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Malcolm Gladwell
@Gladwell
Skinny Canadian
New York
Joined December 2008
Posts
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    At this blessed moment for (half) Jamaicans, a personal story. Many years ago a talented young man enrolled at the Univ of West Indies. He asked his advisor: what should he study? “Math!” his advisor said. That student? Kamala’s dad. That advisor? My dad.
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    I signed the Harpers letter because there were lots of people who also signed the Harpers letter whose views I disagreed with. I thought that was the point of the Harpers letter.
    I did not know who else had signed that letter. I thought I was endorsing a well meaning, if vague, message against internet shaming. I did know Chomsky, Steinem, and Atwood were in, and I thought, good company. The consequences are mine to bear. I am so sorry.
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    I moved to America 32 years ago. Yesterday was the first day I felt ashamed to be part of this country.
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    Huh. Call me old-fashioned. But I would have thought that the point of a festival of ideas was to expose the audience to ideas. If you only invite your friends over, it’s called a dinner party.
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    Replying to @Gladwell
    No math, no Berkeley grad school. No grad school, no marrying Kamala’s mom. No marriage, no Kamala. Ok. I’m stretching things. But if Kamala wins it all one day, my Dad (from up there) will be happy man.
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    Gucci Mane, ladies and gentlemen. This might be the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.
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    Me: “You know I’m half-Jamaican?” Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (maybe greatest ever female sprinter): “There is no such thing as a half-Jamaican.”
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    Hilarious Dinesh D’Souza fact. In college his nickname was Distort D’Newsa. This was 35 years ago. People got wise to him a long time ago.
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    This totally restored my faith in humanity
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    Joe McCarthy was done in when he was confronted by someone with intelligence and guts, before a live audience. Sometimes a platform is actually a gallows.
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    I’m stunned by the lack of sympathy for Antonio Brown. He’s clearly struggling. Is this how we treat people who are going through difficult times?
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    What did we talk about before Trump? I forget.
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    Just reading the responses to my @NewYorker piece on the unknowns about marijuana. I’m puzzled why pot advocates would be hostile to the idea of learning more about the consequences of their habit. Haven’t we been through this w the climate deniers?