Steve Kelman on politics, culture, and life June 6, 2025

My Harvard 55^th reunion

At my Harvard reunion, some former sixties activists are saying we need to work together with the Harvard trustees to defend Harvard. This is a group many of whom once would have called “pigs”. We were a left leaning class then, and we are still a left leaning class 55 years later, though, unlike then, there are few if any revolutionaries on any kind of barricade. People are left-liberal and anti-Trump. No discussion about Israel at any of the plenary sessions, except one student who talked about having worked in Israel 15 years ago. I had one discussion at lunch with two acquaintances, who both were sympathetic to Israel, and especially disliked the pro Hamas groups among current students.

My retirement job

I am now telling some people I meet who asked me what I’m doing in retirement, such as classmates at my reunion this week, that my retirement job is social media.

Trump vs. Musk

The fight between Trump and Musk reminds me of nothing so much as vicious battles among far left sectarian groups fighting each other – or of 16 year old boys in a pissing contest.

Jews experiencing antisemitism

According to a new survey, a quarter of Jews report having experienced antisemitic comments or remarks over the last year, 2% were victims of physical attacks.

What are young people in China up to?

According to an article in Beijing Review, karaoke and movie theaters are becoming considerably less popular in China, and city walks and yoga much more popular.

Trump antisemitic meme

Trump displayed on Truth Social recently an image of Pepe the Frog, a meme figure widely used by antisemites.