America 1929: John F. Kennedy, the Great Writer

As the dockworkers' union members marched in a large group toward the New York Daily News building, Arthur was sitting by the window in a quiet French restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The restaurant is tastefully decorated, but there are few customers, so it's clearly not a place that ordinary people can afford.

Samuel was already waiting there, and when he saw Arthur enter, he nodded slightly in greeting.

"On time. That's good," Samuel said.

Arthur sat down opposite him. The waiter brought the menu, but Samuel waved it away.

"A cup of coffee for this gentleman."

After the waiter left, Samuel took a newspaper from his briefcase and gently placed it on the table.

"I read today's New York Herald. 'When News Becomes Weapon' is a good article. Your choice is wise."

Samuel cut to the chase without any pleasantries.

"Faced with that level of slander and provocation, not immediately jumping out to refute or hurl insults at each other requires restraint, but even more so, it requires composure."

He sipped his black tea, looking at Arthur with a calm yet penetrating gaze.

"In the battle of public opinion, it is often not about who has the loudest or sharpest voice, but about who can keep their composure and who knows better where their core position is."

"Rushing to defend oneself often only leads to getting bogged down in the opponent's pre-set trap, wasting precious attention and credibility in endless debates."

"You remained silent and continued doing what you were supposed to do, which is good. It shows that you are not an easily provoked brute and understand that true power lies in consistently and firmly building your own narrative."

Arthur nodded slightly, remaining silent and waiting for the other person to continue. He knew this praise was merely an opening remark.

Samuel then changed the subject, his eyes now showing a hint of inquiry:

"So, what's your take on what's happening right now in front of the New York Daily News building?"

Arthur was slightly taken aback.

"What happened?"

His mind was completely focused on this mysterious meeting today, and he didn't notice anything else.

Samuel seemed somewhat surprised, but then understood.

"It seems you don't know yet."

"On our way here, about two hundred members of the Brooklyn Dockworkers Union gathered in front of the New York Daily News headquarters, holding signs and demanding that the newspaper apologize for the article that smeared them as 'gangsters'."

"Their leader, a man named Frank Scapen, is very tough and doesn't seem to be planning to give up easily."

Dockworkers protesting the New York Daily News? This news made Arthur frown.

He put down his coffee cup, his fingers unconsciously tracing the inside of it. This was completely unexpected.

"Why do you think they did that?" Samuel asked, his voice calm, as if guiding a student's thinking.

"Was it that defamatory article about you, which incidentally portrayed them as 'gang accomplices,' that stirred up their indignation?"

"Or was it because the New York Daily News's sweeping accusations insulted the entire dockworker community, making them feel they had to stand up and defend their reputation?"

Arthur remained silent for a moment, his mind racing.

He recalled Patrick O'Reilly, the ordinary worker who struggled to make ends meet for his family and talked to him about the hardships and injustices of work.

The dockworkers' anger and sense of humiliation were undoubtedly real. But...

"Indignation and the need to defend one's honor, of course," Arthur said slowly and cautiously.

"But to mobilize two hundred people so quickly and in such an organized manner to go directly to the heart of Manhattan's newspaper industry for a sit-in demonstration... that takes more than just emotions."

"If it were merely to stand up for me, or because of a vague stigma of 'gangster' that they may have already heard all along, it doesn't seem enough to explain the scale and speed of the reaction."

A hint of approval flashed in Samuel's eyes.

"continue."

Arthur's thoughts continued in this direction.

"The New York Times article, while ostensibly targeting me, prominently featured the combination of 'dock' and 'gangster'."

"It's like suddenly shining a spotlight on the entire dock. Who's the last person to want to be in this spotlight?"

"It's probably not just the workers who feel their reputations have been damaged. Perhaps there are also stakeholders who depend on the dock's operations but want to keep a low profile and avoid public scrutiny as much as possible."

"This article may have inadvertently touched a nerve that some people didn't want to be touched, disrupting some of the rhythm."

He paused, observing Samuel's expression, but the other simply listened calmly.

"So, the dockworkers' strong reaction this time, rather than being directed at me or a single insult, was more of a warning? Or a statement drawing a line?"

"This is both a message to the outside world that they are not to be trifled with, and a message to certain people: the docks have their own rules, and it's not for outsiders to use this as an excuse to stir up trouble."

Samuel listened quietly until Arthur finished speaking, then he put down his teacup and tapped his fingertips lightly on the table.

"You are very perceptive, Mr. Kennedy. Although you do not have all the information you have, your reasoning is close to the core issue."

He lowered his voice to ensure the privacy of the conversation.

"Frank Scarpen, head of the dockworkers' union, is more than just a union leader. According to some undisclosed sources, Mr. Scarpen maintains a fairly deep working relationship with the Gambino family."

"He was in charge of manpower scheduling, loading and unloading order, and ensuring smooth logistics at the dock. The Gambino family has always had a strong interest in the circulation of certain special goods that need to cross customs."

Arthur's heart beat slightly faster.

He had heard of the Gambino; ​​it was a powerful branch of the Italian criminal family that had taken up residence in New York.

"But that's not the whole story."

"Scapen is of Italian descent, but he was able to maintain a firm grip on the dockworkers' union, which was mainly composed of Irish workers, thanks in no small part to the tacit approval of the Irish faction within the Tammany Association."

"The Irish gang is now locked in a fierce power struggle with the reformists within the association."

"This New York Times article has given the Irish Gang an opportunity to strike at Jimmy Walker, the reformist figurehead within the association."

"Of course, they don't like you either. After all, an Irishman attacking the city hall is nothing short of a traitor in their eyes."

Arthur sorted it out and concluded that within the Tammany Association, which currently controls New York politics, there are two factions: the Irish faction and the reformists.

Currently, the reformists are at the forefront, with Jimmy Walker as their spokesperson, while the Irish gang, as a traditional force within the association, still hopes to regain control of the association.

Taking advantage of the New York Daily News article, he incited the dockworkers to riot, mainly to attack Jimmy Walker, and incidentally to teach himself a lesson for being such an arrogant nobody.

Arthur took a moment to process this and asked:

"So you mean that Scapen's high-profile protest, making a big scene, was ostensibly about the workers protecting their reputation, but actually a way to put Walker in a difficult position?"