later, from fossil fuels and industrial processes; only now think that inhalers are pumping published an article titled “No, asthma inhal- two percent are “F-gases.” Furthermore, inhal- the atmosphere full of deadly gases. ers are not ‘choking the planet’” as a play on ers represent a tiny amount of the emissions of Recently, researchers in the UK ex- the previous headlines. Christopher Ingraham haloalkanes. The primary source of hydrofluo- Damined the carbon footprint of the metered dose at the Post used his business analyst column to roalkanes are refrigerants, but the EPA does not inhaler (MDI) and suggested economic models put the results of the study back into proportion, require manufacturers to report the emissions for switching the National Health Service pre- calculating that the MDI inhalers accounted for from their products. The United Nations Envi- scriptions to a different kind: the dry powder at most 0.14 percent of the nation’s annual car- ronmental Programme estimates that 79 percent inhaler (DPI). The MDI is the best at ensuring bon footprint. The article emphasizes that many of emissions are from refridgerents compared to a consistent dose of aerosolized medication in consumer choices can be critiqued and readily 5 percent for all aerosol products (of which in- a single puff and is used not only by asthmatics changed without health complications to reduce halers are a tiny percentage). Since the hydroflu- and sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary individual impact and makes a vague gesture to oroalkanes do not degrade the ozone layer like disease (COPD), but also by many people with “activists” calling for “radical systemic change” their CFC cousins and are in fact the “green” short-term breathing problems (think bronchitis) before reminding readers that poor air quali- alternative to them, there is no substantial dif- who need quick and reliable relief. As a life-sav- ty contributes more to worsened symptoms for ference between them and other heat-trapping ing medical intervention device, the MDI allows asthmatics. While this coverage by the Post is gases. While an impact framework focused on individuals with certain kinds of compromised certainly better than that of other magazines that the individual is susceptible to over-emphasiz- airways to increase their chances of survival. In primarily fearmonger about MDIs, it critiques ing small choices like an MDI inhaler, focusing comparison, the DPI is harder to use during a fit consumer-reduction models of environmental on how institutions shape our impact requires of coughing or gasping because it involves in- impact without offering an alternative frame- identifying the truly significant sources. haling the medication as a fine powder instead work beyond “change.” The Post, as a news Not every lifestyle allows one to take of a mist. Someone who cannot take a fast, deep outlet owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who the same measures to reduce their individual breath without blowing out (even a small exhale has a direct stake in ensuring that individuals impact; consumer-based responsibility narra- can cause the entire dose to be wasted) cannot instead of institutions are held accountable for tives also serve as a barrier to acknowledging use the DPI to take their medication—presup- their footprint, cannot truly critique the systems inequitable access. By making environmentally posing their medication is available in this form that contribute most to climate change: industry friendly products a commodity, and therefore since few are manufactured due to higher costs. and institutions. The narrative that emphasizes more expensive than comparable alternatives, Why would these researchers explore increasing individual changes rather than acknowledges poor people are blamed for an environmen- the number of DPIs in circulation if they are not corporations’ and institutions’ roles as the largest tal impact that they do not have the resources as functional as MDIs? The answer is found in contributors to climate change hurts any chance to curb. Companies have calculated that if they the aerosolizability of the MDI which is caused of an effective solution. slap on the labels “sustainably sourced,” “bio- by hydrofluoroalkanes, gaseous compounds Putting aside the individual consumer degradable,” “compostable,” or “carbon offset,” with fluorine, or “F-gases.” Hydrofluoroalkanes “choice” of inhalers, emissions data contextual- they can raise their prices. An “Amazon Basics” are not to be confused with chlorofluorocarbons ize the problem as a minor source of emissions plain coffee cup 10 ounce 500-count pack costs (CFCs), which were implicated in the 1970s in compared to both overall greenhouse gas emis- $50.42 (10.08 cents per cup) while the equiv- destroying the ozone layer, but they are nonethe- sions and haloalkane emissions. The U.K. De- alent “Amazon Basics” “compostable” cup in less one of the many compounds which contrib- partment for Business, Energy, and Industrial the same size and quantity costs $65.00 (13 ute to the greenhouse effect. The lifetime produc- Strategy provides statistical data for the carbon cents per cup). On top of the green surcharge, tion of greenhouse gases for DPIs is somewhat emissions of different sectors each year; in 2018, the “compostable cup” is actually not usually less than that for MDIs and, the paper argues, the the two largest sources of emission by far were compostable. Amazon is able to get away with greener choice is to encourage doctors to pre- transportation and energy (in that order). Public, this because the limiting factor, a polylactic acid scribe them when appropriate and subsidize the non-residential emissions are admittedly rising, (PLA) coating, does break down—if only after production of DPI-compatible medications. but there was only a 1.6 percent increase from months and incredibly specific conditions. There Without missing a beat, the story of this 2017 to 2018, once adjusted for heating sources, are approximately 5,000 composting facilities in small report on the feasibility of more DPIs in on the already miniscue slice of 2.0 percent of the the US based on a survey sent to states, and only Britain was picked up by Time magazine, BBC national emissions. In comparison, the business a fraction of them will accept the cost-inefficient News, and Climate News Network to be circu- sector causes 18 percent of all emissions. Global paper products. They are not evenly distributed, lated under sensational headlines like “How One data collected by the Environmental Protection either; the top five states have over 33 percent of Commonly Used Asthma Inhaler is Damaging Agency show a similar trend, with 65 percent of the reported composting facilities. Within those the Planet” and “Climate threat from inhalers greenhouse gases being carbon dioxide released states, a careful examination will certainly show

8 The Prog IssueIssue 2 - 5October - December 2019 2019 socioeconomic divides between those who have to run a farmer’s market—a custom that is be- countries as an institution, we see some making access to the composting stream and those who coming more and more bourgeois by the season. more efforts than others. These observations ne- do not. Thus, the majority of these more expen- Once a market has moved inside or operates cessitate the discussion of environmental justice, sive “compostable” cups will end up in landfills year-round, you can rest assured that the major- which emphasizes the inequities in marginalized regardless. These cups are still available with ity of the products will be meals, snacks, small- groups both bearing the consequences of climate Amazon Prime, getting shipped on inefficiently batch foods like cheese or honey, and artisanal change and missing the benefits of conservation packed trucks guzzling fossil fuels to meet con- products for top dollar prices. If there is a pro- and other forms of climate activism. sumer demand. All of these calculations presup- duce selling stand, it often sells expensive “heir- By placing the responsibility for mitigat- pose that one has the education to know what loom” or non-traditional color varieties for sur- ing the environmental impact on the individual kinds of products to demand. Ultimately, compa- charges. We see the “green” movement for what consumer, corporations and institutions create nies make more money while avoiding the nec- it is, then: the petty bourgeoisie spending more a narrative where blaming themselves is not an essary large-scale changes to their operations to money for what amounts to new status symbols. option. This leads the public to paint scapegoats become environmentally conscious. The individualist framework also makes and boogeymen out of marginalized people, to More broadly, sustainability is inexora- it easy to ignore the cause of some of the respi- blame people who use inhalers in life-saving in- bly linked to class in American society. Most ratory health issues that harm asthmatics, among terventions for the fraction of greenhouse gases “greening” efforts, such as taking public transit others: pollution that disproportionately impacts they emit instead of demanding immediate in- or carpooling, assume a specific relationship to marginalized communities. The Post article tervention in the operations of factories and in- wealth. For those who cannot afford to buy and touches briefly upon the fact that poor air qual- stitutions which have hastened our sprint to the maintain a car or live in the suburbs, these are not ity worsens asthma symptoms (and necessitates edge of climate crisis. Instead of focusing our even options because there is no connection to more inhaler usage). However, the author fails to efforts on telling people with inhalers to switch the sources of pollution and the limited options mention that asthma is also well-known to have to potentially less effective options, we should make it harder to control one’s impact. When pollution and occupational hazard exposures as consider telling billionaires to sell their private you ride a city bus, you do not have the luxury of risk factors. One or two or ten consumers buying jets or companies to offset their pollution from choosing to ride exclusively electric ones. Sim- a greener product does not stop factories from their own profits first. ilarly, greening one’s living space in any appre- toxifying the very air they breath. Thousands of ciable way (eco-friendly insulation, solar panels, consumers could drastically change their habits gray water recycling systems, etc.) is not practi- to attempt to improve the air quality in cities, but cal for renters who will definitely leave the space these choices would not stop electricity gener- and require permission from their landlords first. ation plants and fossil fuel-based transportation It is doubtful there will ever be a price point in from causing the same detrimental effects. These the free market for these products where short- institutional footprints should not be used to ab- time residents will see enough in savings to jus- solve all (wealthy) consumers of their impact, tify the out-of-pocket costs. On a limited budget, however. The broadening of focus that examin- even eco-friendly food can become unattainable. ing institutions requires helps us see that individ- The cheapest foods are all pre-processed which ual consumption is not a monolith. It becomes means a massive carbon footprint (and negligi- clear that not all consumers consume resources ble health benefit) compared with fresh produce. equally. The most industrially developed nations “Shopping local,” assuming one does not live in contribute the most to greenhouse gas emissions. a food desert and has access to produce, requires The most industrially developed nations produce that one lives in an area with enough resources a disproportionate amount of waste. Thinking of

Issue Issue5 - December 2 - October 2019 2019 The Prog 9 Why is Left-Wing Student Art Bad? Marc Schorin

went to the library for research. I pulled is embedded within the out a stack of books; Marina Abramovic’s nature of what it means dreamlike memoir, a collection of essays to be a student. about art by Marxist luminaries from Marx To be a student Ito Barbaro, a contemporary French academic’s is to position oneself survey into “the politics of the spectator,” etc.— awkwardly. Given the but I needn’t have. I wanted to know why stu- nature of our education dent left-wing art is bad. Why is “protest poetry” system—that it is a unreadable, performance art unwatchable, and function of class—, to “guerilla art” of any kind not only needlessly be a student anywhere confrontational but even counter-productive? I is to be a student at an didn’t have to go to the library; a random visit to elite institution. The for colored girls who have considered suicide/ elitism is only ampli- when the rainbow is enuf told me everything I fied at Princeton. The needed to know, because it is everything student final layer of -“awk art is not. wardness” arises from Photo from for colored girls, a choreopoem. Shange was not a student when she wrote the elite nature of art at Credit: Martha Swope/©NYPL for the Performing Arts for colored girls…, but it was a milestone in the Princeton, and its domi- underground theater movement that student art nation by white and mas- words, although the graffiti might not have been continues to draws inspiration from (while it did culine stories. However, regardless of race or intended as an art project, it was enacted and re- show at the Booth Theatre on Broadway, it grew gender or even class, we are laborers but we are ceived as one; meanwhile, its obviously intend- out of the tradition of alternative theater, direct- privileged. Student artists in particular are under ed political message was heard. ly challenging the canon it eventually joined). a false consciousness: as a class, we think we Granted, the Title IX graffiti is not like While it might be unfair to characterize Ntozake are radical, but in fact, we only serve our own other student art. Perhaps it is because it proba- Shange as a “left-wing writer,” her work contin- and, by proxy, the ruling classes’ interests. Real bly did not intend to be art that it was so success- ues to speak to common alienated experiences as leftist art could and does often break through our ful: it was impossible for the artist to conceive well as defy the hierarchy-reinforcing standards navel-gazing, but is there any at Princeton? of themself as an artist, and so there was no pre- of capitalist production. Every student artist To better understand where left-wing tension to what they produced. But more impor- wants to do what she does, but most every stu- student art fails, we should investigate where it tantly, the graffiti destabilized the power of the dent artist fails, because they have mistaken the succeeds. One particularly powerful example of institution and, therefore, the power of the stu- form for the substance. In other words, they see successful art is the Title IX graffiti that was set dents within it. When confronted with the failure the choreopoem and they are taken aback by its up all over campus last semester. of our single shared source of power to account avant-garde, its boldness, its success. And these At considerable risk and consequence for its own structural flaws, what it means to be aspects, the ones that immediately strike even to themself, a student wrote “Title IX Protects a “student” becomes arbitrary. the laziest audience member, are easy to mimic. Rapists” in spray-paint around campus. After Ultimately, student art can only be suc- But they do not see the careful study that went the student was raped, Princeton’s Title IX Of- cessful if it actively and meaningfully destabiliz- into it, the deep soul-searching labor that pro- fice underwent what might be characterized as es its own and the audience’s power. By “actively duces imagery that would fuck you up. Student a cover-up; the student was questioned, threat- and meaningfully,” I mean that student art must theater—and, more broadly, student art—does ened, and, ultimately, no charges were brought transcend the perfunctory concessions to liberal not fuck you up, because it wouldn’t dare to. against the person who assaulted them. sensibility, like program notes and that include The “student” in “student art” is a nec- That this graffiti represented a protest the word “intersectionality” but do nothing to essary if arbitrary designation: the point is that is obvious. That it is art might not be quite as undermine themselves. It is this undermining of I am talking about people our age who are more self-evident. That I call it leftist might even be one’s own power that leads to the self-erasure ideologues than artists, regardless of whether or offensive. That I say it was successful might just that distinguishes “good art.” not they are actually students at any institution. be confusing. After all, there were no lasting One of student art’s hallmarks is its Left-wing art itself, broadly, contains a great changes made to Princeton’s structural support self-indulgence, a necessary feature of art that many number of successes, from the surrealists of rape and rapists. However, not only was atten- pats the artist on the back. This art seeks to “ex- to Le Guin—these artists infuse their politics tion paid to the artist’s suffering, that attention press” what the artist feels, a task that nearly in- with their art and vice-versa and, more to the catalyzed a protest that organized Princeton stu- variably leads to failure. “Self-expression” has point, they do it well. But that we are students dents to a level this campus rarely sees (the BJL become a pillar of amateur art; in this context, drains our art of its necessity. protests in 2017 are a good example). It awak- to “express oneself” is not literally to testify to Urgency in art typically derives from its ened the student body by exposing a shared ex- one’s experiences, but rather to worship one’s context; this art is needed because of its political perience of oppression, and in this sense, it is a own self—to impose one’s own experiences milieu, its time, its place, etc. When student art leftist endeavor and a successful one. Moreover, over everybody else’s. In practice, “self-expres- is created, it is almost never without the illusion it is an artistic one: these graffiti externalized sion” is how reactionary politics makes itself of necessity. It is not bad, per se, that student art the artist’s pain in a way that belonged to them palatable to a liberal audience. The practice that thinks it will change the world; it is bad that it and them alone but was shared by the entirety should take its place is self-erasure, an undoing doesn’t. It conceives of itself as groundbreaking of campus. The graffiti represented both a dis- of everything that makes up the self. This is the but refuses anything remotely controversial or play and a performance; a display on the part art that is truly cutting. soul-searching (sometimes it need not be but in of the producer, which conditioned the perfor- that case it should just be admitted). This refusal mance (the protests) of the consumers. In other

10 The Prog IssueIssue 2 - 5October - December 2019 2019 Israel’s 2019 Elections, Explained Kai Tsurumaki

he past few weeks have seen a whirl- Netanyahu’s sec- wind of updates in the seemingly endless ond attempt at a coali- Tturmoil of the Israeli elections this year. tion also failed, and once Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya- again, Lieberman was key hu and the main opposition leader Benny Gantz in denying him a right- failed to establish a governing coalition after the wing coalition. He also second election of the year, and the country is attempted a unity govern- preparing for a third now. To further complicate ment, but the conserva- the situation, Netanyahu was indicted on corrup- tive Likud could not come tion charges on November 21st. to an agreement with the The chaos of recent Israeli politics has liberal Gantz, and the ini- left many wondering why the country has fallen tiative passed to the latter into this situation, how the legal processes be- politician. hind this work, and what could be next. As Gantz attempt- Israel’s first elections of the year were ed to get his majority, a originally scheduled to take place this Novem- new wrinkle was intro- ber, when Netanyahu’s fourth term as Prime duced with an ultima- Minister would finish. However, early elections tum from Lieberman. He were called in April. This can be attributed to a has previously pledged few reasons. His administration cited differenc- to only support a unity es within the governing coalition over military government, but on No- conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews; howev- vember 9th he announced er, it is notable that an investigation had been that if either Netanyahu recently opened into Netanyahu for potential or Gantz did not commit bribery and breach of trust charges, opening the to compromise in a uni- possibility that he maneuvering to get ahead of ty government, he would any indictments that might come his way. ally Yisrael Beiteinu with From the exit polls, the April election the other candidate. Lieb- appeared very close, and both sides naturally erman especially empha- claimed victory. Likud and Blue and White, the sized avoiding another parties of Netanyahu and Gantz respectively, re- election. ceived 35 seats each. However, Netanyahu was Unfortunately, eventually decided to be in a stronger position when Gantz's time to to form a coalition, and Gantz conceded. It was form a coalition ended no clear path out of the current political dead- reported in many publications that he had won eleven days later, a legislative majority still elud- lock. The eventual outcome of this election, the election. ed him. He and Netanyahu held talks for a unity though, has very important ramifications. Within On May 29th, in an unprecedented twist, government in a last ditch effort to avoid a third Israel, this is a test of whether the country wants Netanyahu revealed that he had failed to assem- election, but ultimately failed. In this new round, to continue down Netanyahu’s right-wing path, ble a government, the first time in Israeli history polling shows that the Blue and White party ap- or if they are ready for a transition to a more that such a situation had occurred. Negotiations pears to again have a slight edge over Likud, and moderate to liberal government. faltered due to conflict with Avigdor Lieberman, both sides would still need the support of Yisrael The impact of this election on Palestin- leader of the secular right-wing nationalist Yis- Beiteinu for a coalition. The possibility for an ian natives could be great. A Gantz led govern- rael Beiteinu party. Despite only having five outcome very similar to that of the past two is ment, which would likely include the Arab par- seats, the party became the deciding factor in the strong. ty Joint List, would be much more amenable to election. The very next day, Israel’s Attorney Gen- compromise and cooperation on that front than After this, Benny Gantz could have been eral, Avichai Mandelblit, announced that Net- Netanyahu’s administration has been. appointed the next prime minister-designate and anyahu was being indicted on charges of brib- In an international context, the Israeli given the same opportunity. Instead, parliament ery, fraud, and breach of trust. The cases against Prime Minister has an important influence in voted to dissolve itself, forcing a new round of the Prime Minister involved allegations of him the Middle East. Whether that seat is filled by elections on September 17th and denying Gantz offering and giving favors in his governmental Netanyahu or Gantz will affect the policy of the that opportunity. capacity to various prominent media magnates United States and other global powers, as well as The September election showed similar in exchange for favorable coverage or expensive what they will be able to get done in the region. results to its predecessor, with Blue and White gifts. This reaches to critical issues, such as Russian very slightly ahead of Likud in exit polling. The In addition to the challenges this creates influence in the Middle East and conflict with former party ended up with 33 seats to the lat- for Israel’s democracy, with the top prosecutor Iran. ter’s 32, but the first shot at forming a coalition and premier of the country at legal odds, this Israel’s current political situation is both still went to Netanyahu. event could damage Netanyahu. Despite his fer- complicated and unprecedented. This election Some analysts have suggested that Gantz vent protests, including proclaiming an attempt- may be more strongly contested than any in Is- may have wanted to allow Netanyahu to go before ed coup and calling to “investigate the investi- raeli history. Will Netanyahu receive a record him, as with there already being a failed attempt gators,” an ongoing criminal case could damage fifth term? Or will Israel choose a new leader for to create a government, he could have increased him when Israel’s citizens next go to the polls. the first time in over a decade? bargaining power in the following negotiations. Israel’s electoral future is uncertain, with

Issue Issue5 - December 2 - October 2019 2019 The Prog 11 THE PRINCETON PROGRESSIVE IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE PRINCETON PROGRESSIVES (PPRO) ALUMNI GROUP.

OUR WORK IS MADE POSSIBLE BY DEDICATED SUPPORT FROM PRINCETONIANS COMMITTED TO PROGRESSIVE VALUES.

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12 The Prog Issue 2 - October 2019