Yesh.com :: Brian Russell

Ed Cone’s blog has a clip from You Tube of Virginia Sen. George Allen (R). In the video Allen insults and harasses an opponents staffer who was video taping him on the campaign trail. Straight into the camera Allen calls the man with the camera, S.R. Sidarth who is of Indian descent, a macaca. This word Allen says three times in the video clip is a racist slur.

Jeffrey Feldman on dailykos writes:

Yesterday, when the news broke that George Allen called someone at a campaign stop a ‘macaca,’ I did some Google searches to find out what it meant. As it turns out, the question is not if ‘macaca’ is a racist term, but which of the three definitions of the word ‘macaca’ did George Allen intend when he used it?

Here are the three choices:

1. ‘Macaca’ - French : racist slang; similar to English ‘nigger,’ used to describe Arabs.
2. ‘Macaca’ - English : racist slang; similar to ‘nigger’ used to describe Arabs.
3. ‘Macaca’ - English : racist slang; used by American white supremacists in ‘insider’ talk about African-Americans.

The media has grabbed this You Tube clip and run with it. More digging by bloggers like Brendan Nyhan have reminded us of Allen’s past. Things like having a noose in a tree in his law office, displaying a confederate flag at his house, etc., etc. Seems like Allen has been attempting some half ass apologies. Watch this sad video clip for yourself. Sick. So sick. I just don’t want it on my blog.

I am so ashamed of my home state of Virginia…