George Allens Choice, Idiot or Racist

[bottomofthehill]

My guess is that George Allen may be a racist but most likely is an idiot. I can believe that he did not know what he was saying (on camera) when he called the Webb Staffer "Macaca".

If I had to guess, there are people on the Allen campain that have a "cute little nickname" for Mr Sidarth, Macaca, and they new what they were saying. Senator Allen in his quest to be like his Idol, Little Lord Pissy Pants went public with the nickname and the rest is history. Is is kind of like when Pissy Pants called out the Blind Reporter at his press conference.

Senator Allen was just stupid enough to repeat it in public with a camera rolling

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Obviously both.

Obviously an idiot, obviously racist.

I don't get why there are people falling over themselves to pretend it he's not a racist.

[verse18]

2. He's both n/t

[shanti]

3. what's in the dark...

eventually comes to the light! shine the light on these roaches!

[Waya]

4. Maybe he's just a racist idiot..............

[Swamp Rat]

5. both n/t

[WI_DEM]

6. I vote both--he's a slightly better looking George W. Bush

[dkofos]

7. I vote both!!

[Dora]

8. Um, he's both. And his racism is not in question.

He has a long history of racist behavior.

[CottonBear]

9. Felix is both a racist and an idiot.

His mother is a French-Tunisian and Felix speaks French. Macaca is a racial slur used by white, French-Tunisian colonists and other French speaking racists when referring to some one with dark skin.

[Behind the Aegis]

13. Very interesting.

Thanks for the explanation! I had never heard of anyone calling anyone else a "macaca," much less a 'macaque.' I don't even think most people know what a macaque is. When I first saw the word, the story broke, I thought it was some type of Spanish slang for "shit." :crazy:

Again, thanks for the meaning. I enjoy knowing where words, including insults, originate! :toast:

[Kingshakabobo]

17. Bingo....

I have a feeling he thought he was using an obscure slur that no one else would pick up. Sort of his own inside joke.

I used to work for an Italian American person who would call customers "gornudu"(sp?) to their face and he would do it with a smile.

Gornudu(sp?) is a man whose wife cheats on him and he knows it but doesn't do anything about it....a real jag-off. It was his little passive-aggressive inside joke.

Poor old George forgot about the internets.

[never_get_over_it]

27. There are no coincidences

I absolutely believe he knew what it meant - meant to say it and thought we were too stupid to figure it out - and I think your inside joke is a perfect analogy - it fascinates me that there have been people at DU who know of the French Tunisian connection and still think he probably didn't know what it means - I'm just not that generous - no one will ever convince me that he didn't know that this was a racial slur - given the other accounts of his racism - and his mother being French Tunisian - if anything he gave the name to his campaign staff and they didn't know what it meant - because I have to imagine most Americans didn't have a clue about macaca until this story hit.

Wouldn't it be fabulous if his sister who wrote the book came forward and told us that yes indeed their mommy did teach them macaca... maybe we should do a word search on the book and see if its in there....

[wellst0nev0ter]

28. Hell, That "Idiot" Speaks Fluent French

Of course his mother taught him all she knows, and since even now the French have a habit of calling black/Arab soccer players "macaques" during the games, I'm confident he knows exactly what he's saying.

[cigsandcoffee]

10. Both, it seems.

He sounds like a real moron.

[gademocrat7]

11. He is both. And according to his sister Jennifer he is a violent man.

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. Buy one, get one free.

What a deal.

[KurtNYC]

14. Sidarth had followed his campaign for a couple weeks

so it is hard to think this was just off the cuff. It wasn't like he was surprised to see him there and he had weeks to get over being pissed about being videotaped all the time (it is SOP for many campaigns). That kind of leaves him doing it on purpose.

Sadly, there may be many among his base who think this whole thing is hoot. To their mind 'Allen has gotten all the liberals and the liberal media mad as hornets' and he can wear that like a badge of perverse honor. The dynamic is similar to when we call B*sh an idiot or point out his grammatical mistakes--it only endears him to idiots and the whole anti-intellectual crowd.

It would be far more damaging to B*sh's connection to his have-not base if we kept talking about what a dandy little college boy he is, how Lamont won in B*sh's home state of Connecticut, etc. Similarly, now that Allen has apologized, his base would probably hate to hear him called a multi-culturalist.

[kurth]

15. A person unworthy of any public office

beyond preponderance of evidence.

[goodhue]

16. a racist idiot

[Jim__]

18. Allen is both!

[countingbluecars]

19. After watching the video

several times, I am convinced that Allen is a racist. I think we saw the real George Allen, comfortable among like minded good old boy types. His words, tone of voice, and dismissive hand gestures as he referred to the young man are all the proof I need. He is also an idiot.

[Beelzebud]

20. The guy had a confederate flag in his office for years. Racist...

Heritage my ass.

I'd be ashamed of a heritage that included nailing black people to trees and setting them on fire.

[muntrv]

21. What did he think of his father coaching black players?

That they were slaves and his father was the master?

[justjones]

22. Don't racists automatically qualify as idiots.....

There's no way Allen didn't know what the word "macaca" meant.

There's no "or" in this equation. Calling him an idiot instead of a bonafide racist is once again excusing despicable racist behavior.

[bottomofthehill]

23. Both seems to be the most popular answer

[redherring]

24. The word "macaca" wasn't as offensive as this line right here

"Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia"

He automatically assumed Sidarth was a foreigner based only on how he looked. The word "macaca" seems to have been misspoken, but this line right here is more offensive, IMHO.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

25. Can't get anything by you, huh?

;-)

[lonestarnot]

26. He should be finished as a bigoted racist idiot.

[Generic Brad]

29. I vote racist

I disagree with Allen on virtually everything that comes out of his mouth, but I think he knew exactly what he was saying in this instance. He intended to humiliate and hurt Mr. Sidarth by ridiculing him publicly. Judging by the numerous and inadequate apologies and explanations we have heard to date, it is obvious Allen is upset about being exposed as a racist. There has not been any public remorse. He is not an idiot. He is just a mean spirited bully.