Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Virginia's junior senator distinguishes himself once again by pandering to racism...
The Washington Post reports that George Allen referred to one of Jim Webb's campaign "trackers," who was recording an Allen campaign stop on video, as "Macaca" and said "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia," which caused his (lets us know who THEY are) supporters to laugh at the Webb volunteer.
Later, Allen said that "macaca" was not a racial slur (hmm... it is in french tunisia, where Allen's mother is from) but was a contraction of "mohawk" and "caca," therefore meaning "shithead." Allen has a history of seemingly racist actions, dating from his highschool days. And, defending a racist comment by claiming you meant to call someone "shithead" seems like scraping the bottom of the excuse barrell...
Ugly, ugly--and, unlike a very kind (or naive) researcher at UVA, Dr. Bankole Johnson, who excuses racist remarks by those under the influence by saying they "don't understand what they're saying, and they don't mean what they're saying" (in reference to Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks during his arrest), I believe that you can't say 'em if you're not thinking 'em. Alcohol just removes one's inhibitions--makes us forget the social training to NOT to say everything we're thinking.
AND, Allen can't even hide behind this excuse, if excuse it is, unless he wants us to also believe he does his campaigning drunk.
The Washington Post reports that George Allen referred to one of Jim Webb's campaign "trackers," who was recording an Allen campaign stop on video, as "Macaca" and said "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia," which caused his (lets us know who THEY are) supporters to laugh at the Webb volunteer.
Later, Allen said that "macaca" was not a racial slur (hmm... it is in french tunisia, where Allen's mother is from) but was a contraction of "mohawk" and "caca," therefore meaning "shithead." Allen has a history of seemingly racist actions, dating from his highschool days. And, defending a racist comment by claiming you meant to call someone "shithead" seems like scraping the bottom of the excuse barrell...
Ugly, ugly--and, unlike a very kind (or naive) researcher at UVA, Dr. Bankole Johnson, who excuses racist remarks by those under the influence by saying they "don't understand what they're saying, and they don't mean what they're saying" (in reference to Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks during his arrest), I believe that you can't say 'em if you're not thinking 'em. Alcohol just removes one's inhibitions--makes us forget the social training to NOT to say everything we're thinking.
AND, Allen can't even hide behind this excuse, if excuse it is, unless he wants us to also believe he does his campaigning drunk.
