I'm convinced that many/most american urbanites live in a kind of constant state of apathetic stupor, when they're not actively enamored with living among their captors - like a city-wide kind of Stockholm syndrome. The lie is that cities are just awful, and you're very cool for being able to put up with how awful they are, and it's worth it because cities have culture or opportunity, or something.
The lie becomes reality when everyone seems to just accept that living in certain high density urban areas means you will be confronted with non-stop human misery, trash, violence and filth. But it's totally unnecessary. Cities don't have to be hell on earth, and you shouldn't inure yourself to misery, ever.
Excellent essay. You highlighted the main reason I very rarely watch or read legacy media. ‘Reframing’ the truth - especially something as horrific as this terrible murder - to further an agenda. I also am horrified at the passengers. What a sad commentary on the state of our culture. 💔
Crazy how long it took me to hit "publish"—I hate that. I guess the important part is that I did, that you read it and it resonated, and in turn gave me the encouragement to keep saying the obvious things out loud. Wild times for sure.
It’s not called losing followers — it’s called aligning with your true audience.
By the way, I don’t live in the U.S., but when I used the public transport system in L.A., not a single ride — whether bus or subway — felt “normal.” After 8 p.m., the city felt like something out of The Warriors movie. I honestly can’t understand how the government has allowed it to get to that point. Is it like that in every major city? I think we are livng in a post left-right reality. Hope more people could apply other more updated frameworks when talking about the public life.
Thank you. I did not know about the capitalized and lowercase race identification- this is so blatant. How is this murder even about race?? Well it is now.
I once heard a black minister. Say that, we will always have racism as long as we use the words, black and white. Even in our most basic terms we start with opposition.
At this point in reading your work for a few months, I generally assume you have positive intent. But I would encourage you to get a little more curious about the Black and white capitalization conversation and the systems thinking mindset that was generally brought to those decisions.
In terms of the rhetoric of this article, framing: choosing to use race as opposed to other murders of white people in the same time period (the immediate politicalization and fund-raising happening off of Charlie Kirk's death currently unfolding, as example) is a framing choice. Also a framing choice is choosing to omit the next few paragraphs of that AP write up detailing the reasons behind their decision.
What you're writing about with this murder echoes a lot of systemic influences for any systemically marginalized people: there is injustice that is not being given compassion or consideration it deserves because a person or group of people has been deemed 'ok to make make invisible'
I didn't omit anything. I literally linked to the rest of the AP announcement. Considering I "framed" this in the most non-partisan way I could, I find this note interesting. Please tell me why black should be capitalized but white should not be.
Thanks for asking directly. As a white dude, I might get some of this wrong, but I'll do my best to represent the conversation as I understand it: the capitalization difference reflects different historical realities. Black became capitalized because it represents a specific cultural identity created when slavery erased people's original ethnic identities - when people were robbed of being Nigerian or Ghanaian, for example, they became Black
'White' works differently; white Americans can usually trace back to Irish, German, Italian, etc heritage (which we do capitalize). For most white Americans, those specific ethnic identities hold more cultural meaning than a unified 'white' identity does.
This distinction came from Black journalists and scholars themselves and it was extensively debated within Black communities before outlets like AP adopted it. That debate was centered on how people of an identity wanted to be designated themselves. The asymmetry in capitalization acknowledges an asymmetry in how these racial categories were formed
it's not about one group mattering more or less than any other. It's about recognizing that Black and white as racial categories have fundamentally different origins and functions in American society and culture and history
Capitalizing Black while lowercasing white isn’t neutral or respectful—it’s editorial activism (as I said in the original post). It doesn’t reflect objectivity or nuance; it encodes hierarchy into language and turns style guides into soft ideological weapons.
If identity is personal, not collective, then capitalization rules should be consistent. If identity is collective, then both should be capitalized—or neither. But selectively altering grammar based on emotional narratives or historical trauma opens the door to infinite asymmetries.
The deeper problem here is the institutionalization of language that reinforces difference while pretending to dissolve it. And ironically, it discourages shared humanity in favor of linguistic tribalism.
By the same token, then, actively deciding to lowercase Black, when much of the Black community argues for uppercase, isn't neutral or respectful either—it's still editorial activism, just in a different direction. There is no neutral choice in language.
That in mind, the decision about capitalization wasn't/isn't unanimous. There was, and still is, real debate. You can look to Coleman Hughes and Glenn Loury for arguments against capitalization. Kwame Anthony Appiah argues for capitalizing both Black and White for consistency. And then folks like Touré, Brittney Cooper, and Lori L. Tharps make compelling cases for why capitalizing Black specifically matters. Those writers' arguments are going to be more representative than my attempt, maybe go read them
About objectivity in journalism. Journalism doesn't aim for some puritanically objective stance. The goal of journalism is to document our moment. The AP updates language constantly as the moment changes. They capitalize Marine for U.S. Marines, but not soldier for Army members. They capitalize God in monotheistic contexts, not for 'objectivity,' but as standard practice for those religions. They use 'abortion rights' and 'anti-abortion' instead of the terms each side prefers. Language is asymmetries all the way down. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have more than one language
What resonates with me is this: when a person decides how to name or designate themselves, we use their self-designated name. Same goes for a community of people. And it's especially meaningful to do so if that community is reacting to a world that historically, systemically, has overridden their self-designation
Thank you for your clear words! This type of reporting is not an isolated case. In a comparable crime in Germany—in this case, the perpetrator pushed a teenager in front of a train—there is not only little reporting; the names of victims are often not mentioned; photos are rare, which leaves the victims faceless, and in this particular case, the investigation was even closed and covered up, which only came to light two weeks later.
This has only caused partial outrage, as there are already politicians who suspect “discrimination” against the perpetrator and warn against his “dehumanization.” There is a method to all this. Anyone who falls victim to this as a member of the wrong victim group can not only expect no help: their death itself is swept under the carpet so as not to challenge the narrative. It is appalling, brutal, and inhumane.
I remember a while back when you were first telling me about how wild Germany has become... sad to hear it's only gotten worse. Stay safe out there, friend.
that's what haunting me these days. the way she curled up on the seat, as if she was trying to be as small as possible, hiding her eyes, desperate and dying. heartbreaking.
I'm convinced that many/most american urbanites live in a kind of constant state of apathetic stupor, when they're not actively enamored with living among their captors - like a city-wide kind of Stockholm syndrome. The lie is that cities are just awful, and you're very cool for being able to put up with how awful they are, and it's worth it because cities have culture or opportunity, or something.
The lie becomes reality when everyone seems to just accept that living in certain high density urban areas means you will be confronted with non-stop human misery, trash, violence and filth. But it's totally unnecessary. Cities don't have to be hell on earth, and you shouldn't inure yourself to misery, ever.
It really doesn't have to be like this.
Thank you for saying what so many of us are thinking. 🙏🏻💕🙏🏻💕
It's the least I can do.
Excellent essay. You highlighted the main reason I very rarely watch or read legacy media. ‘Reframing’ the truth - especially something as horrific as this terrible murder - to further an agenda. I also am horrified at the passengers. What a sad commentary on the state of our culture. 💔
There's always an agenda. Even on the "side" you think you're agreeing with. Sad indeed.
Thank you for writing about this.
Iryna's death was preventable and sad. Be safe out there ST.
Spot on! Thank you for putting it into words.
I was hoping you’d write about this after seeing so many posts from you on X yesterday. Thank you for using your platform to say the things out loud.
Thank you for this. What a world we live in to feel this much gratitude for someone brave enough to point out the incredibly obvious.
Crazy how long it took me to hit "publish"—I hate that. I guess the important part is that I did, that you read it and it resonated, and in turn gave me the encouragement to keep saying the obvious things out loud. Wild times for sure.
It’s not called losing followers — it’s called aligning with your true audience.
By the way, I don’t live in the U.S., but when I used the public transport system in L.A., not a single ride — whether bus or subway — felt “normal.” After 8 p.m., the city felt like something out of The Warriors movie. I honestly can’t understand how the government has allowed it to get to that point. Is it like that in every major city? I think we are livng in a post left-right reality. Hope more people could apply other more updated frameworks when talking about the public life.
USA needs to turn it off and turn it on again.
Thank you. I did not know about the capitalized and lowercase race identification- this is so blatant. How is this murder even about race?? Well it is now.
I once heard a black minister. Say that, we will always have racism as long as we use the words, black and white. Even in our most basic terms we start with opposition.
At this point in reading your work for a few months, I generally assume you have positive intent. But I would encourage you to get a little more curious about the Black and white capitalization conversation and the systems thinking mindset that was generally brought to those decisions.
In terms of the rhetoric of this article, framing: choosing to use race as opposed to other murders of white people in the same time period (the immediate politicalization and fund-raising happening off of Charlie Kirk's death currently unfolding, as example) is a framing choice. Also a framing choice is choosing to omit the next few paragraphs of that AP write up detailing the reasons behind their decision.
What you're writing about with this murder echoes a lot of systemic influences for any systemically marginalized people: there is injustice that is not being given compassion or consideration it deserves because a person or group of people has been deemed 'ok to make make invisible'
Hope this feedback finds you receptive
I didn't omit anything. I literally linked to the rest of the AP announcement. Considering I "framed" this in the most non-partisan way I could, I find this note interesting. Please tell me why black should be capitalized but white should not be.
Thanks for asking directly. As a white dude, I might get some of this wrong, but I'll do my best to represent the conversation as I understand it: the capitalization difference reflects different historical realities. Black became capitalized because it represents a specific cultural identity created when slavery erased people's original ethnic identities - when people were robbed of being Nigerian or Ghanaian, for example, they became Black
'White' works differently; white Americans can usually trace back to Irish, German, Italian, etc heritage (which we do capitalize). For most white Americans, those specific ethnic identities hold more cultural meaning than a unified 'white' identity does.
This distinction came from Black journalists and scholars themselves and it was extensively debated within Black communities before outlets like AP adopted it. That debate was centered on how people of an identity wanted to be designated themselves. The asymmetry in capitalization acknowledges an asymmetry in how these racial categories were formed
it's not about one group mattering more or less than any other. It's about recognizing that Black and white as racial categories have fundamentally different origins and functions in American society and culture and history
hope that's a helpful explanation
I fundamentally disagree.
Capitalizing Black while lowercasing white isn’t neutral or respectful—it’s editorial activism (as I said in the original post). It doesn’t reflect objectivity or nuance; it encodes hierarchy into language and turns style guides into soft ideological weapons.
If identity is personal, not collective, then capitalization rules should be consistent. If identity is collective, then both should be capitalized—or neither. But selectively altering grammar based on emotional narratives or historical trauma opens the door to infinite asymmetries.
The deeper problem here is the institutionalization of language that reinforces difference while pretending to dissolve it. And ironically, it discourages shared humanity in favor of linguistic tribalism.
By the same token, then, actively deciding to lowercase Black, when much of the Black community argues for uppercase, isn't neutral or respectful either—it's still editorial activism, just in a different direction. There is no neutral choice in language.
That in mind, the decision about capitalization wasn't/isn't unanimous. There was, and still is, real debate. You can look to Coleman Hughes and Glenn Loury for arguments against capitalization. Kwame Anthony Appiah argues for capitalizing both Black and White for consistency. And then folks like Touré, Brittney Cooper, and Lori L. Tharps make compelling cases for why capitalizing Black specifically matters. Those writers' arguments are going to be more representative than my attempt, maybe go read them
About objectivity in journalism. Journalism doesn't aim for some puritanically objective stance. The goal of journalism is to document our moment. The AP updates language constantly as the moment changes. They capitalize Marine for U.S. Marines, but not soldier for Army members. They capitalize God in monotheistic contexts, not for 'objectivity,' but as standard practice for those religions. They use 'abortion rights' and 'anti-abortion' instead of the terms each side prefers. Language is asymmetries all the way down. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have more than one language
What resonates with me is this: when a person decides how to name or designate themselves, we use their self-designated name. Same goes for a community of people. And it's especially meaningful to do so if that community is reacting to a world that historically, systemically, has overridden their self-designation
I treat them the same. They're both in lowercase. No asymmetry from me.
Thank you for your clear words! This type of reporting is not an isolated case. In a comparable crime in Germany—in this case, the perpetrator pushed a teenager in front of a train—there is not only little reporting; the names of victims are often not mentioned; photos are rare, which leaves the victims faceless, and in this particular case, the investigation was even closed and covered up, which only came to light two weeks later.
This has only caused partial outrage, as there are already politicians who suspect “discrimination” against the perpetrator and warn against his “dehumanization.” There is a method to all this. Anyone who falls victim to this as a member of the wrong victim group can not only expect no help: their death itself is swept under the carpet so as not to challenge the narrative. It is appalling, brutal, and inhumane.
I remember a while back when you were first telling me about how wild Germany has become... sad to hear it's only gotten worse. Stay safe out there, friend.
So the killer said that a material planted in his body by the government did the killing, not him:
https://youtu.be/-FU_E1XXqSA?si=pAUPeEJ-JlTK6f94
This is my point, we shouldn’t assume that we understand the mind or know the motives of people, much less people who are psychotic.
Thank you for writing this. It all must be said.
that's what haunting me these days. the way she curled up on the seat, as if she was trying to be as small as possible, hiding her eyes, desperate and dying. heartbreaking.