first racoon

zohran mamdani is 34 years old, born in uganda to indian shia muslim parents. he is an organized democratic socialist who supports free childcare and free public transit, as well as women’s and lgbtq rights. he is a vocal pro-palestine activist, a rapper, and he met his syrian cartoonist wife on a dating app. his mother is filmmaker mira nair and his father is marxist scholar mahmood mamdani.

with 50.5% of the vote, mamdani became new york city’s first muslim and first mayor of indian descent. his win challenged donald trump, billionaire donors, business elites, millions of dollars spent against him, islamophobia, and the pro-israel political establishment. his victory suggested that a new kind of politics is possible in the united states.

mira nair met mahmood mamdani in uganda while she was researching material for her film mississippi masala. mahmood had been expelled from uganda in 1972 along with tens of thousands of asian ugandans under idi amin. he later became a leading scholar on colonialism, nationalism, and minority rights. the couple married and lived between countries, and in 1991 they named their son zohran kwame mamdani after ghana’s anti-colonial leader kwame nkrumah.

the family eventually settled in new york after time in south africa. their home became a gathering place for writers, journalists, artists, activists, and academics. zohran grew up surrounded by political debate, creativity, and organizing.

he attended school in new york and studied african studies at bowdoin college. some critics later called him a “nepo baby,” but instead of pursuing a traditional career, he focused on political organizing. he worked with tenant defense groups, socialist organizations, and the palestine movement. he also made music and worked in new york’s cultural world.

in 2017 he joined the democratic socialists of america. he first organized for other candidates, then launched his own campaign.

in 2019, during a period of rising activism and anger at inequality in new york, he ran for city council from astoria, a diverse immigrant neighborhood. his team knocked on tens of thousands of doors and distributed 12,000 iftar meals during ramadan to mobilize muslim voters. he won the democratic primary and took office. in the council he became known for supporting movements, especially the hunger strike by taxi workers trapped under predatory loans.

in 2024 he announced a run for mayor. at first he had only 1% support in polls. he built his campaign through mass organizing. more than 50,000 volunteers canvassed. on some days the campaign reached 150,000 homes.

a central focus was engaging muslim new yorkers, who number over one million but often vote at low rates. mamdani embraced his identity and spoke directly to mosque congregations after friday prayers.

his position on palestine became a central issue. while many political elites in new york support israel, mamdani aligned with working-class people, students, and immigrant communities who were outraged by the war in gaza. he argued that criticizing israel is not antisemitic and called on the city to end certain business ties with israel. progressive jewish activists and a jewish socialist candidate who encouraged voters to rank mamdani as their second choice became crucial to his win in the ranked-choice voting system.

mamdani’s platform focuses on reducing the cost of living. he supports capping rent increases, building more public housing, opening city-run grocery stores to reduce food costs, making buses free, expanding public childcare, and replacing some policing with community-based public safety programs. he plans to fund this by raising taxes slightly on high-income earners and corporations, while also cutting government waste and reducing unnecessary regulation that blocks housing.

his campaign also stood out because of its presentation. his posters used bright colors and large type inspired by new york’s immigrant shop signs and bollywood designs. he communicated in short, direct statements. he spoke with voters who disagreed with him, including trump supporters, and focused on listening and building trust rather than ridicule. his social media strategy reached young voters through short, humorous, clear videos tailored to each platform.

he married syrian artist rama duwaji after meeting her on hinge. when critics mocked their honeymoon in dubai, the couple responded by sharing everyday photos from the new york subway and streets, which strengthened their image of authenticity.

mamdani’s victory is historic for muslim, south asian, arab, african, immigrant, and working-class new yorkers, including taxi drivers, delivery workers, and street vendors who have long been marginalized and surveilled. in a time of rising islamophobia and repression of protest, new york elected a muslim democratic socialist who openly supports palestinian rights.

whether he can accomplish everything he proposes is not yet known. but the meaning of his election is already clear. the name zohran, in persian, refers to something bright like the sun. for many new yorkers, his win feels like the beginning of a new morning.

first off, having an avoidant attachment style does not mean someone is a bad person. they aren’t avoiding closeness to hurt you or deceive you. they usually want connection, but struggle to build it. in everyday life, they often seem like completely normal people.

let’s also remember: not all generalizations hold true for everyone.

attachment styles are shaped by our first bonds with caregivers. ideally, we develop a secure attachment, which teaches us that the world is safe and relationships are trustworthy. when early relationships are inconsistent or chaotic, we can develop anxious or avoidant attachment instead.

a kid with avoidant attachment seems detached because their brain never learned to expect support during moments of distress. they learn to self-soothe because they have no choice. growing up, this internalizes into “you’re on your own, connection will only hurt or drain you.”

they still need love, just like anyone else. they actually crave closeness but don’t know how to build it. when a partner tries to get close, it can feel threatening because deep down they never learned that connection is safe.

this is why they may seem super interested at first, then start pulling away as the relationship deepens.

some avoidant people won’t even start a relationship, knowing it’ll be hard for them no matter what.

do they get sad if you leave? yes. do they lie when they say they love you? no. they do love you, they just don’t know how to handle those feelings. sometimes your love can even feel overwhelming to them.

they also avoid conflict. they’ll ignore issues because they don’t know how to work through them in a healthy way. conflict feels threatening. personal space is really important to them, so the more you chase, the more they’ll pull away. they may come off as indifferent and won’t openly share feelings, but that doesn’t mean they don’t feel deeply. it just stays hidden.

many avoidants have lots of casual flings but very few actual relationships. when they do have relationships, they often sabotage them without meaning to.

these are common traits, but they vary in intensity. for example, in studies of siblings close in age, middle children often show more avoidant traits, which makes sense. but that doesn’t mean every middle child will be avoidant.

second, it’s not your job to “fix” someone with an avoidant style. even if you tried, you couldn’t. this stuff is rooted in early mental patterns and can only really change if the person recognizes it and wants to work on it themselves. recent studies show that attachment style can shift based on relationship and time, but only if the person is open to growth. if they’re unaware or unwilling, no amount of love and patience will magically change things.

third, before trying to figure out your partner’s attachment style, it’s worth looking at your own. if someone with an avoidant style pairs up with someone with an anxious attachment, that dynamic can turn into a real mess. they’re drawn to each other and can’t let go, but also can’t really thrive together. if no one puts a stop to the cycle, it can be exhausting for both.

when two avoidant people pair up, the one with the stronger avoidant tendencies will end up pushing the other into more of an anxious role. the dynamic shifts, and things get complicated fast.

someone with a secure style usually won’t stick with an avoidant partner for long. those relationships don’t tend to last.

instead of blaming your partner all the time, self-awareness matters more. it’s worth asking, “why do i keep picking avoidant partners?” instead of “why do they always avoid me?”

attachment styles are deeply ingrained, but they aren’t destiny. with effort, therapy, and self-awareness, change is possible. human beings need closeness and love, and it’s important not to minimize that.

last note: people sometimes confuse avoidant attachment with schizoid personality traits. they can look similar but they’re different. one is a clinical pattern, the other is an attachment style. the overlap can make things blurry, which is normal.

psa: psychology is super trendy right now. it’s great that more people want to learn about this stuff, but info without filters isn’t always helpful. labeling your partner as “narcissist,” “borderline,” or “avoidant” can actually harm relationships. even when you know what you’re talking about, it’s still hard to really see clearly when you’re in it. humans are complex. you can’t sum someone up with one label.

blind watchmaker is an idea popularized by richard dawkins in his book the blind watchmaker (1986). it builds on an older argument from william paley, who said that if you found a watch lying on the ground, you’d naturally assume it was made by a watchmaker, not just formed by chance. he used this to argue that the complexity of life must mean there’s a divine creator (a “watchmaker god”).

dawkins flipped this idea. he argued that evolution by natural selection can produce incredibly complex and functional systems without any conscious design. nature acts like a “blind watchmaker”: it builds intricate lifeforms, but it’s a totally unguided process. there’s no foresight, no intention, no plan. just random mutations filtered by survival and reproduction.

so when people say “blind watchmaker god,” they’re usually talking about how the natural world can look designed without needing an actual designer. evolution does the work, but it’s blind to any outcome.

israel-iran war: latest developments as of june 17, 2025 (detailed, hour-by-hour)

early morning (12:00 am – 6:00 am)

• iran launched over 40 ballistic missiles targeting dimona, be’er sheva, and eilat. israeli air defenses intercepted most of the attacks.
• an air defense battery near dimona was hit; 2 israeli soldiers were killed, 7 were wounded.
• the u.s. temporarily closed jordanian airspace and moved an aircraft carrier closer to israel’s coast.
• explosions were heard over tehran; residents spent the night in metro stations and basements.
• iran’s revolutionary guard claimed to have bombed mossad centers and military intelligence units in tehran.
• israel reported no civilian casualties. iran reported fatalities in an attack on its state television building in tehran.

morning (6:00 am – 12:00 pm)

• iranian ground forces commander colonel general ali shadmani was killed by israel — the second high-ranking iranian officer lost since the war began.
• israel targeted missile production facilities in kerman and isfahan. iran claimed to have shot down some israeli aircraft.
• significant weaknesses were observed in iran’s air defense systems.
• the international atomic energy agency reported losing contact with several nuclear facilities in iran.
• heavy bombardments continued in tehran, targeting airports and police-intelligence sites. thousands of foreign nationals began evacuating. the u.s., india, russia, china, ukraine, and south korea issued urgent evacuation advisories for their citizens.
• donald trump posted on social media: “everyone evacuate tehran immediately,” adding that while the u.s. knows the iranian leader’s location, they do not plan to act for now.

midday (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm)

• israel’s ministry of defense announced that iran’s long-range strike capabilities had been largely neutralized.
• massive traffic jams formed in tehran as civilians tried to flee the city. internet and mobile phone access were heavily restricted.
• hospitals in iran exceeded capacity, and some stadiums were converted into field hospitals.
• trump stated: “the iranian leader is an easy target, but we do not plan to strike him at this time.”

afternoon (2:00 pm – 4:00 pm)

• iran’s revolutionary guard struck an israeli commercial vessel in the strait of hormuz, causing a fire; the crew was evacuated.
• in retaliation, israel bombed a naval base at the port of bandar abbas.
• iran imposed a curfew around tehran; state television broadcast only written statements.
• turkey, qatar, and china issued urgent calls for a ceasefire.

early evening (4:00 pm – 8:00 pm)

• israel struck a major military command center in shiraz. iran condemned the attack as a “war crime.”
• clashes erupted with hezbollah forces on the lebanon border; northern israel went on high alert.
• g7 leaders held an emergency meeting. trump left the summit early without signing the communique and returned to washington.
• the u.s. department of defense stated: “we are not directly involved in the conflict but are ensuring regional security.”

evening and beyond (after 8:00 pm)

• iran used a new-generation hypersonic missile for the first time, causing significant damage at the port of haifa.
• in tehran, civilians moved into underground parking lots, metro stations, and rural areas.
• infrastructure damage in both countries continued to trigger crises in water, electricity, and communications.

the new deal was the u.s. government's huge "oh shit" response to the great depression in the 1930s. when the stock market crashed in 1929, unemployment hit nearly 25%, banks were collapsing left and right, and people were literally lining up for bread. fdr (franklin d. roosevelt), who became president in 1933, rolled out the new deal as an emergency playbook to save the economy and calm the chaos.

basically, the washington consensus is the name for a set of economic policies that came out of washington, d.c., in the late 1980s. picture this: latin american countries were dealing with debt crises, inflation through the roof, and overall economic chaos. so, economists from places like the imf, world bank, and the u.s. treasury got together and said, "alright, here's the game plan to fix this."

the game plan boiled down to about ten policies, stuff like:
- cut government spending
- open up to international trade
- privatize state-owned companies
- encourage foreign investment
- deregulate industries
- keep taxes simpler and broader

the thinking was, if you let markets work freely, economies would stabilize and grow. in theory, it makes sense. in practice? mixed results.

some countries saw short-term growth and lower inflation. others ended up with higher unemployment, growing inequality, and economies that were basically built for foreign investors rather than local people. it often felt like the medicine was worse than the disease, especially when governments slashed spending on healthcare and education just to balance their books.

the name itself came from an economist named john williamson, who wrote it down as more of an observation than a commandment, but it took off because it perfectly described the economic "starter pack" washington was pushing at the time.

today, people use the term either as a neutral description of free-market reform or, more often, as a critique of globalization and how rich countries try to shape poorer ones in their image. if you ever hear someone complain about "neoliberalism," they're probably talking about some version of the washington consensus.

buttercup refers to any plant in the genus ranunculus, which includes about 600 species of herbaceous flowering plants.

these plants are known for their bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers and are commonly found in meadows and gardens worldwide. image

world-systems theory is a social science theory developed by immanuel wallerstein in the 1970s.

it explains global inequality by viewing the world as a single interconnected economic system, where countries are divided into three types:

- core countries: wealthy, powerful, industrialized nations.
- semi-periphery countries: in-between nations, developing economies that have some industry but still depend on core countries.
- periphery countries: poorer, less developed countries that mainly export raw materials and labor to core countries.

the system is based on exploitation:
core countries exploit both the semi-periphery and the periphery for cheap labor and raw materials, keeping them dependent and underdeveloped.

1- core country example:
united states, germany, japan
explanation: high technology, advanced industries, strong political power. they manufacture goods from raw materials imported from poorer countries and export finished products globally.

2- semi-periphery country example:
mexico, brazil, south africa
explanation: countries that have growing industries and some political power, but still depend on core countries for capital and technology.

3- periphery country example:
bangladesh, ethiopia, democratic republic of congo
explanation: these countries primarily export raw materials (like cotton, coffee, or minerals) and cheap labor to richer countries.

in anthropology, role reversal refers to situations where individuals or groups temporarily exchange their usual social roles or statuses. this can happen in rituals, festivals, or social practices, often to challenge or reinforce societal structures, relieve social tension, or allow expression of repressed behaviors.

it's a way societies explore power dynamics, hierarchy, and cultural norms usually in controlled environments where the normal rules are suspended.