The Washington Post carries an op-ed this morning by none other than the Macaca himself. Shekar Ramanuja (S.R.) Sidarth speaks:
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So What’cha What’cha What’cha Want? |
…on Aug. 11, my experience took a strange — and now famous — turn. On that day in Breaks Interstate Park, located on the Kentucky border, Allen acknowledged my presence for the first time in one of his stump speeches. I was singled out at a GOP picnic, identified as “macaca or whatever his name is” — despite the fact that Allen knew my name, as we had been traveling the same route for five days — and then “welcome[d] to America and the real world of Virginia.”Allen’s actions that day stood out because they were not representative of how I was treated while traveling around the state. Everywhere I went, though I was identifiably working on behalf of Allen’s opponent, people treated me with dignity, respect and kindness. I cannot recall one event where food was served and I was not invited to join in the meal. In southwest Virginia, hospitality toward me was at a high point. [Link]
Heaping praise upon the state and people of Virginia? Hmmm. Sounds like something that a politician would do. Maybe he will run in 20 years. Also, at long last Sidarth reveals the one crucial piece of information that we’ve been waiting months to hear:
After Allen’s remarks, my heritage suddenly became a matter of widespread interest. I am proud to be a second-generation Indian American and a practicing Hindu. My parents were born and raised in India and immigrated here more than 25 years ago; I have known no home other than Northern Virginia. The hairstyle inflicted upon me by two friends late one night also became newsworthy; for the record, it was intended to be a mullet and has since grown out to nearly the appropriate length. [Link]
And finally, Sidarth notes something about the “Real Virginia:”
The politics of division just don’t work anymore. Nothing made me happier on election night than finding out the results from Dickenson County, where Allen and I had our encounter. Webb won there, in what I can only hope was a vote to deal the race card out of American politics once and for all. [Link]
