bizarre George Allen "macaca" incident
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  bizarre George Allen "macaca" incident
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Alcon
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« Reply #25 on: August 15, 2006, 01:09:28 AM »

Cute.  Very cute.

Sorry, but whether he was behaving like a bullying six-year-old and using words he didn't understand or was actually intending a racial slur, there's just no way that this was anything but deeply pathetic.
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Smash255
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« Reply #26 on: August 15, 2006, 01:11:37 AM »

Cute.  Very cute.

Sorry, but whether he was behaving like a bullying six-year-old and using words he didn't understand or was actually intending a racial slur, there's just no way that this was anything but deeply pathetic.


^^^^^^
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minionofmidas
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« Reply #27 on: August 15, 2006, 02:35:03 AM »

Cute.  Very cute.

Sorry, but whether he was behaving like a bullying six-year-old and using words he didn't understand or was actually intending a racial slur, there's just no way that this was anything but deeply pathetic.
I think he meant to be racist and showing off at the same time - you know, using a word nobody would recognize. Possibly hoping to get away with it on that account as well.
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MODU
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« Reply #28 on: August 15, 2006, 08:57:33 AM »

I was at the Webb campaign office when I heard about this, so of course many of our minority campaign workers were outraged.  The person he called a "macaca" was S.R. Sidarth, a University of Virginia student who was videotaping Allen's statements for the Webb campaign.  It wasn't just the comment that Allen made that made this act in bad taste.  It was because he was speaking to an all-white audience in a backwoods town (Breaks, Va.) and purposely singled Sidarth out because of his minority status and ridiculed him for working with Webb.  He said, "Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia." 

The comment was totally uncalled for, and it also shows how much of an idiot George Allen can be at times.  Unfortunately, depending on how the media covers this incident, it's not likely to affect Allen's lead by much.



I'm a big Allen fan (as you all know), but I agree.  This was one of the times where Allen got carried away with the moment and said something stupid.  I doubt it will have a lasting impact on anything though.  He'll wear his public "Dunce" cap for a week and it will most likely be forgotten by the end of the month.
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jokerman
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« Reply #29 on: August 15, 2006, 10:11:26 AM »

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Lol, he sounds like a child.
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Akno21
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« Reply #30 on: August 15, 2006, 12:47:30 PM »

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Lol, he sounds like a child.
Or like that Italian player who claimed he didn't know what a terrorist was.
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Giant Saguaro
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« Reply #31 on: August 15, 2006, 01:26:34 PM »

Not a big deal. A stupid comment based on the idea that he felt shadowed and that he apologized for. Time to move on. Unless one wants to grasp at straws, of course, because their candidate is losing. And a person can do that, fine, that's politics. But to say something like this makes him "not qualified" is the bitterest partisanship of bitter partisanship. Come on. And if that's the case, okay, whatever you are doing, whoever you are, as soon as an insensitive thought or comment or something flashes through your head, you're not qualified to be doing whatever you're doing because chances are you are interacting with people on a daily basis. Because that's how I read the partisans' reaction to this - it's not the comment itself as much as the principle that allegedly behind it.
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Virginian87
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« Reply #32 on: August 15, 2006, 01:54:07 PM »

It seems it has gotten a lot of coverage.  Hannity and Colmes is showing the clip.  I think George Allen is stupid, racist, hateful and incompetent to serve in the US Senate - he deserves to lose for this remark alone and its sad that what many suspect is true; racism hasn't really gone away in America.

Do you know what other politicians are saying behind minority groups backs? No, neither do I, so I wouldn't go off just condemning one man for an insult (against a UVA student of all things Tongue). How many of those rich folks either Republican or Democrat want to deal with lowly blacks, blue collar whites are any group they aren't "as good as them"?

I'm sorry States, but I find that statement to be ridiculous.  I believe that some, repeat some, minority-rights groups go too far (especially whenever any African American groups praise Black Panther and Malcolm X-style rhetoric), but that doesn't mean that rich politicians (like Allen) don't want to deal with them. 

Furthermore, I don't see how your argument is valid since you included "blue collar whites" as a group that rich politicians don't want to deal with.  When Allen made these remarks, he was in Breaks, Va., a small town literally tucked away in the mountains by the Kentucky border.  The small group of Virginians that Allen was speaking to was decidedly working class and white.  In fact, this area of Virginia has been hit hardest economically in recent decades.  It really makes no sense why these people would possibly support Allen, even if you take the gun issue into account, since Webb is an ardent advocate of 2nd Amendment rights.  But I'll leave that to those voters to decide.

And come on, let's leave the UVA-VPI football rivalry out of this.
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Virginian87
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« Reply #33 on: August 15, 2006, 01:58:12 PM »

I was at the Webb campaign office when I heard about this, so of course many of our minority campaign workers were outraged.

Thanks for volunteering, bro. Webb is a helluva candidate. I like him a lot.

Thank you, and I agree fully that Webb is a fantastic candidate for Virginia.  Unfortunately, Allen has nearly twelve times as much cash on hand.  I'm hoping this incident will snowball (it was on the front page of the Washington Post and Richmond Times-Dispatch) so maybe Webb can get a chance to pull up with his opponent. 

An interesting sidenote is that here in the Webb campaign it's become popular to bring out George Allen's hitherto little-known middle name.  Almost every public announcement or campaign message refers to Webb's opponent as George Felix Allen.
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StatesRights
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« Reply #34 on: August 15, 2006, 02:11:28 PM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.
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Virginian87
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« Reply #35 on: August 15, 2006, 02:15:13 PM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

It's a Belgian/French ethnic slur for people of dark-skinned North African descent.  Allen probably heard the word from his mother, who is an immigrant from French colonial Tunisia (she is of French descent).  What's funny is that Sidarth (I've actually met this guy) isn't even North African at all, but Indian instead.
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MarkWarner08
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« Reply #36 on: August 15, 2006, 02:28:21 PM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

It's a Belgian/French ethnic slur for people of dark-skinned North African descent.  Allen probably heard the word from his mother, who is an immigrant from French colonial Tunisia (she is of French descent).  What's funny is that Sidarth (I've actually met this guy) isn't even North African at all, but Indian instead.

This is George Allen's "George Romney moment," a stupid comment that ruins a Republican Presidential contender's chances.
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MODU
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« Reply #37 on: August 15, 2006, 04:19:28 PM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

From listening to the news, that might be the version of the word used.  Appearantly there is another word spelled differently which sounds the same as macaca (which I haven't found yet) as well.  While Allen probably didn't know the word he was saying (since it is a word his staff used to describe "the kid"), he shouldn't have said it none-the-less.

Speaking of "the kid," it is a bit funny how the Webb campaign spokesperson came to the defense of Sidarth.  She said "The kid has a name . . . [this] is trying to demean him, to minimize him as a person."  LINK  I don't think she did Sidarth any favors with that comment.  Tongue  Of course, Sidarth didn't do himself any with "I was the only person of color there, and it was useful for him in inciting his audience." (Also the same link.)  Welcome to politics.

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Eraserhead
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« Reply #38 on: August 15, 2006, 04:43:54 PM »

Well at least this will help Webb break out the non-white vote that went for Miller so heavily in the Democratic primary.
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Mr. Morden
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« Reply #39 on: August 15, 2006, 05:24:45 PM »

Allen is now tanking at Tradesports in the 2008 presidential contest.  Just in the last 24 hours, he's dropped from a 16% to a 12% chance of getting the GOP nomination, taking him from second place to fourth place (now behind McCain, Giuliani, and Romney).  Webb is also on the upswing in the 2006 VA Senate race, though of course Allen is still heavily favored in that.
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Frodo
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« Reply #40 on: August 15, 2006, 07:58:44 PM »

I'm embarassed I ever voted for this dimwit in the first place.  Tongue
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Eraserhead
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« Reply #41 on: August 15, 2006, 10:31:27 PM »

I'm embarassed I ever voted for this dimwit in the first place.  Tongue

Why did you?
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Monty
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« Reply #42 on: August 15, 2006, 11:57:07 PM »

This pretty much kills Allen's presidential chances, considering his other baggage.  Leno and Letterman would have a field day with him.
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StatesRights
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« Reply #43 on: August 16, 2006, 01:04:56 AM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

It's a Belgian/French ethnic slur for people of dark-skinned North African descent.  Allen probably heard the word from his mother, who is an immigrant from French colonial Tunisia (she is of French descent).  What's funny is that Sidarth (I've actually met this guy) isn't even North African at all, but Indian instead.

Ok, but I still don't know what it means. It seems to be as fairly harmless as  the term "cracker".
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Tender Branson
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« Reply #44 on: August 16, 2006, 01:44:54 AM »

I was watching his comment and then found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAeOZ7WCyiA

That´s funny Smiley
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nlm
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« Reply #45 on: August 16, 2006, 06:46:58 AM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

It's a Belgian/French ethnic slur for people of dark-skinned North African descent.  Allen probably heard the word from his mother, who is an immigrant from French colonial Tunisia (she is of French descent).  What's funny is that Sidarth (I've actually met this guy) isn't even North African at all, but Indian instead.

Ok, but I still don't know what it means. It seems to be as fairly harmless as  the term "cracker".

I believe it literally means Monkey - you know, like Howard Cosell's "look at that monkey run". But it can be used similar to the word "niger" in french.

It was a dumb thing to say. A friend of mine inside the Allen campaign said George really didn't know what the words meaning was, he just picked it up from some of his staff that did, that used it to refer to the young man. Using slang terms one doesn't understand in public really isn't that bright, most notably for somebody in politics. The whole "welcome to America" thing was all George though, and that has it's own context and insinuations, and when added to the slur makes George seem fairly racist on the surface.
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Sam Spade
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« Reply #46 on: August 16, 2006, 08:04:49 AM »

I wonder if I should replay my quote from a few months ago about George Allen having no chance in the Presidential primaries.  Smiley

Not like this will really do anything to him in the Senate race, depending on much the media pump it up and how much he allows them to pump it up.

Anyway, a lol moment, definitely.
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StatesRights
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« Reply #47 on: August 16, 2006, 11:51:07 AM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

It's a Belgian/French ethnic slur for people of dark-skinned North African descent.  Allen probably heard the word from his mother, who is an immigrant from French colonial Tunisia (she is of French descent).  What's funny is that Sidarth (I've actually met this guy) isn't even North African at all, but Indian instead.

Ok, but I still don't know what it means. It seems to be as fairly harmless as  the term "cracker".

I believe it literally means Monkey - you know, like Howard Cosell's "look at that monkey run". But it can be used similar to the word "niger" in french.

Thank you for giving me the definition. Smiley Probably a dumb thing to say in public when you really don't understand the word, but IMHO people are way to hypersensitive these days anyhow.
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opebo
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« Reply #48 on: August 16, 2006, 11:58:23 AM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

It's a Belgian/French ethnic slur for people of dark-skinned North African descent.  Allen probably heard the word from his mother, who is an immigrant from French colonial Tunisia (she is of French descent).  What's funny is that Sidarth (I've actually met this guy) isn't even North African at all, but Indian instead.

Ok, but I still don't know what it means. It seems to be as fairly harmless as  the term "cracker".

I believe it literally means Monkey - you know, like Howard Cosell's "look at that monkey run". But it can be used similar to the word "niger" in french.

Thank you for giving me the definition. Smiley Probably a dumb thing to say in public when you really don't understand the word, but IMHO people are way to hypersensitive these days anyhow.

Oh yes, it was much better when they had to grin and bear it, or get lynched from a tree.
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nlm
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« Reply #49 on: August 16, 2006, 01:12:16 PM »

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

It's a Belgian/French ethnic slur for people of dark-skinned North African descent.  Allen probably heard the word from his mother, who is an immigrant from French colonial Tunisia (she is of French descent).  What's funny is that Sidarth (I've actually met this guy) isn't even North African at all, but Indian instead.

Ok, but I still don't know what it means. It seems to be as fairly harmless as  the term "cracker".

I believe it literally means Monkey - you know, like Howard Cosell's "look at that monkey run". But it can be used similar to the word "niger" in french.

Thank you for giving me the definition. Smiley Probably a dumb thing to say in public when you really don't understand the word, but IMHO people are way to hypersensitive these days anyhow.

While I think the whole PC thing has gone way too far. I also think that if I were standing in a crowd of black people, listening to a black Senator, and was singled out and called a term that was slang for white trash or something to that effect that I would be less than pleased. I imagine you would be less than pleased as well if you were in that situation. So, from that perspective I think Allen deserves some bad PR and a rough couple of news cycles.

Like I said it was a dumb thing for him to do. And Allen's follow up about mowhawks and the like have been pretty lame and make him look fairly dishonest.
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