Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Blame His Mama
Let's be glad George Allen doesn't make umbrellas. They'd be full of holes, just like his explanations for the racist slur he used to describe one of his opponent's staffers. As this blog and other outlets reported yesterday, Allen called an Indian-American man "Macaca," a word used to describe monkeys and, in some quarters, people from northern Africa.
Allen has offered two justifications for his racism. First, he claimed to have made up the word and not known its meaning. Unfortunately for Allen, his mother is from Tunisia, a former French colony in North Africa. Mother Allen often taught her children her native tongue, as Allen himself has repeatedly noted in the past. It's easy to conclude that Allen knew exactly what "Macaca" meant when he said it.
Second, Allen has also claimed to be referring to his victim's haircut. He says the man had a Mohawk, and that's what he meant to say. Unfortunately (again) for Allen, his victim was wearing a mullet at the time. That would leave a lot more hair on his head than a Mohawk.
On a related note, some in the GOP have expressed anger that Allen's Democratic opponent would even have a staffer videotaping Allen's speeches. In this situation, however, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Allen has had his own staffers taping the opposition's speeches.
To make matters worse, when Dick Wadhams, Allen's campaign manager, was asked about the incident by the Washington Post, he dismissed the matter with some foul language of his own and said the senator has "nothing to apologize for." Perhaps Dick Wadhams was upset by humor regarding his own name.
Allen has offered two justifications for his racism. First, he claimed to have made up the word and not known its meaning. Unfortunately for Allen, his mother is from Tunisia, a former French colony in North Africa. Mother Allen often taught her children her native tongue, as Allen himself has repeatedly noted in the past. It's easy to conclude that Allen knew exactly what "Macaca" meant when he said it.
Second, Allen has also claimed to be referring to his victim's haircut. He says the man had a Mohawk, and that's what he meant to say. Unfortunately (again) for Allen, his victim was wearing a mullet at the time. That would leave a lot more hair on his head than a Mohawk.
On a related note, some in the GOP have expressed anger that Allen's Democratic opponent would even have a staffer videotaping Allen's speeches. In this situation, however, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Allen has had his own staffers taping the opposition's speeches.
To make matters worse, when Dick Wadhams, Allen's campaign manager, was asked about the incident by the Washington Post, he dismissed the matter with some foul language of his own and said the senator has "nothing to apologize for." Perhaps Dick Wadhams was upset by humor regarding his own name.
