I dont want to dun the man. But, it’s harder and harder not to notice that Mr. Weiner running for mayor of one of the most influential and changing cities in the world- New York City, can
run around
run afoul
run amok
run away,
run with the tired rhetoric…
but it seems unlikely he can win a serious election for such an important position.
A mayor of NYC has to stand not against the nice Broadway and Carnegie Hall and Times Square glitter, but against the serious and dark-day backdrop that will yet be NYC’s for generations yet to come…
A city that has had more hearses and burials at one time than any other city in the US, as a result of the bombings of the Trade Towers on 9-11,
a city that buried the equivalent of an entire village of police officers and firefighters and other first responders
a city that literally staggered like beaten dogs for months and years on end rightfully crying for their lost loved ones,
a city that dug ‘in the hole’ at ground zero, for bodies and then for body parts, trying to sanctify every death, every part of every one they found,
the city that has had more tragedy and more hope and more resurrection than most have ever dreaded/dreamed about
CANNOT have what appears to be a foolish person for a mayor.
Not that there are not fool-mayors in the world.
But/ and, though Weiner may think he’s running for mayor. He’s not. He’s running to be a figurehead, a representative, a dignitary of in many ways, a holy city. Yes, yes, NYC like all cities has its seams and grit, its graft and graffiti, but it also has had, unlike most other cities, its profound trial by fire. That cannot be minimized, nor washed over as though it does not still hang in the air and in people’s hearts yet.
No matter that a wife ‘stands by her man,’ for that is not a clear mirror of public sentiment about Weiner. Likely most citizens little care if the ‘wife’ forgives her spouse or not. They consider that their private business. But, stevadores, cab drivers, bankers, lawyers, waiters, justices, teachers and others, however, care ALOT about about the perils of giving confidence to a man who appears to not be able to keep his mind on his work. That a man loses his vaunted position in public life and yet even so, continues with his compulsion after…
I’d suggest the Demmies and the Repubs beat the bushes for other candidates, even at this twilight in the election cycle… or else that City Council or whomsoever has the legal say-so in NYC make an executive change in the law to allow Bloomberg to extend his term for x months, or else unlimit terms altogether and let Bloomberg run again.
NYC in any case, deserves a serious mayor who has their mind on the critical matters that matter to citizens, truly.
And who gives proper dignity to that backdrop of a city that was brought to its knees by 9-11, and is only just now, with help and aid from so many within and also from other nations who sent helps in equipment, search and rescuers, helpers and healers… just now finally on its feet again. No longer on life support. But a city often deepened in values by its being shredded. A city that deserves the gravitas it has never asked for, but in strife, has hard earned.
Note:
Dr. CP Estés is a post-trauma specialist who continues to work with survivor families of 9-11 on both coasts.