Ezra Klein Doesn't See Himself, Kiran Desai unearths herself, and NYC ties a sari by itself
Welcome to Export Quality, your home for news by and about South Asian Americans and Canadians - and everything in between
First, we have a new logo! Let me know what you think in the comments below. In today’s newsletter: Why I’m not mourning Charlie Kirk, Kiran Desai’s return after 20 years, saris at the New York Historical Society, and a free way you can support this newsletter.
The podcast episode:
Everyone seems to be weighing in on this incredible podcast episode between Ezra Klein of The New York Times and Ta-Nehisi Coates and indulge me for a moment as I give you my own take. If you haven’t listened to it yet, you should. It’s a fascinating conversation about our national reaction to the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. [You don’t have to read the pair’s pieces before listening but it will add some context.
Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way - Klein/NYT
Charlie Kirk, Redeemed: A Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause - Coates/Vanity Fair]
Full disclosure: I am not really a fan of Klein’s podcast but every once in a while he has some thought-provoking guests on that makes me listen to it and I do appreciate his willingness to have Coates on to discuss the latter’s criticism of his piece on Kirk. I don’t always agree with Coates on everything either, but I have always appreciated and very much admired the way he writes and explains his thinking.
There were a few things that struck me about this conversation: Coates’ graciousness and, perhaps the thing that struck me the most, Klein’s refusal to see his own perspective. It sounds dumb, but it’s like Klein didn’t realize who he is in this back and forth: a straight, white man who has seemingly never faced socioeconomic difficulties and has a stable (if not prestigious) job in a very difficult industry. Let’s set aside the concept of privilege, though that certainly has a place in my analysis of the episode and Klein. But, it’s more that he never acknowledges the lens or perspective through which he is coming at all this - a thing Coates repeatedly acknowledges about himself and his Black heritage and ancestry.
This isn’t a value judgement, per se. No one can control how they’re born or their background. It’s just that, you move through the world differently than many of us Ezra, at least do us the courtesy of understanding the factors that go into that and say it out loud so we know you do during conversations like this one.
The title of the episode is ‘bridging gaps’ and I think Coates does much more of that with Klein than vice versa. I think Klein, in good faith, wants to do that with people on the far right, but with an acceptance of rhetoric that has always pushed them away. It was a bit confounding to me why he’s still obsessing over Hillary Clinton’s remarks in 2016 about a “basket of deplorables,” a clip of which he played during the episode - while simultaneously asking people Charlie Kirk vilified to mourn his death.
I’ve said it before, but Kirk’s parents and children absolutely did not deserve this. However, we as South Asians specifically should not have to publicly express grief over him either.
Shutting up is free, as Coates very gently reminded Klein.
For reference, here’s what Kirk has said about Indians in particular in a tweet on September 2:
The book:
Who doesn’t want the delightful - and these days, increasingly necessary - escape into fiction? Fans are excited to see Kiran Desai return to bookshelves after 20 years!
The Inheritance of Loss, Desai’s second novel, won the coveted Booker Prize in 2006 and she hasn’t blessed with a third since then. I’m excited to dig into The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny and here’s a great piece on her, her writing process, the new book, and a shout out to the best borough in the world: Queens.
The art:
The New York Historical Society has a new exhibit on saris! I’ll be visiting it this week with my parents so I can get my Mom’s perspective on it. She navigated the subway in a sari back in the 80s, before she became the first and only sister on her side of the family to wear jeans on a regular basis. I wasn’t a huge fan of wearing saris until my early 30s, a combination the early life body shaming by The Aunties™️so many of us are familiar with and my own insecurity and clumsiness. But, after a string of friends’ weddings forced me to abandon the exasperated sighs from my Chief Sari Draper (aka Mom) and learn how to do it well on my own, my appreciation of them and their history grew leaps and bounds. It’s interesting the exhibit uses the sari as a vehicle to explain the influence of South Asians on the city, the differences in how each community ties them even decades after immigrating here, and what it will make me think about as Zohran Mamdani (son of film director Mira Nair) leads the race to become the first desi in Gracie. In any case, here’s a
poster in my apartment of two women atop the Empire State Building marvelling at the view.
The plea:
There are days when trying to build this newsletter is incredibly discouraging and some when it’s full of possibilites. I really enjoyed writing my last post on the UN General Assembly, but the reality is that not many people were able to read it. Still, I think there’s value in growing our community of people interested in South Asian diaspora news and perspectives - and dare I say, my style of writing. Or maybe you just like that I post Bollywood gifs.
Whatever it is, thank you for being here! And, my hope is that you like it enough here to help support EQ the way I love companies like Live Tinted and Julkee Fashion’s sustainability mindset, the wildly good new crop of pop and rap artists coming out of the subcontinent and here, and shows like Deli Boys.
We are a growing and powerful presence in the diaspora and I hope Export Quality helps us embrace that and what’s to come in a more informed - and witty - way.
So, if you wouldn’t mind just telling even one person about EQ by forwarding them an issue you liked, I would be deeply grateful. They don’t have to become a paid subscriber right away but it would be great if they joined us as we sip our export quality chai and ate our Parle-G biscuits, in our circa-1986 Corningware dish sets with that blue or green pattern around the edge none of us can ever mistake for anything but home.
Ciao Mythili. This was an interesting read.
I agree with you ... up to a point. Like you, I appreciated that Coates is very deliberate about naming his perspective, and I’ve been bothered in the past by the fact that Klein rarely does (even when he uses “us” and “we” to refer to the left). That can make it sound like he’s neutral when he’s not. I don't think he's trying to fool anyone, but that still rubs the wrong way sometimes.
I had a different impression of the episode. To me, Klein was more ideological -- not in the sense of being rigid and ignoring other viewpoints, but in sticking to this important idea of engagement, even regarding someone like Kirk, whose rhetoric was ugly and damaging. I think Klein’s openness to talk about mourning across divides constructive, even if it’s hard to do (and very unlikely to be reciprocated if something terrible were to happen to Klein or Coates).
I’m no fan of Kirk’s views, obviously, but I think it’s essential to engage with “the other side.” Coates seemed quicker to reject that bridge-building. In contrast to you, I know Klein’s work better than I do Coates’, so I hope that isn't unfair.
I will always admire that kind of georgraphic grudge-holding haha. And to your point, it's true there are still people who are angry at The Clintons for that and other things (some of it justified IMHO, some of it tiresome)