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Our next president? |
See this man? You should become familiar with him. Many pundits think that he has a pretty decent shot at becoming the next President of the United States. Even though McCain of Arizona seems to be more popular, Allen, currently a Republican senator from the state of Virginia, is more popular with the base of the Republican party and his ambitions are well known. The first thing he has to do however, is hold out against upstart Democrat James Webb who wants to strip Allen of his senate seat.
Today’s Washington Post has an interesting article (thanks for the tip Sanjivani) about Allen’s remarks to a young staffer that Webb had hired to shadow the Allen campaign:
Democrat James Webb’s Senate campaign accused Sen. George Allen (R) of making demeaning comments Friday to a 20-year-old Webb volunteer of Indian descent.
S.R. Sidarth, a senior at the University of Virginia, had been trailing Allen with a video camera to document his travels and speeches for the Webb campaign. During a campaign speech Friday in Breaks, Virginia, near the Kentucky border, Allen singled out Sidarth and called him a word that sounded like “Macaca.”
“This fellow here over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca, or whatever his name is. He’s with my opponent. He’s following us around everywhere. And it’s just great. We’re going to places all over Virginia, and he’s having it on film and its great to have you here and you show it to your opponent because he’s never been there and probably will never come.”
After telling the crowd that Webb was raising money in California with a “bunch of Hollywood movie moguls,” Allen again referenced Sidarth, who was born and raised in Fairfax County.
”Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia,” said Allen, who then began talking about the “war on terror…” [Link]
So seriously. What is a “Macaca?” This could hurt me if I ever make it to Jeopardy and I don’t know that answer.
Wadhams [Allen’s campaign manager] said Allen campaign staffers had begun calling Sidarth “mohawk” because of a haircut Wadhams said the Webb staffer has. “Macaca was just a variation of that,” Wadhams said. [Link]
Good to know. Will one of you readers please add that definition to the Urban Dictionary? The etymological debate raged on though:
Depending on how you spell it, the name Allen gave Sidarth means different things.If spelled M-a-c-a-c-a, the term refers to a species of monkeys in the Eastern Hemisphere. “Is he saying Sidarth is a monkey?” Todd [Webb’s spokesperson] asked.
The word M-a-k-a-k-a refers to a town in South Africa. [Link]
Watch the clip yourself:
I say that South Asian Americans should begin calling each other “Macaca.” Like, “What up Macaca?” Let’s take this word and make it our own, thereby taking power away from the current establishment. Then we can beat the crap of any non-South Asians that use it, especially if they look like they either work for the MAN or might actually be the MAN.
hmmm. yet another race problem for george allen? the guy's racking up quite a record....
Frist!
Maybe Allen didn't know the best derogatory comment to make; or rather thought that something nonsense sounding wasn't derogatory. Stupid on his part.
I like the 'welcome to america' part. Maybe he thought he was Latino not South Asian. Doubt this is going to be picked as much as the Biden story was.
I just had another thought. What if Allen was really trying to say, "My Kaka?" Maybe he knew the guju term for one's paternal uncle and he was simply showing respect to Sidarth by giving him a shout out.
Someone found out and eschaton posted that it's probably a legit ethnic slur from other countries. see here
macaca- is the mother of chewbaca,named after the fertility goddess of the wookies. maybe sidarth's hair problems dont stop with his mohawk?
allen looks like alec baldwin's stunt man.
Well, I think it's only fair that everyone turn around and start addressing Sen. Allen as Sahab Safed Bandar. I had thought to be more vulgar, and reference a certain part of the monkey's anatomy, but there are probably sensitive ears about.
I'm pretty sure he was making a reference to the outstanding Brazilian midfielder Kaka, probably in homage to how much ground S. R. has been covering lately. As in, wassup "my Kaka."
By the way, I'd like to welcome all the Sepia Mutineers to America. Abu, Anna (but what's your real name?), Sridaughter and all the rest of y'uns. Work hard, stay out of trouble, make sure your ID is visible at all times, and we'll let you stay.
Allen, Biden, Clinton - all seem to be putting their foot in their mouths when it comes to IAs. What is going on back East?
Whoopsie.
I guarantee that the quote above, taken from a list of ethnic slurs, will start showing up in the mainstream media and torpedo Allen's run.
Ah. I've always wanted to change the course of history...
torpedo Allen's run
he already has a redneck problem.
Hilarious.
i see someone has already beaten me to the punch on the macaque link from Eschaton.
that post, in turn, interrupted my defense of Allen. he is in fact a scholar of Sanskrit, and he had americanized "mlechha." in polite company it means "foreigner," but before then it was "barbarian." the point is the same, because it really means "damn dirty ape." we all know how edumacated our republican brethern are, after all, the republic gave us anakin.
Also, I'm confused. Allen keeps saying "his opponent" to Macaca... doesn't he mean "my opponent?"
I think this is despicable. Worse than Biden or Hillary's gaffes. Whether it was a real ethnic slur or something he made up, it was meant to show Mr. Sidarth's "foreigness." I'm sure it was scary given the fact that it was an all-white audience and Allen's interest in the confederate flag. The fact that this guy's one of the frontrunners for the GOP presidential nomination makes it all the more disconcerting.
He doesn't have anything close to a mohawk:
http://www.wonkette.com/politics/george-allen/a-big-pile-of-macaca-194151.php
What's up....Macacas?
Oh how silly.
I finally figured it out. But jeez, that took way too long, and we've probably destroyed an innocent man's career in the process.
It was a mere slip of the tongue. Allen meant to call Sidharth "Rwandan community justice system," you know, based on Democrats' well-known advocacy of perps. He was, basically, giving him a friendly new name and welcoming him to America.
Oh come on. Don't act like you've never meant to say gacaca and accidentally said something else.
George Allen on a good day never struck me as either charismatic or a good speaker. Mark Warner is probably going to be the best hope for the White House.
he wanted to say "my chacha" but instead said "macaca". I'll forgive him for that :)
Perhaps we should print "United Association of Macacas against Allen" T shirts and show up at his rallies... ;)
Nice. That is the worst mohawk ever. Have to say that Allen's staffers are pretty bold to claim something that far-fetched as their rationale. Although maybe they are so punk rock that they think regular haircuts are mohawks now.
Hmm. A name mix up by itself---nicknames don't make any sense---not a big deal. Welcome to America by itself---well, people are always talking about "welcome to the real America" and it drives me insane, but it's par for the course. Not a big deal. Transitioning to War on Terror by itself--not a big deal. But all three? Not impressive.
I like the Gujarati uncle theory. I also like the Wonkette picture of Sidarth in a Mariachi band. Mariachi is cool.
Actually one moron called me chief after I told him I was an Indian..i am not kidding.
I think Abhi is really on to something by proposing that we reclaim macaca and start addressing each other with it. I mean, macacas pleaze, we might be on to something. We might even form a ghazal supergroup that addresses the ills that plague our community with a hyper-anti-authority slant, and call ourselves, MWA. And I'll be Eazy Ishwaranathan.
People call me Pocahontas all the time.
I never know whether they're actually dumb or think they're being clever.
I think the 'Welcome to America' bit is far more offensive to an Indian-American.
did someone change his wiki profile or was this always there? (in case the website changes it back):
George Felix Allen or macaca (born March 8, 1952 in Whittier, California) is a white Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia. He is running for re-election in 2006 and has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Felix_Allen
At least he didn't call Mr.Macaca up on stage to "say something in Indian." Geez, had it been me, I would've slapped the macaca out of the good senator.
Yeti approves.
eg,
"I looove desi people... but I hate macacas."
Wow, Webb looks like one interesting guy actually. A Naval hero, a Military Secretary and a novelist! But what I am amused is what is to me the most interesting part of his biography examined in the context of this post. I looked him up on Wikipedia, and what caught my eye--and may get me going to the bookstore---is his book "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America." I've always been fascinated with the various ethnicities that combine to form White, in some intractable Voltronic way, and the weird, hard to discern relationships between class and ethnicity and religion. So just on the face of it the book looks really interesting. But it looks particularly interesting, b/c you'd think it would be the ScotsIrish champion who'd make the hard-to-parse-possibly-xenophobic remarks. You might also think it odd that it's the expert on Appalachian culture who gets accused of not hanging out in places like Breaks, VA by a career politician who's a graduate of Palos Verdes High and UVA--unless you realize that this line of attack is essentially automatically deployed by all Republicans against all Democrats these days.
He knew EXACTLY what he was saying:
Apparently, it's French/Belgian slang...
That was a SLUR, pure and simple! It was some Jungle-book-Mowgli-parrot-brazilan-amazon mash-up that he thought up on the spur, because he is shallow and all those things look , sound the same to Allen.
"you'd think it would be the ScotsIrish champion who'd make the hard-to-parse-possibly-xenophobic remarks."
i'm curious as to why you say that? how would that make him more likely to utter a possibly xenophobic remark than allen (don't know what his ethnic origins are)?
Poor Allen was probably just a little constipated and had thoughts of poo on his brain, you know a brown man with a camera taking pictures and following you everywhere can do weird thing for your plumbing, so my vote is for my kaka.
I just told you. :)
Wikipedia screen shot of the "macaca" edit here.
...and this Allen guy grew up in Whittier................and learned nada about being nice to people who do not dig meat and potatoes.
...or all that pent up rage at the food smells that emanated from neighboring Artesia finally got to bechara Allen
i'm curious as to why you say that
Well, that came out slightly wrong, but what I really meant is that it if you were going to be a White Supremacist Nativist, you would be more effective coming from a Scots-Irish vantage than from pretty much any other. From what I've read about White Supremacist subcultures, they tend to really focus on ScotsIrish heritage b/c it makes for the most coherent (if not ACTUALLY coherent) "This land belongs to the White People" narrative, especially b/c the ScotsIrish mixed with the Native Americans a lot. I'm not saying it would be a truly good vantage point, or that vantage point require you be a White Supremacist, but it does seem to be the most optimum starting point for that kind of vision of America.
Don't get me wrong, I love much of ScotsIrish culture, and I'm dead serious about wanting to read this book, it sounds awesome.
Neither here nor there--I think one small but non-insignificant reason I like ScotsIrish culture is b/c it's really fun to say Scots-Irish over and over again. It's just got a wonderful mouthfeel. Try it. Scots-Irish! Scots-Irish! You can even try saying it with a little bit of brogue or a Scottish accent. It makes me crave something buttery and warm.
Macaca, on the other hand, has no such mouthfeel.
I'm not sure I buy the Tunisian slang thing. Why would you break out your mother's Tunisian slang in Apppalachian country?
Why not? Especially if you grew up hearing such an epithet...it seems like it would flow rather naturally.
Too bad Sidharth isn't Jewish and Allen isn't Mel Gibson otherwise instead of making insulting justifications for his racist comments (e.g., macaca really means mohawk and not a person of African decent), he would be issuing apologies.
From the Wiki bio: "His mother, Henrietta Lumbroso, was a Jewish immigrant of Tunisian/Italian/French background."
Macaca sylvanus (Barbary Macaque)- "The barbary macaque is found in the countries of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, and in Gibraltar. This species is found in montane oak and cedar forests in Northern Africa."
http://members.tripod.com/uakari/macaca_sylvanus.html
So it's not hard to put two and two together. His mom is an immigrant from Tunisia, although of mixed background including French and Italian. So perhaps "macaca" is what some French call North Africans. (Aren't one of you Mutineers from France?) Maybe he heard the term from his mom as a slur against Muslim or less mixed Tunisians- she was Jewish.
Dang..I don't think we can take 'macaca'...check it out
Allen's wikipedia page has had the macaca reference removed from his name.
I know I "should" be more offended, but the Gujurati explanation has me laughing so hard, I just can't focus..... anyway, Senator Allen is such an idiot he can't even insult the South Asian community effectively for maximum political advantage. How the hell is he going to survive the South Carolina Primary? (See #4) If he calls Senator McCain's daughter his "illegitimate macaca child" no one will know what the hell he is talking about.
UPS (comment #43) -- you're brilliant. That's such an unusual slur, it's likely that he's heard it before in the context you describe from his mother. Imagine the firestorm if another ethnic group was so labeled.
"You can't even go into a 7-11 these days without running into a macaca. Am I right?" The two presidential contenders nodded in agreement.
Je suis là!
And, uh, yes, it is very much a slur. He called the brother a monkey, straight up.
Amazing what comes out of people's mouths sometimes when they don't have a script to read from.
so macacas, sounds like you guys are a tad upset over the remarks of some would-be president. hear, hear. be not afraid for the gods of macacas shall vanquish those that titter at the great race. he who walks with a camera and a yellow shirt shall inherit the earth (and meet virginia in heaven!). so mr allen may have smirked but the macacas shall have the last laugh.
The guy has a history of making questionable choices when it comes to racial subject matter. His High school picture features him proudly wearing a conferdate pin and he is known to fly one off his car in the past.
So apparently its used by white supremacists pretty often:
http://jeffrey-feldman.typepad.com/frameshop/2006/08/frameshop_macac.html#more
In addition to the Washington Post, let's see if more of the mainstream media picks this story up. I hope the bloggers run with this aggressively. A video is already on YouTube with Allen clearly saying "macaca" twice. Allen's camp is awkwardly defending his statement with some lame excuse which should be discarded just like George Allen should be discarded as a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate. A potential presidential candidate called an Indian American a fricken "monkey". That's just not right.
You should check this out
http://jeffrey-feldman.typepad.com/frameshop/2006/08/frameshop_macac.html
As siddhartha (#48) states, this is a racial slur. Checking around the internet a little more about this, apparently many African-Americans and people somehow linked to France know that this is a common derogatory term for North Africans by the French and Belgians. Morover, the fact that Allen's campaign actually tried to switch it around and bring light on the fact that Webb had used a questionably anti-Semitic ad (which he later pulled) in the primaries and Allen's record on race, makes it all the more obvious that he was taking a swipe at Sidarth's brown-ness (he has confirmed he was the only non-white in the crowd of ~100). The Daily Kos is going crazy over this, one guy dared Allen to come to Detroit and use the term. I think the South Asian community needs to stand up to this crap too. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't there a lot of South Asians in the IT sector in Northern Virginia who have started becoming big political contributors?
May be he meant to say "macha" as some Tams do, or "achacha" as the Mallus do... put together machacha?!!
I'm a Canuck - can't find this on CNN or MSNBC - does this sort of thing make national news in the US?? Why isn't this guy being lynched on front page news? Because if some big Liberal in Canada called anyone dark-skinned 'Macaca' the shit would hit the fan.
Je suis là!
LOL! Siddhartha, that was so awesome! I just head a beautiful vision of Siddhartha sweeping in, mustachioed with cape sweeping in after him, declaring that in the most outrageous French accent. Okay, I'm sold!
Je suis là!
Yeah, bout time. Where yacaca been all day?
macaca, please! i actually have to work for money from time to time, unlike certain cosseted academics i know...
From The Washington Post 8/15: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/14/AR2006081400589.html
Interesting that Allen apologizes for a statement that he had earlier in the day said he had no reason to apologize for.
saheli and anna, thanks for the explanation. i assumed it had something to do with the history of race/ethnicity in this country but am not as well informed on that subject.
Macaca definitely means monkey in Brazil. During a visit to the amazon rainforest couple of years ago, i remember my dear guide introducing me to many diff. species of macacas. Portuguese word for monkey is macaco.
Sen. Allen is doing couple of speeches in next couple of weeks in NOVA technology corridor (on net neutrality etc.). I am sure he is going to see lot of "macacas" in the crowd.
Mon frère,
On dit premier gaou nest pas macaque,
cest deuxième macaque qui est gnata...
On dit premier macaque nest pas macaque,
cest deuxième macaque qui est gnata...
(it's not as funny with the typo...)
Qu'est-ce que c'est "gnata"?
Lord Siddhartha, master of International Francophonetics, can best explain that...
but, roughly speaking, "the first macaca ain't the real macaca, it's the second macaca that's in trouble..."
(In this example, S. R. Sidarth is the first macaca, no harm done. Allen is the second...)
"Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia,"
I watched the UTube video of this from Turbunhead's blog. And it really seemed like the senator was not talking about the desi guy. He was saying how his opponent is hanging out w/ "Hollywood moguls" and not with the "real world of Virginians". Then he introduced "macaca". He was going back and forth between dissing on his opponent and introducing Siddarth. And it got mushed together somehow.
the answer is here.
Well, I certainly think it would have made the Wash Post article stronger, in terms of showing that Allen probably knew what he was talking about, if the whole angle of his mother being from Tunisia, etc., was brought up along with the fact that it is a North African slur as has been shown in several of the links above.
Mini, you underestimate the man. All he has to do is bust out a Confederate flag on the sly at a convenient moment and all will be purrrrr-fectly clear.
You say "Macaca" and I think of "Macca" -- as in the UK tabloids' nickname for Paul McCartney.
See here
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Macaca
since the fall of carthage, and especially since the captivity of african people under european rule, there has been an attempt to liken people of african descent to monkeys. this has manifested itself in the ugliest of ways, and has justified centuries of cruelty, torture, murder, rape, and practically every horror imaginable. there have even been examples, such as Sarah Baartman, where europeans actually tried to use her "orangutan-like" features to prove the connection between africans and monkeys by displaying and exploiting her all over europe and keeping her vagina in a jar for nearly a century. there was also Ota Benga, an african who committed suicide after being put on display in the monkey house in the bronx zoo. the macaca is indigenous to south east asia, which makes it seem like he was referring to all south east asians, and was letting the rest of the (all white) crowd know that he felt that way. people seem to very easily forget that we are all animals that achieve godliness through acts of creativity. if we don't become better aquainted with love, joy, truth, respect and compassion, then we shall be consumed by our own hatred, prejudice, and lack of understanding. thank you guys very much for setting up this website and offering alternative perspectives. have a beautiful day! namaste
To my 'average white guy' impression, I thought Allen was calling the guy a monkey. What a clown. He won't survive the primaries.
Duhh! Dohh! No one gets it. Allen's Tamizh speech writer spelt it wrong. It shd'a been Macchan used as dude in Tamizh although it actually means brother-in-law. Instead the transcriber spelt it Macachan.
From yesterday's WaPo article:
One gangsta-ass macaca...
Allen's actual "apology":
Um, right.
***
Time for a Sepia snap poll! Biden v. Allen in 2008 -- on this issue alone, leaving ideology and all other issues to one side, who would people vote for? which mysterious statement loses the insensitivity derby? (Vote here for the candidate whose statement you find LESS objectionable.) Results decidedly unscientific.
(Speaking of which, has anyone heard from Dr. Vijay on the Allen gaffe?)
Eric,
It is doubtful he would survive the presidential primaries, but it's possible since he appeals to the Republican base, unlike McCain and Guilianai. However, as a resident of Virginia, even six more years in the Senate would be too much. I don't make much money, but this is probably going to motivate me to donate to the Webb campaign. The Northern Virginia (DC metropolitan) area is one of the most multicultural in the country, and we deserve better representation.
What the f****g F? That is so disappointing. Da*n it.. makes me remember one of the main reasons I used to be a liberal. What an e**ing moron. It's not only the macaca.. it's the "welcome to the real america". What a mofo. What is wrong with these re**rds? So far, we have Hillary, Joe Biden, and now George Allen (his remark being the worst)...vomit. What in the h*ll is wrong with these people?
The story ran on page one of the WaPost and there was an editorial. Good for them giving it the coverage it deserves. Here's the editorial.
George Allen's America
Whom it includes, and whom it doesn't
Tuesday, August 15, 2006; A12
"MY FRIENDS, we're going to run this campaign on positive, constructive ideas," Sen. George F. Allen told a rally of Republican supporters in Southwest Virginia last week. "And it's important that we motivate and inspire people for something." Whereupon Mr. Allen turned his attention to a young campaign aide working for his Democratic opponent -- a University of Virginia student from Fairfax County who was apparently the only person of color present -- and proceeded to ridicule him.
Let's consider which positive, constructive or inspirational ideas Mr. Allen had in mind when he chose to mock S.R. Sidarth of Dunn Loring, who was recording the event with a video camera on behalf of James Webb, the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat Mr. Allen holds. The idea that holding up minorities to public scorn in front of an all-white crowd will elicit chortles and guffaws? (It did.) The idea that a candidate for public office can say "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia!" to an American of Indian descent and really mean nothing offensive by it? (So insisted Mr. Allen's aides.) Or perhaps the idea that bullying your opponents and calling them strange names -- Mr. Allen twice referred to Mr. Sidarth as "Macaca" -- is within the bounds of decency on the campaign trail?
We have no inkling as to what Mr. Allen meant by "Macaca," though we rather doubt his campaign's imaginative explanation that it was somehow an allusion to Mr. Sidarth's hairstyle, a mullet. Mr. Allen said last night that no slur was intended, though he failed to explain what, exactly, he did have in mind. Macaca is the genus for macaques, a type of monkey found mainly in Asia. Mr. Allen, who as a young man had a fondness for Confederate flags and later staunchly opposed a state holiday in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has surely learned too much about racial sensitivities in public life to misspeak so offensively.
Mr. Sidarth, who is 20, is a senior at U-Va.; he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax after compiling an excellent academic record. He is thinking of applying to law school. He may be forgiven if his week-long foray on the campaign trail with Mr. Allen has left him with a bitter taste. "I think he was doing it because he could, and I was the person of color there and it was useful for him in inciting his audience," Mr. Sidarth told us. "I'm disgusted he would use my race in a political context."
We don't blame him for feeling that way. But really, by mocking Mr. Sidarth, Sen. George F. Allen demeaned only himself.
That's not an apology. That's a "sorry that you're so hypersensitive at me calling you a monkey and welcoming you to America when you're just as much an American as I am and insinuating something nefarious when you're following me around the campaign trail even though I know you work for my opponent."
Awwww, yeah:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=macaca
;)
Listen, I don't know what site you got THAT from, but I've never in my life even heard of that term as an 'ethnic slur', and I've lived here for 14 years and naturalised and all that jazz. Makak in Dutch means 'macaque', a kind of monkey; I have never heard it used against certain ethnic groups.
Just to add, I agree with the comments above it's probably French and/or Belgian. Dutch and Belgian are two very different things. :)
Uh and yeah, the guy is a douchebag, goes without saying.
Meena, you mean you're not looking forward to a confederate flag on the top of Air Force One? A flying "General Lee"?
Poor kid goes above and beyond the call of duty to fit in among the rednecks, and he still gets picked on.
'welcome to Amerikkka' part is what gets me!
peace out, macmocs.
Meena, a spook is a ghostly apparition. But just because I'd never heard it used as a slur (until I read "The Human Stain":
what are they, spooks?) doesn't mean it's not a slur. Perhaps makak has been supplanted by newer, hipper ways of saying that non-whites are non-human.
As for this notion of the Belgians not being Dutch, I personally don't recognize any post-1558 borders. :)
The nail in the coffin for me that got me pissed is the way he said "Welcome to America". Not only does that imply that Siddarth was somehow not an authentic American because of his brown skin, but also Allen's opponent who was in Hollywood, California is somehow not in touch with "real Americans". As a Californian, I get pissed when somke redneck says that California isn't really part of "the real America" because of things like a large non-white or gay population and out tendancy to not lynch them. Or stricter air quality standards.
I keep asking myself if it would have been worse if Allen refered to Siddarth as "Apu", "Hadji", or "Kumar"; names dragged out from pop culture and most likley the only Indian male names a Johnny Six-Pack would know.
Shoot, why pick on the cameraman in the first place? Isn't that just tacky for a politician who is being followed by cameras anyway? I'm told that it's common for cameras to follow politicans whether it's from their opponents, allies, the media, or freelancers.
You know, Jumper, people who wear their hair in mohawks tend not to be originally from America -- mohawks tend to be more common among those immigrants. In fact, I don't think the term "Mohawk" is native to North America at all.
Clearly, you haven't been watching enough Lou Dobbs.
in south india they say Maccha a lot. Not sure of the word's genesis .. but its used like "whats up machcha?"
"everything OK machcha?"
so maybe this dude's just south-india aware?!
Dictionary.com defines mohawk as "a Native American people formerly inhabiting northeast New York along the Mohawk and upper Hudson valleys north to the St. Lawrence River; a member of this people; the Iroquoian language of the Mohawk." So isn't the term "Mohawk" as native to North America as you can get?
Wonkette is still trying to figure this out in a new post.
Allen might want to take a few pointers from this on how to deliver a non-slanderous political smear speech:
Since when did I mention anything about Mohawks or anything about hair AK? I concur with Sanpa that Mohawk did indded as a hairstyle and term originate with the North American tribe.
PS: I don't watch Lou Dobbs because I don't have cable. I think St. Patrick's Day is cool and he should leave it alone. I agree with him about outsourcing American jobs and there are more important things than "protecting" marriage from gays. I do not see eye to eye with him on other issues.
George Allen is still probably gonna win in Virginia because all his constituents are his cousins ;-)
Anna,
Not slang sister, definitely a slur. I first heard the word 'macaca' during the recent world cup. It's what racist french called Zizou! I will never buy that a guy with HIS HISTORY, and who was raised by a French Tunisian mother, really didn't know what a 'makaka' was. I am particularly fond of macaques and young Indian boys volunteering for the Democratic Party. To insult them both in one speech...! George Allen, You are going down you Bastard!
Sorry, subscription problem while viewing 'his history'.
Here's the relevant part of the New Republic Article, George Allen's race problem:
His Wikipedia entry paints him as a strange and scary man. I have a pretty strong feeling that this guy is probably a serial killer or sociopath, after reading what he did to his sister and brother. Chilling!
People like him make all the whiteys look really stupid. Now I won't be able to help but look at someone in the Virginia boondocks and think, Wow, you're just really, really stupid, aren't you? But, unlike Allen, I know that that isn't the right thing to think and I should be a kinder, more understanding person.
wonder what Bobby Jindal would say.
Bobby Jindal is a House Macaca!
Jumper, I'm with you on the California thing. But it's especially rich to deride someone for associating with people in Hollywood when you went to Palos Verdes High.
George Allen is still probably gonna win in Virginia because all his constituents are his cousins ;-)
No need to counter an insult with another insult. The guy's getting rammed by a lot of longtime Virginians ( including Republican ones ) all over the blogosphere. Besides I have lived in both rural and urban VA. Lots and lots of good people!
Ahh, but you see, the difference is that I have grown up in the Netherlands and I still live there, and i can assure as an avid newspaper- and forum-reader I have never come across the usage of the word 'makak' in any other context than in a biological definition of monkeys.:) Perhaps someone used it once, somewhere, but you make it sound as thoug it is a word thrown around here regularly, which it is certainly not.
And I can assure you, the Belgians and Dutch are nothing alike :)
What did Hillary and Biden say? (No one ever tells me anything.)
WTF? Oto Benga seems to have never left the American zoo. And now the macaca got a camera too. The worst thing that came out of colonialism is not neo-liberalism, it is this sort of racism. I hope he shits in his pants
Why doesn't somebody just ask the Allen what he meant instead of all this speculation and reference to languages and idioms I am pretty sure he knows nothing about. Maybe he garbled something, or it was nonsense, or mis-heard. God knows, after 6 years of Bush-isms we should be used to absurdities emanating from politicians.
If you think Senator Allen needs to apology sign this petition
Jumper and Sapna,
Sorry, I was actually just being a bit sarcastic -- there's a funny irony when juxtaposing Allen's "mohawk" explanation with his "welcome to America comment." I guess I just ended up being obscure. (And Jumper, I certainly wasn't disagreeing with anything you said, just picking up on your comment.)
Risible,
Allen has tried to explain what he meant. What do you make of that explanation?
Story is now on CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/15/allen.volunteer.ap/index.html
Fact remains that the definition of a slur is not whether or not you've heard it before, and it's not whether or not it's used all the time. A slur is a slur. It's a bit like porn: you know it when you encounter it.
Wait a second, do I detect a note of defensiveness here? Do you object to the actual notion that there might be a vein of xenophobia in that famous Dutch tolerance? Ooh, are you going to send me to...the...comfy chair?
I've atually spent quite a bit of time in both countries and I know the differences well. But I also know the similarities, and they may be a bit more profound than you're willing to admit. It's not like you cross over from Antwerpen to Rotterdam and suddenly no one knows how to say "makak."
(But I'll grant you this: I'd much rather live in Rotterdam than in Antwerpen.)
Although, apparently, once certain people cross over from California to Virginia and decide to play for their base, they suddenly don't know how to say "mohawk". Much less recognize what one looks like.
besides the porn argument, it appears in the official list of ethnic slurs.
Dude, I know. That's my whole basis for sinking Allen's presidential aspirations. I might not have been the first to say, "Macaca sounds like macaque", but I was surely the first to point out that this is an actual term used to denigrate browns: "Makak (Belgium & the Netherlands) a Moroccan; derived from macaque."
Man, if I don't get credited for this on CNN, I'm going to be pissed. I coulda been Bernstein, I coulda been Woodward...
Ah! So u were the 1st, with a time-stamped post to prove it. But does the first person ever get credit in history? It's always the opportunists. Isn't Siddhartha scheduled to be on Anderson Cooper tonight?
You just delivered us Romney vs. Gore.
Manju (whose right-winger comments often bewilder me - homegirl, here's a rupee - or 50 - buy a clue) says: "You just delivered us Romney vs. Gore"
The evangelical posse will never vote for a Mormon like Romney - we'll see how THAT matchup fares.
Regarding Mr. Siddarth - the kid does NOT have a mohawk, a mullet or anything even close. Where's the issue??
This bit of bigoted spewing by old George Felix Allen is so bloody transparent, there's not much to debate. I always crack up when I see the desi doctors, etc. who line up to host GOP events and donate heavily - clearly a wallet driven passion, with a little hindu "no sex and drugs, yaar" thrown in for good measure. Here's what they REALLY think of you when the money stops flowing Uncle-ji.
"Conservative" principles are one thing, and many are very solid - but this current party dudn't represent too many of them as I see it, they spend like drunken sailors and try to impose morality (hands off my wallet, but hands off my bedroom and phone calls too, ai-ight?).
I not sure. don't really know any evangelicals but I'm always suspect about broad generaliztions--though they usually have some basis in reality. I guess i look at them w/ vague suspicion, the way Allen looks at Macaques. orren hatch is mormon and i didn't see an uproar over him.
anyway, maybe we should gear up for lieberman vs. gore...now that mr k's damage is done.
there's a link on Sen. Allen's website where you can email him. I wonder if he'll (actually, his staff) actually read these if enough people write in tellng him what an ass--- I mean, idiot he is for his choice of words.
You have to include your name and address when you email, though (going to look up a Mickey D's in Va, as I am in California and not one of his unfortunate constituents)
Manju, OrrIn Hatch is a Senator, running for the Senate - in UTAH at that - not for president. And having known plenty of evangelicals, I seriously doubt they would vote for a Mormon.
As for Lieberman vs. Gore - PLEASE (insert your deity here) let that happen!!
I wasn't able to see the video earlier since they blocked YouTube at work. Now that I've seen the video, it seems the "Welcome to Virginia, Welcome to America" was referring to Webb and not the kid (constrasting with Hollywood). Can't say for sure? But still what in the hell? What kind of brain damage do you need to have to do that publicly while the camera is trained on you? The Mohawk excuse is utterly ridiculous. He just seems smarmy kind of like Clinton, like he thought he could just throw out macacaw because nobody in the audience would be familiar with it.
Apu says:
Orrin ran for president in 2000.
Apu_is_innocent
hatch ran for the repub nom for prez in 2000.
yes manju, and Hatch lost big time.
How utterly beyond disappointing. Vile, really. Unscripted moments tell you a thing or two, don't they?
r
I'm with KXB: Unless it's Guiliani or the like, I'll be sitting out 2008. I'm not a McCain fan, nor a Hillary fan. God help us all......
Aup_is_innocent: my take on reading right of center blogs is that evangelicals like Romney better than the other potential candidates.
Saheli: Ye olde Instapundite is a fan of Webb's writing and has got a lot of posts up about the ScotsIrish vibe if you search his site. Which, I assure you, won't give you cooties or anything :)
MD - you mean i have to actually read right-wing blogs?? ;-)) I admit, I read them and generally get nauseous - it's like gawking at the freeway accident.
Though "God" does not enter my equation on who can help us, I certainly hope Gore / Clark / Feingold (or some combo thereof) can get their collective shit together.
Reading SM sometimes (well, some of the commenters that is), I wonder out loud how so many of our brown peeps can be republican or at least wishy-washy moderates in the current climate. Someone please splain this to me...beyond wanting tax cuts, no sex, and/or dissing those "lazy blacks/etc." who supposedly never endured the hardships their immigrant parents did (an iffy argument at best). Sorry, I am ranting, but I feel out of my brown skin sometimes.
Apu_is_innocent: the thing is, both parties are so huge that you can't help having some really dum-dums in either one. So, you have to go with the general principles and the general principles on the right appeal to me more. Of course, it means I have to endure the dumbery of the right. When I was a democrat, I had to endure the dumbery of the left. it's just part of the reality. Also, I encourage you to read both right and left blogs if you are into the political stuff. Me? I'm burned out on it all. I prefer the Sartorialist. Fashion blogs rule.
Anyway, the more I read about this incident, the angrier it makes me. Mr. Allen, for shame.
MD - no doubt there is "dumbery" to go around, but the current right's dumbery is far more dangerous to me than that of the left. Please spell out the imminent danger of the left's problems - leaving out the fringe wackos, of course. I think you are getting too frustrated and throwing in the towel too quickly. Also, as I said in an earlier post, many principles of conservatism are not at all observed by the current ruling party.
Look, I benefit greatly from all the tax cuts and giveaways of the right, but it ain't just about me - I do believe in giveback to the least fortunate and for equality in matters like education and healthcare. Also, as a businessperson who caters to consumers, my customer's long-term economic prospects matter. If the middle/working classes are doing well, I do well. There's a big difference between capitalism and CRONY capitalism, and the current schema supports the latter. Fuck the DLC Democrats, but let's not throw out the baby with the proverbial bathwater.
Apu_is_innocent: actually, I prefer the DLC democrats to the other stripes.
As for this group of congressional republicans? Disappointing and forgetful of principles. But they are policiticians and politicians first, so you can forget principle, there.
If tax cuts help stimulate an economy, then I see it as a giveback and not just about me. This, ideally, should be coupled with cuts in spending (not a Republican or Democratic strongpoint. Politicians. especially those who are incumbents, will aways want to buy votes, remember?).
I believe in a strong, creative, proactive defense and have no problem with the level of military spending.
I don't believe the US or the West is the root or source of the most of the great problems of our time.
Supporting the teachers unions first and foremost does not lead to equality in education.
As a physician, I am pessimistic about the future of healthcare. The government will take over, spend even more money, spend it badly and be horribly inefficient about the delivery of health care. On paper it will look good; the reality will be something else. What you can charge is already dictated by the government and the charges are in no way related to the costs. It leads to some real weirdness and chances are some wonky wonk will think he/she can wonk us out of the fundamental problem set up by lack of relation between costs and charges, but you can't wonky wonk.
Okay, enough for today :)
I find it doubly appalling that many in the Allen audience laughed at the slur. I wish that at least one person had booed.
Oh, MD - we can go on for a while on your postulates. As for tax cuts stimulating an economy, it depends on who is getting the tax cuts - find me evidence of "trickle down" working.
As for proactive defense, why don't you look at the ROI - our current endeavors are not proving such a high one. And one should look at the West's machinations in the past leading to the current crises in the middle east and elsewhere, otherwise you are burying your head in the sand, pun intended.
And I'd look at the VA and at some other 1st world countries regarding the success of universal healthcare. The charges by most private hospitals, which are then summarily slayed down to size by most insurance companies, should tell you about how much charges are really related to the costs.
But, you are right, enough for today. ;-)
Apu_is_innocent: "Here's what they REALLY think of you when the money stops flowing Uncle-ji"
Right on! The green does make them only temporarily color blind.
MD: "So, you have to go with the general principles and the general principles on the right appeal to me more"
The problem with going with the general principles is that you are overlooking the very specific actions of the people you are voting for.
Ok, having too much fun with these. Check out my Macaca t-shirts and bumper stickers
http://www.cafepress.com/macacashop
More designs are on the way. To make it interesting, I'll donate 30% of the profit to Democratic challenger Jim Webb.
HAHAHA - was just watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. When asked by Stewart "Where IS Macaca?" Rob Corddry responds, "Next to Your Pee Pee"...hahahahah..
good one.
I lived in Belgium for two years and no one ever called me a macaca. But now that I think about it, every time I ordered 'a Hoe-Garden, asheblief' or said 'Hoey-Dag', the stifled 'hahaha' sound I heard may have actually been 'macaca'...
Salon's article on the macaca debacle:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/08/16/allen/
From the lapdog Indian American Republican Council, via DailyKos:
Washington, D.C. - Today, the Indian American Republican Council issued the following statement from its Chairman Dr. R. Vijay:
"We don't believe Senator George Allen was making a reference to the ethnicity of Jim Webb's campaign volunteer. He has apologized for any misunderstanding this statement has caused. We do know that Senator Allen has worked closely with Indian Americans when he was Governor and as U.S. Senator, and he has always garnered strong support from the community. He has visited India and showed strong leadership in supporting the U.S.-India civilian nuclear agreement.
"It's disappointing to see Jim Webb using an Indian American volunteer in a demeaning fashion in order to garner attention to his campaign. We believe there are pressing issues facing Virginia and our nation, from the war on terrorism to the challenges in the Middle East. Jim Webb needs to engage in these issues instead of attempting to smear the reputation of a respected leader."
As a former candidate, I'd like to try to focus on what is what is needed. ACTION.
I ask you to do a few things in order of importance.
(1) Make a financial contribution to James Webb's senate campaign right now. Never mind that Webb is a fantastic, distinguished candidate: war hero, best-selling novelist, former Secretary of the Navy, a former Republican who finally had enough. Because there are lots of great candidates. Webb is your best weapon for punishing Allen and sending a message right now to those like Allen that we "Macacas" are the "real America." Whether it's $25, $250, or $2,100 (the individual maximum), a lot of us doing what we can gives Webb the resources he needs to put a bully in his place. Webb needs resources. If you don't take this simple step (every reader of this blog can afford SOMETHING--I just plunked down $200 and I'm broke after my own campaign), you are basically saying you don't care if Allen wins. Seriously.
(2) Get your friends (South-Asian-Americans and non-South-Asian-Americans alike) and family to invest too--contact them by email and follow up by phone to make it work.
(3) Contact the mainstream media (ESPECIALLY Virginia newspapers, NY Times, Washington Post, your local paper, talk radio, CNN, the networks, local TV) and ask why they aren't giving this issue at least as much coverage as Mel Gibson's recent antisemitic remarks. Ask why they won't report what the word "macaca" really means, as well as Allen's French Tunisian heritage, which would acquaint Allen with the offensive term.
(4) Contact your senators and member of Congress and ask them to introduce a resolution rebuking Senator Allen and stripping him of any leadership post.
(5) Email the Indian American Republican Council and tell them you are disappointed with their decision to blindly support Allen despite his actions. Urge them to cancel their reportedly planned fundraiser for Allen in New York City (and if you live in the NYC-area, get a bunch of friends and go protest it).
(6) If you live in the D.C./Virginia area, find out from the Allen campaign his public schedule and go protest.
What would happen if Allen had made a similar demeaning comments toward a Jew? What would the Jewish community nationally's response would be?
The reaction would be swift and decisive, fitting for a people who have been threatened throughout history. Republican and Democratic Jews alike would rally and anhiliate Allen politically. And in so doing, they would remind everyone of their political power. And then the worms would crawl back into their holes.
Let's make sure the George Allens of the world and their patrons know that the macacas are coming and we're here to stay.
I know better than you or anyone else on this site that there certainly is a strain of xenophobia in the 'famous Dutch tolerance' (they certainly aren't more tolerant than any other country). But, you've spoken like a true Indian American, and I've followed discussions on this site enough to know what sentiments dominate against the European countries. Everything from "the French are a bunch of racist scumbags"(this is a literal quote) to "all Danes are xenophobic and disgusting" (the gist of a certain post from someone who'd spent a few months in DK).
Anyway, you've spent quite a bit of time here? What, 3 months? *grin*
Incidentally, I'd hardly recommend Rotterdam if you want a taste of that 'famous Dutch tolerance'. Oh wait, you probably didn't know that, did you?
Meena:
aye, but there's the rub... what makes Mr Kobayashi a "true Indian American," in your view?
Chère Madame,
J'ai l'honneur de vous informer que le site Sepia Mutiny est officiellement d'orientation europhile, et francophile en particulier. Les discussions sur Internet étant ce qu'elles sont, il conviendra d'apprécier à leur juste, et minime, valeur les commentaires extrémistes ou ignorants qui s'affichent parfois de la part de lecteurs du site. Ceux-ci ne représentent en rien la disposition d'esprit, ni l'expérience vécue du groupe qui vous offre ce site.
Afin d'avancer vers une communication toujours plus ouverte et une communauté toujours plus active et informée, aussi dispersée soit-elle, nous avons depuis longtemps appris à ne pas nous laisser déranger, encore moins distraire, par les élucubrations nocives de certains, et nous vous invitons vivement à faire de même.
Vous remerciant de votre fidélité au site et de votre participation aux débats, je vous prie de croire, chère Madame, à l'expression de mes sentiments desis, macaques, et dévoués.
Meena, I'm afraid you're much too humorless for me. I'm stopping my end of this dialogue right now. Perhaps we'd communicate better if you could see the wicked glint in my eye.
The internet, sadly, does not permit that.
Couldn't have put it better myself.
I was born in DC and raised in Fairfax County. Er.. the part of Fairfax county that is majority minority (Baileys Crossroads), if you know what I mean. Let's start an organization of South Asians born and raised in Fairfax County. We'll call it the Fairfax Macacas...
Actually, the local US House Rep for VA's most diverse area, Tom Davis (R) http://tomdavis.house.gov/ , is ironically one of the most pro-diversity local Republicans in VA. I wonder what he has to say.
If something even half-serious can get started using the Macaca label, you could probably get a Wonkette item pretty fast. If something fully serious got started, you could get the big political blogs to pick up on it. If you can make it bipartisan, then even better.
The Daily Show's take on all this can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n50UIRItqWY
Best line: "I don't know what Macaca is, but it sure as shit sounds racist."
Speaking of racial insensitivity in politics, I came across this article today:
Paul R. Nelson suggests Muslim males ought to be singled out, by airport security. "Racial profiling is one way that we can cut down on security risks," said Nelson. Asked how to tell what a Muslim male looks like, Nelson said "well, you know, if he comes in wearing a turban and his name is Mohammed, that's a good start."
Nelson, of Woodville, is challenging incumbent Democrat Ron Kind of La Crosse in the western Wisconsin district.
The t-shirts already on Wonkette.
Language Log continues the etymological debate.
That language log piece is brilliant, Abhi. Well reasoned, and extremely literate.
allen denies he was racist...
umm...yeah...and jindal is a doctor...
Watch this interview of Siddarth on CNN.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBuxjQAVEMY
He DOES have an unusual hairstyle and the mohawk nickname that the Allen staffers gave him seems fair to me. The pictures posted on the most liberal sites deliberately hide this hairstyle. Why?
Did Allen really mean the hair, though? I doubt it. I'm not sure about the "Welcome to America" part, though. It could just be the usual "Real America" shit that people like Allen and John Edwards and other city-haters/"Washington outsiders" regularly churn out.
Ok, this is Kobayashi here, and this is Torpedo Watch.
So the CNN report has taken it to the desired level, and I'd like to declare an end to major combat operations.
There's the statement there, at the end of the CNN piece, that this has received "lots of play largely thanks to the internet." Oh yeah baby. Let me hear you say "Sepia."
Allen, in his own defence has said that he doesn't know what the word means, and that he would never knowingly demean Sidarth. Well, in my opinion, that's only half-untrue. Allen, from what we know of him, would knowingly demean Sidarth, any day of the week (which is why he deserves to be torpedoed).
But (gasp!) I actually believe that he doesn't know what the word means, at least not in the sense of "common slur in Europe for North African, derived from the word macaque." I don't think he knew all that. All he was doing was participating in casual persecution. "You don't belong here, and your name sounds funny." He was race-baiting, in very general terms. I've had my name made into funny syllables too. The neurons might have fired another way and he could have uttered any vaguely "primitive" string of syllables. Bugabuga. Chingchong.
So, all the dictionary wielding this and that is just gulab jamun. After all, Allen didn't call Sidarth "a macaca," he called him "Macaca." He was using it as an insulting invented name, not as a slur. Additional evidence for this is that his target audience doesn't know what the hell he was talking about.
It's just his luck (and ours!) that the nonsense name does exist already as a slur, and a pretty ill one at that. That's why this thing played. Because it was possible to connect it to the pre-existing slur. (It's uncanny how similar this is to Philip Roth's "The Human Stain," but, in that case, the persecuted was innocent of even the lesser crime).
The media is a mindless bitch but, on this occasion, it's our mindless bitch. The fact that the media turned this mental hiccup of casual race-baiting into a specific "brown people are monkeys" is par for the course. It's all part of the persecuting mentality, actually. But I say let Allen get his desserts, just or unjust. He's earned it.
Neither the CNN report, nor your analysis justifying a unilateral declaration of disarmanent and cease fire, mention the following:
(1) the term "macaca" that Allen used doesn't just mean "monkey," it is derived from a term historically used by the French and other Europeans to be racially derogatory toward North Africans.
(2) George Allen's mother is French Tunisian and Allen himself is reportedly fluent in French and would surely have heard the term from her. Are you really going to buy that his use of the term is a coincidence?
(3) Allen has a history of such conduct: Confederate flag pin on his lapel in his high-school yearbook, owned a Confederate flag, noose hanging from a ficus tree in his gubernatorial office, etc.
(4) Allen's campaign manager said Allen used the term but meant "Mohawk," a reference to the victim's haircut. But the haircut is a mullet. And Allen himself has not used that explanation but has claimed he didn't know what he was saying (see number 2, above). The prosecutor in me says these contradictory explanations are bogus.
(5) None of the macaca stuff addresses the "Welcome to America" crap, directed at a second-generation, albeit brown-skinned American, nor the bullying context--that this was said in front of an all-white crowd, friendly to Allen.
Without this context, the media have written a typical "he said, she said" story but have not given readers/viewers enough facts to draw their own conclusions about Allen's true intent.
This story deserves as much play as Mel Gibson continues to get for his antisemitic remarks. As does critical analysis of Allen's explanations and nonapologies: "I'm sorry if you were offended," i.e., "You're too sensitive; it's your fault."
The consequences are even bigger here than with Gibson. This guy is one of the most politically powerful people on the planet. He aspires to be the most powerful person on the planet.
And there is only one solution. Take him down now while you have the chance. Invest in James Webb's candidacy. Don't turn your head and shrug and say, "Well, that was fun. Let's talk about something else." Finish the job.
Ah my favorite metal, irony.
But you know I didn't invent the term, right? Or its wilful misuse...
In any case, Subodh is right: the fight isn't over. Never mind my analysis (which, naturally, I stand by), click on one of the links above and donate to Webb's campaign.
Mr. Kobayashi, my apologies, I think we were talking about two different reports. I was referring to this CNN report on their website, which is totally incomplete. At least a couple of the items on my list were mentioned (although not all) in the video segment referenced in the post above. In either case, I don't think this is over until we have done everything we can to oust George Allen not just for use of the term "macaca" but the entire incident, context, and fact that this was a part of a pattern.
So do it!
The key item that is missing from just about every news report but is all over the web is the connection between "Macaca"... Allen's mom and her heritage...and Allen's mouth.
They could report the facts and let people draw their own conclusions.
and, sorry if this has been said earlier, the Rhesus monkey, which as y'all know is THE dominant monkey in indian towns, is a type of... macaque.
things that make you go "hmmmm!"
the latest spin:
Oh, well THAT makes it ALL better.
I'd donate to Webb cuz "the real America"/fauz working class jig grates me. And all the corresponding inconsistent, intolerant positions that often go hand in hand with that cipher. Only in this country could a filthy rich blue blood laggard pull the Cowboy from Crawford shtick.
But hanging our hopes on this simian slang seems quixotic, what if it comes out that Webb used a derogatory term for the Vietnamese while he served (like a another Presidential hopeful)?, then what???
Denounce Allen for the right reasons, and support Webb for the right reasons.
And my two fave simian anthems: by the Stones and Manu Chao.
Isn't anyone going to comment about the real atrocity here? I'm talking about that ridiculous hairstyle.
What the hell is wrong with some of you? You know damn well he was using this guys race against him and some of you are making excuses for him? I understand that some Indians feel that they must kiss as much ass as possible in this world so as not to perceived as part of "the bad colored people" but sometimes you have to get your head out of your ass and open your eyes.
siddartha #158 - that spin is TOO surreal. Will they just give up already? Go Jim Webb - use my new donation well.
Speaking of simian anthems/tales, my personal fave is the age-old and constantly morphing tale of the Signifying Monkey passed down through African/African-American culture. Everyone from Henry Louis Gates Jr to Dolemite his badself has a take on it...
Here's one of the naughtier versions:
http://members.tripod.com/~mogley/monkey.html
Here's an academic take behind it:
http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/wyrick/debclass/gates.htm
Maybe George Felix will get slapped down like the signifying monkey, oops, i mean MACACA, in the old tale!
Any desi simian tales of note (Hanuman excluded)??
A retraction. Earlier in the day, I wrote:
Yes, I know I take my fairmindedness too far sometimes. But, thinking it over, and reviewing all the available information, I now think Allen's a far more vile a character than I gave him credit for. The noose incident has me sold. The macacafocker knew exactly what he was saying. It wasn't casual or vague. He was referring to a brown man as monkey, and he was counting on the fact that at least some of the people in the audience would appreciate the slur. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if President George Felix Allen enjoyed the occasional night outing in a white robe (and matching mask).
just donate and campaign for webb...
please.. esp if you live/are from virginia...
all america needs are even more idiots to help run the nation...
macacas UNITE!
Kobayashi, the noose is pretty devastating evidence. The guy's explanation for that one? It's not a noose, it's "more of a lasso" that "ha[d] nothing to do with lynching." That explains why it was hanging from a ficus tree.
"Unusual hairstyle"?! That would be a mullet - common among white Americans. Not so common among us macacas.
And macaca sounds so similar to mohawk...
Whats funny is that in India this guy Sidharth would be considered "fair-skinned", "aryan", with "sharp features", "handsome" etc....but in America he is subject to the same racial contempt as black africans.
If I had Sidath following me around like he did George Allen, he would have been called something worse. Sadath was trying to piss off Mr. Allen, and in the process he got called a name--boo hoo----
Hmm, what's interesting is that Senator Allen was one of the first senators to support the US-Indian civil nuclear deal, an early strong proponent, and is on the USINPAC website as addressing the pac in April. His photo on the website along with the statement that he is one of the strongest supporters of the deal. This is very strange.....why if he has visited India and is such a strong proponent did he act in that way? I don't understand people at all.
MD,
Nice that you pointed out that Sen. Allen was a supporter of India-US N-deal. That shows that USINPAC is not some crazy partisan PAC, but its genuinely interested in India related issues.
Thats why I dont understand Abhi et al's hatred for USINPAC. Arent they showing a typical partisan behaviour? If my assertion is true, than why be worked up over IARC's support of Sen. Allen? Arent IARC showing a partisan behaviour?? (Of the house-macaca type, if you ask me :-) )
From MSNBC article on Indian-American's increasing clout, a snippet
From MSNBC article on Indian-American's increasing clout, a snippet
That article states that there are now ~2.3 million IAs in the US. If true, that's quite a jump - 40% or so since the last census.
Yes, Republican overtures to India have endeared them to a lot of browns. It will be interesting to see if it translates into Republican votes. Allen doesn't help, but then, there's Hillary.
Newsflash: SIDARTH (Gosh, it was SO difficult to spell his name right! No wonder you screwed it up twice.) wasn't doing anything unique or shocking; it's now COMMON practice to have someone from your campaign film the public appearances your opponent makes.
For all of our sakes, learn, then type.
Ok, my comment #171 is a little confusing. What I mean is
If anyone has a negative opinion of USINPAC based only and only on partisan lines, than its equivalent to Dr.Vijay's unconditional support to all things Republican.
Also I tried to point out that since USINPAC was in favor of N-deal, but are against Sen.Allen (who is for N-deal) shows that USINPAC is showing independant behaviour and is atleast trying to represent IA issues in the way they are represented in Washington by any other lobbying group.
That in my book is commendable and I say bravo!!
Time for Muslims to get offended. Macaca did he call that Hindu Sidarth 'Mecca'? Blasphemous. Where are u mullahs when we need u?
You can see/listen SR Sidarth explaining the context of the insult on Democracy Now! :
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/22/1421222
This story is killing Allen. This morning's Fox News had two minute section on it only publicizing it more. It won't go away for him. Awesome.
I still don't know what "macaca" really means. But read between the lines: watching the tape, Allen was obviously being condescending and disrespectful to this young man. I think that's what matters. Does he think the opposition isn't watching? A man of integrity may have made light of Mr. Sidarth's presence by saying "we welcome our young friend from the opposition... maybe we'll convert him.." There's never a reason to treat another like Allen did. It may seem small, but I think it gives insight into his personality. Hey, Mr. Sidarth is a "kid", he hasn't made his bones yet, I say, 'Allen, pick on someone your own size.' I used to be a straight down the line Republican, now I just pick the best person. Run Condi, run! What is it with politicians and character?
The National Journal's online site posted Allen's most recent explanation/defense. His explanation is almost as bad as the initial insult:
http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/08/a_new_explanati.html
Based on some of the comments under the article, even the National Journal audience is unimpressed by his explanation.
Macaca does look a little bit like a monkey. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Some of my best friends are simians. Then again, if you follow any primate around long enough, they're bound to hoot at you or at the very least throw insults and maybe some dried caca. During these situations, its always wise to hold up a moment and say to yourself WWDD - what would Darwin do?
This is very strange.....why if he has visited India and is such a strong proponent did he act in that way? I don't understand people at all.
Maybe because he didn't know about Sidarth's Indian pedigree.
Subodh, that was a great op-ed.
I have been dismayed more by the sidestepping of this incident by some in the media, particularly one of my favorites; WSJ.
It's not just Allen's comments but the attitude adopted later by his campaign, the ' it was just mean' comment by Rich Lowry among others that are leaving Indian Republicans chagrined in the face of Indian Democrats' ' I told you so' banter.
That species of monkey is spelled MACAQUE NOT Macaca. The pronunciation is very different. Get your facts right before you start whining please.