Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over?

[lagilman]

excerpted from an e-mail I just got from Move-On (an organization with whom I have a number of disagreements but they do get the word out on stuff):


"On Friday, Republican Senator George Allen sank to a new low. At a campaign stop the senator singled out the only non-white member of the audience--S.R. Sidarth, a young Indian-American volunteering for his opponent and called him "macaca" (a racial slur meaning 'monkey').1 He went on to say, "welcome to America." As it happens, Mr. Sidarth was born and raised in Virginia."
...

Unfortunately, this isn't the first incident of its kind. Sen. Allen--who's a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008--has a long history of demeaning minorities. Here are just a few examples of his racial hostility.2

* He used to display a noose--hanging from a tree--in his law offices.
* When running for governor he admitted to displaying the confederate flag in his home.
* As governor, he proclaimed April as "Confederate Heritage and History Month" and issued a proclamation calling the civil war "a struggle for independence and sovereign rights" (the statement did not condemn slavery).
* He opposed the creation of a holiday commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.

All of this would be bad enough if Senator Allen were a small-time politician. But he's running in one of the key Senate races, and currently, he's ahead.

The media is watching this story closely and you can help show that ordinary Americans are ready to stand up for each other when a powerful man uses race to divide us. Can you sign the petition today?

http://political.moveon.org/withdrawallen

---------------
Sources:

1. "'Macaca' or 'Macaque'," Jefferey Feldman at MyDD, Monday, August 14, 2006
http://mydd.com/story/2006/8/14/17325/4950

2. "George Allen's Race Problem," The New Republic, April 27, 2006
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060508&s=lizza050806

Comments

[windrose.livejournal.com]

People like George Allen make me ashamed to be Southern. We're not all racist asshats, I swear!

[tru2myart.livejournal.com]

Done. Thanks for the info.

[tru2myart.livejournal.com]

*looks at your icon...can't resist* Run away, run away!! *coconuts clopping*

Sorry, had to do it. Carry on.

[booraven22.livejournal.com]

The Daily Show did a GREAT take on this. Even the hubby was appalled at the gall of this fucktard!

::headdesk::

[bill-leisner.livejournal.com]

Oh, but it gets even better.

The next day, his staff tried to explain Allen wasn't calling the guy a monkey; he was calling him a shithead instead! (http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/08/a_new_explanati.html) That makes him a lot more likeable, no?

[neadods.livejournal.com]

That makes him a lot more likeable, no?

Along with his "I'm sorry you're offended" pseudo-apology delivered to the newspapers instead of the insulted man and his PR person's letter in today's fishwrap saying "Look, Allen just got his name wrong, it was an innocent mistake. Let's move on."

[ferragus.livejournal.com]

One of the reasons I was glad to leave Virginia

Not that AZ is that much better, it's just I'm not as jaded by the whole thing yet.

[kalligraphy.livejournal.com]

This is the same senator to whom I wrote a letter expressing my disapproval of the marriage amendment. I explained that as one of his constituents, I would find it impossible to support a politician who was in favor of writing bigotry into the constitution. That in my opinion, such a person was unfit the job. The response I got back was a form letter informing me that Senator Allen felt the exact same way I did and that was why he was voting for the Amendment. Goes to show what kind of representation this guy provides to his constituents. God there are things I hate about Virginia.

[lagilman]

The response I got back was a form letter informing me that Senator Allen felt the exact same way I did and that was why he was voting for the Amendment

Please tell me you spread word of this around? With copies of both letters?

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

George Allen is one of the main reasons northern Virginia wants to secede from the rest of the state. (The other is we feel like DC around presidential election time--taxation without representation.) I still want to know why the *insert appropriate insult here* in the southern part of the state felt being the son of a football coach qualified this jerk for elective office in the first place.
Oh yeah, I remember: he promised a fake personal property tax cut that only applied to people who bought new Hummers. *user shakes head* People can be so dumb about their best interests, especially when the magic words "tax cut" are mentioned. They never do the math.
I'd like to think this will bring him down, but unfortunately, I know better. *user shakes head*
JM

[greeneyedkzin.livejournal.com]

I've actually seen this story all over the place in print and electronic media. Petition duly signed.

I think this is what happens after too many years of privilege and "cancha take a joke har har har" and "what's the matter with you, are you PC or liberal or something?"

Time to take back the country.

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

Holy shit. He almost sounds worse than Rick Santorum.

[jacardie.livejournal.com]

Done! I find myself unable to come up with just the right word to describe him. Or more accurately, I find myself unable to narrow the choices down.