Speaking to Anand Giridharadas, Mahmood Mamdani, Ugandan anthropologist, political scientist, Columbia University professor, and father of the new mayor of New York City, claims that people today do not have anxiety about Zohran, but rather what he symbolizes - the changes in the world and how those affect the younger generation.
He added, "I have mixed responses to it. On the one hand I am like anyone would be, a proud father. I don't want to claim that I saw this coming. I didn't see it coming. I was really surprised. He said he was contemplating running for the position of mayor of New York City, but then he is not somebody who is given to convention, and he is not somebody who is afraid of the odds, no matter what they are against him."
"So that's one feeling. The other feeling I have is this job is going to bring a mountain of responsibilities on his back. Like just about everybody has noted and commented, he's a young man, 34 years old. He has a lot of chutzpah, he's open to experimenting. He understands fully well that he doesn't have the kind of experience that can be equal to a job like this, therefore he will have to develop a team, which will pool together and make up as a team what they may not have as individuals."
"But it's still intimidating for somebody like me, close enough and yet not in it. So having to watch it from a distance, it's like a fast car race and you are on the side, and your son is in the driving wheel and you just keep praying and hoping that all will be okay," he concluded.