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1. Far from destroying our democracy,” writes Frank Rich in last issue’s cover story on the importance of Donald Trump, “he’s exposing all its phoniness and corruption in ways as serious as he is not. And changing it in the process” (“Donald Trump Is Saving Our Democracy,” September 21–October 4). “The best writer on the confluence of pop culture & politics, Frank Rich was born to write on Trump,” tweeted ProPublica’s Jesse Eisinger. Other readers agreed that Rich gave needed insight into Trump’s impact on presidential politics. “Whatever his motivation, whatever his intention,” wrote commenter RonnieG, Trump “is playing devil’s advocate to both parties and exposing weaknesses, contradictions, and outright cruelty and injustice in a whole host of current U.S. policies and prejudices. That exposure will hopefully prove to be invaluable fodder for change in both sides — and not necessarily or even remotely in the direction of Trump’s supposed positions.” “In one amazing feat,” tweeted Jennifer Kates, Rich “distills the Trump shitshow and alchemizes it into a reason to be hopeful.” Blogger Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog felt Rich was giving Trump too much credit. Rich, he wrote, is “paving the way for what I fear is the inevitable ‘reassessment’ phase of the Trump era, when the smart set will stop mocking the man and start writing pieces with titles like ‘Taking Donald Trump Seriously.’ ” Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce agreed. “How exactly does Trump’s tasteless flaunting of his wealth work against the politics created by the destruction of our tepid campaign-finance laws? … Does Rich think that the people are supporting Trump because of their disgust with money in politics? Or because they realize that all politics is a sham of a façade?” Other readers marveled at the cover photo-illustration, which featured Donald Trump in a powdered wig, cravat, and waistcoat. “A thing of beauty — or nightmares. I can’t decide which,” tweeted Talking Points Memo’s Nick Martin.
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2. Alex Morris’s story on the spouses of trans women sparked an intense and emotional conversation about those who choose to leave a transitioning partner (“My Husband Is Now My Wife,” September 21–October 4). “It only seems to be wives who get judged for leaving,” wrote Cuttlefish12. “Men don’t stick around. No one judges them because apparently asking a man to consider a gay relationship is inconceivable while asking a woman to suddenly become a lesbian is normal … Many [trans women] get to have the wife at home raising their kids while they pursue their career. I don’t think it’s at all surprising that many of these wives are bitter and angry. I just hope that with greater awareness and acceptance of trans people, more trans women and men can begin living authentically much, much earlier as many young people are doing today.” “When I transitioned, my wife left me,” wrote alison.hudson. “I completely understood why. We share custody of our kids, who were 2, 5, and 9 when I started transitioning … If anything, my relationship with them is far better than it was when I was ‘Dad,’ especially since I was angry and bitter and depressed then. I am active in their lives; I walk them to school, help them with their homework, take them to the movies on weekends, and do my best to nurture them and raise them into decent adults. My son — the oldest and the one who remembers the most from ‘before’ — has told me more than once that he likes me more now than he did then, and that he’s glad I transitioned so I could be happy. I generally agree with you about the hope from increasing acceptance and transition earlier in life. But for those of us who were denied that, don’t assume the transitioning of a parent is automatically a bad thing.” Many more transgender individuals contributed to the discussion, including commenter chrissie.see: “As someone in transition right now, someone whose marriage suffered in precisely this way, and someone whose children are, like their mother, confronting the issues raised by my changes, I found this article unflinchingly honest, even to the point of being uncomfortable. Transition does bring changes in more than just the bodies of those who travel this road, and while that won’t likely alter the paths on which we find ourselves, we should — and most of us do — remember that, and, on some level, regret that it isn’t easier on those we love.”
3. “How Has Chinatown Stayed Chinatown?” asked Nick Tabor in his story on the neighborhood that has “largely resisted the laws of the real-estate market” (September 21–October 4). One Chinatown native, Ham07, disputed Tabor’s reporting that Chinatown hasn’t changed. “Gentrification is happening … the building where my parents live was sold to a big real-estate company and half the building’s rent-stabilized tenants got moved out by threat or payoff. This happened quickly, all within six months’ time. This developer actually has an internet ad in Chinese, seeking buildings in Chinatown, and no, it is not a Chinese-owned real-estate company … Sad to see lower Manhattan will eventually lose a cultural icon.” Paul.cantor thought the story should have addressed the role of organized crime. “There’s a quiet organized-crime element in Chinatown that really keeps things humming along. It should come as no surprise that the minute the Italian mob got squeezed out of Little Italy, gentrification became a problem. The one good thing the ‘old’ New York had was that it regulated itself. Leaving things up to city government will lead you nowhere.”
Correction: Wig-styling for the Trump cover (September 21–October 4) was by Sharelle Roberts for Raffaele Mollica.