Back to the Future 4

Eric Adams, who has been occupying the media agenda, is a retired police officer who began his service with the New York Police Department (NYPD) in 1984. Despite having a history of experiencing police violence in his childhood, he was never anti-police or anti-state. In 1995, while serving as an NYPD officer, he became one of the most prominent founders of an activist group called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. This group was established to fight against police brutality, racism, racial discrimination, and police misconduct on behalf of Black people, to provide legal and financial support to Black individuals, and to strengthen their ties with the community through education. The fact that a police officer was the founder and spokesperson of this group, and that this person had been subjected to police violence in his youth, made him a unique candidate for politics.

He left the police force in 2006. He ran for the New York State Senate from the Democratic Party and won. By 2013, he stepped down as the spokesperson for this famous activist group and ran to become Brooklyn's first Black borough president, emerging victorious from both the primaries and the subsequent local election.

On November 2, 2021, at the age of 61, he was elected as the second Black mayor in New York history with a qualified majority of 66% of the vote. His campaign promises focused on increasing public safety, giving the working class a greater voice, wealth inequality, the city's shortage of affordable/rental housing, and the tangled web of problems in public schools that we know from Hollywood. He had taken over the largest city in the US after the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his victory speech after winning the election, he said, “the city's residents have a multi-faceted structure, the beauty of diversity is not fully appreciated, and now everyone is a New Yorker (Team New York).” Although these are easy-to-understand statements for us Turks, who are professors of elections and lies, the fact that he made such a hollow statement even after the election was over and he had won only made the progressive wing of the Democrats suspicious. Their reason for suspicion was Adams' centrist political stance and his receipt of support from real estate tycoon donors.

The 57-page indictment by the New York Federal Prosecutor's Office, which has also been reflected in the media, focuses in summary on Adams receiving bribes and illegal foreign donations. Turkey is among these countries. Adams is accused of receiving bribes and luxury gifts from 5 unnamed Turkish businesspeople and public officials. Adams and his associates are accused of taking free business class flights with Turkish Airlines (THY), staying in luxury hotels for free, using vehicles with private drivers and boat tours, and receiving free meals at luxury restaurants and Turkish baths at seaside hotels. It is stated that while a nightly stay at the St. Regis Hotel in Şişli, where one of the mentioned individuals stayed, was 7,000 US dollars, Adams stayed for 600 US dollars. The indictment mentions that donation activities, which should be conducted legally and openly in the US and are under strict supervision, were collected illegally by Adams and were also openly solicited by Adams.

The New York Turkish House (Türkevi), where important diplomatic missions such as Turkey's Consulate General in New York, the Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and the Central Bank's NY Representative Office are located, is also included in the indictment. It is alleged that the 36-story building, which was opened by President Erdoğan on September 20, 2021, and for which the opening prayer was led by the President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş, had irregularities in its fire safety regulations, and that after a Turkish official gave the message "it's your turn," Adams had the employee tasked with inspecting the building threatened with being fired to obtain a compliance report, and accepted luxury gifts in return. The indictment contains allegations that Adams agreed not to make negative statements about Turkey regarding the 1915 events, that the Turkish official told Adams he was a "true friend of Turkey," to which Adams replied, "I am here to help you," and that in 2019, the employee planning the trip to Turkey told Adams, "delete all our correspondence so we stay safe," to which Adams responded, "I always do that." After the prosecutor's office announced the indictment, Adams made a very brief statement denying the allegations and saying he would not resign and would continue his duties.

In the movie Back to the Future 3, young Marty travels from 1985 to 1955 and finds the Professor there. The Professor, who is trying to fix the time machine that Marty broke upon arrival, determines that the problem is caused by a part as small as a fingernail. As he says, "it's incredible that such a small part could cause these problems," he notices it is made in Japan and says, "no wonder the circuit broke, it's made in Japan." Marty, who cannot understand the Professor's reaction, says, "what do you mean, Professor? Everything is best when it's made in Japan," upon which the Professor says "incredible" with a look of astonishment on his face and in his eyes. This 20-second scene takes place in 1955; while Marty, coming from 1985, knows Japanese goods as the highest quality, the Professor living in 1955 lives in a period when Japanese goods are the lowest quality and cheapest (like the made in China label we used to use). In other words, one whole generation of Japanese sacrificed themselves to regain their reputation.

The allegation that the number one administrator of the world's largest city is in a bribery ring with Turkish officials is equivalent to a meteorite hitting our country. After this news, anyone carrying a Turkish passport, applying for a job abroad, planning to start a business, or traveling anywhere in the world will be twice as suspicious. The suffering endured until obtaining a visa until now will never end after this point, as we have lost trust once. From now on, it will also be questioned whether our official documents are truly official, and the transactions of Turks will be checked repeatedly with the prejudice that we must have done something tricky. Official authorities, in order not to be exposed to slander or investigation in the future, will at best slow down the processes and will no longer use their discretionary powers in our favor in any way. As a nation, we are now 24 years away from 24 hours ago. Damn it.