On May 1, 2023, Jordan Neely set foot on an NYC subway car.
He never left.
Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who had survived a traumatic childhood, which included the murder of his mother when he was 14 years old. At the time of his death, he was homeless and suffering from severe mental health issues. He had an uneaten muffin in his pocket.
On Neely’s last day, Daniel Penny, a white former US Marine veteran, saw Neely behaving erratically and threatening passengers. He put Neely in a fatal chokehold. Penny left the car and immediately became a MAGA hero, even attending a college football game as a “guest of honor” with Donald Trump and JD Vance. He’s now a principal at Andreessen-Horowitz.
The obscene asymmetry is the launching pad for journalist Anand Giridharadas’ new, best-selling book *Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City *that investigates why people like Neely, and those who come from cities, are not considered “real Americans.” Why are there no magazine articles or cable news segments demanding MAGA voters visit urban diners to understand the pain and plight of city folk? Why is it always a one-way street without reciprocity?
Anand’s book makes the case that cities welcome and house the Americans that “real America” rejects and abandons. They should be celebrated for proving that a multicultural society actually works and succeeds despite flaws. It also urges us to reconsider who is centered in the American story, which directly impacts national policy and the allocation of resources.
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