Ginni Thomas and Justice Thomas being 'equally yoked.'

3.25.22

To the editor:

Let me get this straight: Ginni Thomas texts Mark Meadows 'I can't see Americans swallowing the obvious fraud' after Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden (Wife of justice urged overturn, 3.25.22). Clarence Thomas, her spouse and Supreme Court justice, has spoken of his wife's activism glowingly adding 'we are equally yoked, and we love being with each other because we love the same things.'

Does Justice Thomas believe the presidential election was stolen? Does he believe fraud was committed to get Biden into the White House? Does he believe the election results should have been overturned? More to the point: does he believe it is ethical for the wife of a Supreme Court justice to use her influence and power to contact members of the White House staff in an effort to overturn election results?

If, in fact, Clarence Thomas is 'equally yoked' with respect to these matters, our country has a major problem on its hands. If he doesn't, he has a major marital problem on his hands.

Respectfully

Larry S. Sandberg

Is The Free World Doing All It Can In Ukraine?

3.20.22

To the editor:

I find little comfort in Maureen Dowd's opinion that 'No matter what happens in Ukraine, Putin will be a loser with no moral stature and Zelensky will have towering moral stature.' (3.20.22, Putin chokes on a 'midge' named Zelensky). While I agree with Dowd's sentiment, when she says 'no matter what happens...,' it gives me pause. War crimes are being committed. Millions of people are being displaced. Thousands of innocent lives lost. Cities reduced to rubble. We are witnessing incalculable loss perpetrated by a 'loser.'

I understand there is a balancing act between coming to Ukraine's defense and provoking an escalation of violence. Yet millions of Ukrainian lives hang in the balance amidst an unfolding tragedy that lacks moral ambiguity. I cannot help but wonder if the West's caution is excessive caution; if cowering has prevented the West from joining Zelensky and more forcefully displaying its towering moral stature in taking more decisive action.

Respectfully submitted

Larry S Sandberg

Debating Parenting Styles While Ukraine Burns and Childen Die

3.11.22

Sir:

As we helplessly watch the carnage in the Ukraine as parents struggle to spare children from death, escape and comfort them in subway bomb shelters, or trek thousands of miles in the freezing cold with a stuffed animal and one suitcase, I ponder the narcissism we are free to indulge in to debate parenting styles. This is surely a luxury of first world problems, and out of sync not only in the Ukraine nightmare, but even here for our parents mired in poverty .

Sue Matorin
Social Work Faculty
Dept of Psychiatry
Weill Cornell

Zelensky: A comedian turned politician and hero. Trump: A clown.

3.6.22

To the editor:

Amidst the unfolding horror of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the stark contrast between the heroic, courageous leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky and the vacuous self-centeredness of Donald Trump (Maureen Dowd, 3.6.22, Two performers, one hero). President Zelensky is willing to fight and die for his country; Donald Trump was prepared to destroy ours. Zelensky is working hard to unify his country, and the world, against evil; Trump's mentality was to sow division within our country and among our allies. Zelensky is speaking truth to power; Trump used power to pervert the truth. Zelensky epitomizes altruism and patriotism; Trump envy and greed. Zelensky was a comedian turned politician; Trump a politician who was a clown; i.e., a President who never should have been taken seriously.

Respectfully

Larry S. Sandberg

Activists Need Protection on Social Media Platforms

10.13.21

To the editor:

Farhad Manjoo argues that "we can't begin to solve our real problems if we keep getting wrapped up in exaggerated ones" (The Moral Panic Engulfing Instagram Oct. 13 2021). This is exactly how I feel as a young activist using social media to make change while reading the news about social media's harms

Social media isn’t going anywhere any time soon and the general outrage distracts from the actual harms present on the platform that need immediate and urgent solutions. Online harassment and abuse is a persistent reality for many marginalized young folks online- and the resources to deal with it are sparse. Rape threats, objectification, and solicitations for sex are frequently reported by minors using Instagram. As a gender justice activist, online gender based abuse is ever present for me and other activists within my network. 

On Tiktok, many activists (myself included) report facing censorship when raising awareness about abuses faced by marginalized groups. Conversations about social media’s harms must center those doing change-making work on these platforms and help activists deal with hurdles we face online. This will allow us to continuing making change on and off line.

Respectfully submitted

Sophie M. Sandberg

Founder, Chalk Back

Homelessness: In Plain Sight

2.20.22

To the editor:

Frank Bruni writes movingly about how his sudden loss of vision in one eye altered his perception of and sensitivity to the usually hidden suffering of others ('Losing my eyesight helped me see more clearly, 2.20.22). He speaks of an imaginary 'sandwich board' that would display our personal, private hardships.

I found the metaphor sadly ironic as I reflected upon my morning walk where numerous homeless people were asking for money for food. Nothing hidden except, perhaps, psychiatric illness - an additional adversity. I struggle in these moments to not turn a blind eye from what's right in front of me and to answer for myself, as best I can, what I can do to alleviate this suffering.

Respectfully

Larry S Sandberg

SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL FOR ACTIVISM

To the Editor:

As an activist with a large Instagram and TikTok following of teenage girls, I believe Ross Douthat’s (Instagram is Adult Entertainment, Sept. 28) claim that social media should be an adult platform disempowers the very population he seeks to protect. Many young people are using it as a tool to make social change.

For me, social media has been critical in building a global youth-led community on six continents to address gender-based street harassment. The movement, Chalk Back, started over five years ago in New York and could not have grown without social media. Social media continues to be essential for expanding educational and solidarity building activities.

There are challenges to using social media to make change. Algorithms highlight mindless content over those addressing important social issues like sexual harassment. Ironically, on TikTok we have been banned for posting stories of harassment (our posts sharing stories of street harassment faced by teenagers are flagged as adult content.) 

Rather than kicking young people off of these platforms, social media giants need to take seriously their potential power in creating social change. Offering space for consultation between young activists and social media companies would be a powerful first step. 

Respectfully,

Sophie Sandberg 

A FATAL SHOVE ... AND THE MISUSE OF OUR LEGAL SYSTEM

February 6, 2022

To the editor:

The tragic death of Ms Ho at the hands of a severely ill untreated mentally ill man once again sheds a spotlight on the misuse of our legal system , the wrong milieu , to intervene for such illness. It was always the plan to replace deinstitutionalization with community based care for such persons. Each fresh tragedy highlights our failure to do so. We have tools — Kendra’s Law, mobile crisis teams, injectables that do not rely on medication access and compliance, and many dedicated interdisciplinary teams of professionals with extraordinary skills to engage such challenging dangerous clients . Two other ingredients are missing : (1) the recognition that some individuals are too ill to ever live outside of a sanctuary asylum type environment. (2) Stigma— for cancer and cardiac disease we apply science and compassion. For the severely mentally ill we rely on an inappropriate legal system and a patchwork of interventions. Then a tragedy, then a review of what we know, and then the lack of will to fix it. Perhaps we can honor the wrenching loss of Ms Go with a new law in her name that demands integrated care.


Sue Matorin MS ACSW

NY NY

John Lewis as Hero and Role Model

To the editor:

Has this country ever been a 'community ... held together by a common story' (10.15.21, David Brooks, What America Means To Me: 2021)? In moving away from his childhood, sanitized view of this country's 'greatness' (a view with which I can identify given my own privileged white blue collar roots), Brooks speaks of the creative responses of 'humiliated people' ... 'flowing through American history.' But this is its own sanitized version and, at best, half the story.

Humiliation is like a cancer that can destroy the soul and weaken rather than empower those groups treated in a degrading way - this is common. What is rare is the capacity, the inner resilience, to not allow oneself to feel degraded. This capacity was epitomized by John Lewis who when beaten by the police insisted on making eye contact with his abuser. He insisted on asserting his humanity and appealing to the humanity of his abuser. Similarly, gay 'pride' as an activist slogan is a powerful antidote to shame and humiliation for these marginalized folks.

There is no feel good narrative about this country and the fortitude of those who do not succumb to humiliation and degradation without confronting head on the cruelty - sometimes intentional and sometimes inadvertent - of the oppressive structures we have put in place harming indigenous people, people of color, women, and the hardworking blue collar workers that keep our country running.

Respectfully,
Larry S. Sandberg

Unity, unity, unity...

11.5.21

To the editor:

David Brooks(11.5.21, Democrats must confront their privilege) argues that a vision of 'unity, unity, unity' is needed rather than 'us/them thinking' for Democrats to succeed. Yet Brooks engages in his own polarized thinking by labeling efforts to deal with structural racism and historic oppression as an expression of an elitist attitude. It seems thoroughly inoffensive to offer as evidence the recent Virginia governor's race where the role of parental involvement in education became weaponized by Republicans. But Brooks conveniently leaves out the context: legislative efforts to ban books like Toni Morrison's Beloved from the curriculum because of the distress it may cause.

Unity ('All men are created equal ...') comes up against the reality of slavery; unity comes up against our mistreatment and killing of indigenous people. Unity comes up against the persistent ways in which inequality persists in our society.

There can be no healing and sustained progress without some form of 'truth and reconciliation' as took place in post-Apartheid South Africa. While progressive Democrats may at times be insensitive and intolerant to the views of others, they have never embraced a 'divide and conquer' mentality as a path to victory. Maybe Republicans should heed Brooks advice and seek a true unification that acknowledges our complicated history.

Respectfully

Larry S Sandberg

Assault On The Truth

1.9.22

To the editor:

Rebecca Solnit (1.9.22, An assault on the truth) is not exaggerating when she describes as delusional those Americans who are convinced the election was stolen and that our democracy, therefore, is under threat. The vast majority of these individuals are not otherwise mentally ill. But a delusion, by definition, is a fixed false belief unchanged by the facts.

Many Republican politicians have blood on their hands for manipulating a (as Solnit points out) gullible part of the population. But it's those Republicans who know better, who are patriotic, but remain silent who ultimately bear responsibility for the threats to our democracy. Those people who have been deceived must see more Republicans in positions of power come forward with the truth. Democrats have no sway with this sector of the population.

Sincerely

Larry S Sandberg

On Misbehaving

1.14.22

To the editor:

David Brooks (NYT, 1.14.22) feels himself helpless to answer the question he poses: 'Why are so many of us behaving so badly'? He is not alone in feeling helpless. A pandemic that is entering its third year, a climate crisis ravaging the globe, a dismantling of democratic guardrails in our country. Oh! I forgot to mention the large number of people who actually believe Donald Trump should be president. Or persistent racial injustice. Or economic insecurity. Or ...

This tsunami of stressors contribute to feelings of helplessness. Many people are feeling overwhelmed, scared, and incapable of taking effective action. 'Misbehaving' is, by definition, ineffective but should be understood (at least in part) as an effort to deal with painful feelings of helplessness in the setting of overwhelming stress. What Brooks describes can be thought of as impotent rage; failed efforts to feel in control that unfortunately only makes matters worse.

Respectfully

Larry S Sandberg

Putting Lives At Risk To Save Trump's Ego

6.12.20

To the editor:

Donald Trump made the outrageous claim a lifetime ago that he would lose no supporters if he were to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue.  Given all that he has gotten away with during his presidency, I can only admire his prescience in understanding the blind support he garnered.  Among the vulgarities of the present moment is Donald Trump's plan to hold a mass rally that knowingly will put peoples lives at risk.  To feed his narcissism  and fire up his base he is symbolically pointing a gun at the very people he claims to care about.  And the coup de grace is that attendees must agree not to sue should they become sick ...or if loved ones die.  In this regard, President Trump is more cult leader than President knowingly putting people in harms way and abdicating all responsibility for doing so. This is insanity. I feel sad for those who will risk their lives and angry that local officials lack the moral fortitude to do the right thing.

Sincerely

Larry S. Sandberg

The Public Needs To Understand Narcissism

4.17.20

To the editor:

By focusing on President Trump's 'brain', Jennifer Senior (NYT, 4.16.20, Trump's Brain: A Guided Tour) draws attention to the prefrontal cortex; a region of the brain critical in complex decision making.  While I agree that President Trump displays deficits in problem solving, thinking of the material 'brain' as dysfunctional is less helpful than understanding that President Trump's mind - his psychology - is the problem. 

We tend to think of the major psychiatric illnesses (depression, mania, schizophrenia, PTSD, for example) as causes of impairment in functioning.  Donald Trump is a case study in severe narcissistic pathology - personality dynamics - leading to catastrophic damage to our country, world and environment.  His constant need to manage his self-esteem interferes with his ability to solve basic problems.  For example, his inability to tolerate criticism fueled his decision to withdraw support of the World Health Organization during a pandemic. I believe the public benefits from understanding that severe narcissism is real, and really dangerous, when possessed by the most powerful person in the world. 

Respectfully submitted

Larry S Sandberg

Nikki Haley's Pitch To Be VP

4.8.20

To the editor:

When the debacle that is President Trump passes, history will look at the complicity of self-serving Republicans, like Nikki Haley, and the judgement will not be pretty.  Haley (NYT, 4.8.20, Focus on you governor, not Trump), in highlighting the importance of local and state government during a crisis, completely ignores how President Trump's failings impacted governors' abilities to take appropriate action.  Exhibit one: the unavailability of testing.  Haley is self-congratulatory in giving herself credit for her work as governor when Barack Obama was in the White House.  If only Obama were in charge now.  She finds curious the pleas for a strong unified response from the federal government when many consider President Trump authoritarian.  Insofar as this is odd it is only because there was some desperate hope that he could use his authority to save lives. Haley's piece should be seen for what it is:  a pitch to be his vice presidential nominee this Fall.

Sincerely,

Larry S. Sandberg

Republican Complicity

4.6.20

To the editor:

Jennifer Senior writes persuasively about the devastating impact of President Trump's narcissism on his ability to lead the fight against the pandemic (NYT, 4.6.20).  The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, a compilation of essays written by mental health experts in 2017, was a foreshadowing largely ignored by the public and criticized within academic psychiatry as an unethical excursion into the public domain.  It was prescient, the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

It will take time and distance to establish a postmortem on how President Trump's narcissism contributed to the unnecessary loss of life. But ultimately group, societal dynamics must be acknowledged.  Too many good people knew all too well the truth of Donald Trump. Why are we in this mess?  Republicans in the Senate acted selfishly  rather than speak truth to power.

Respectfully

Larry S Sandberg

President Trump to New York: Drop Dead

3.24.20

To the editor:

As Governor Andrew Cuomo, implores the Federal government to rapidly deliver thousands of ventilators that are now available but in storage, I am reminded of the Daily News headline a lifetime ago - during NYC's financial crisis in 1975 - 'Ford to City: Drop Dead.' While this headline was meant metaphorically, we are now in a situation where the inadequate mobilization of available ventilators  by President Trump is quite literally telling New Yorkers to drop dead.

Members of Congress, especially those who support President Trump, should bring this reality home to him.  His self-interest in inextricably tied to averting  catastrophic and unnecessary loss of life in my city.

Respectfully

Larry S. Sandberg

President Trump's Narcissism ... Again

To the editor:

3.20.20

David Brooks (NYT, 3.20.20) speaks of the crucial role of solidarity during this unprecedented time but only hints at President Trump's repeated efforts to destroy the very cohesiveness demanded by this crisis.  He insists on using the xenophobic taunt of the 'Chinese' virus.  He makes the mind-boggling statement that the Federal government is 'not a shipping clerk' in response to the shortage of necessary supplies for health professionals.  He uses repeated falsehoods to defend his self esteem rather than attacking the real threat of a pandemic. President Trump has repeatedly illustrated how severe narcissism is antithetical to the solidarity needed to fight this challenge successfully.

Insofar as we are coming together as a country, it is in spite of President Trump not because of him.  I hope that on election day there will be a resounding rejection of his destructive brand of politics, an opportunity for renewal by embracing a solidarity, not against the virus, but against a President who has threatened the fabric of our society and the world.

Respectfully

Larry S Sandberg

President Trump's Narcissism and Covid-19

To the editor

3.9.20

Jennifer Senior (NYT, 3.9.20,  President Trump is Unfit for this Crisis. Period.) convincingly argues that President Trump's narcissism profoundly interferes with his capacity to fulfill his obligations to keep America safe in light of the multiple threats linked to the coronavirus. While for many of us this is a painfully old and familiar insight, one can wonder whether it will be any different this time around for those who support Trump?  Maybe.

President Trump has characteristically tried to bolster his self-esteem - and rally support - by demonizing others.  Fake news, immigrants, Obama ... the list goes on and on.  Cultivating paranoia - a polarizing 'us versus them' mentality - has been a tool to sustain his narcissism. Bit it is hard to demonize a virus; it is apolitical and impersonal. Successfully fighting it requires humility and confronting one's own limitations - characteristics lacking in this President. His effort to manage the threat to his self-esteem caused by the virus has interfered with his ability to manage the very real threats posed by it.

Perhaps this crisis will have the unintended consequence of unifying our country in recognizing  the real existential threat President Trump poses to our country by virtue of his psychological limitations and tendency to confuse real from imagined dangers.

Respectfully

Larry S. Sandberg

Spineless and Shameless

2.5.20

To the editors:

Senator Robert Portman (NYT, 2.5.20) will not be spared history's judgement by simply rationalizing his decision to oppose removing President Trump from office.  He may ease his own conscience by stating that what the President did was wrong but he, along with other Republicans, has abdicated his responsibility to put country before party. As Senator Patrick Moynihan famously said: 'Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.'

What are the facts? The majority of Americans favored calling witnesses to get at the truth. President Trump continues to believe his behavior was perfect.  The proceedings in the House were hampered by the President's lack of cooperation and contempt for the process.This is the same political party that believed a President's lying about sexual misconduct warranted removal from office.

What is my opinion?  The lack of bipartisan support was evidence, not of a weak case, but of the sad state of affairs of the Republican Party.  President Trump had it right when he said during his campaign that his supporters would be fine with his shooting someone on Fifth Avenue.  I didn't realize at the time he could be referring to members of Congress.

Respectfully,

Larry S. Sandberg