SM readers Kabes and Sriram let us know that the NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee) have made weak Lemon Drops out of the lemons they received from the stupendously-awful erstwhile Senator from Virginia, George Allen. Allen, if you have been in a coma, tried to get re-elected last year. He had a great chance– until he dissed a desi and was outted for the bigot he is. Losing bad. Winning good. To that end:
The Macaca moment has morphed into an official learning tool for the Republican establishment.
It’s right there, on pages 18 and 22 of an Internet guide from the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee that its chairman, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), hopes will become scripture for the 2008 candidates…
The guidebook, 39 pages long and distributed last week to GOP Senate campaigns, underscores attempts by Republicans to level the Web-based playing field after Democrats, in Ensign’s view, leveraged their Internet savvy into electoral wins. Republicans remain almost haunted by their 2006 missteps, particularly the way the macaca incident exposed chasms in their new media campaign strategy.
Two years after their peers across the aisle recognized the need to reach out to and monitor online communications, the G.O.P. are having a “Eureka!” moment:
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” said Matthew Miller, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “I’m glad the NRSC discovered the Internet in 2007.” [Politico]
And discover they did. The guide tackles YouTube (predictable), MySpace (porntastic), Facebook (yeah, that’s just creepy) and it urges candidates to make like Oprah and get personal, especially on a video blog (does anyone use the term “vlog”??). With the alacrity of a sloth, the G.O.P. have realized that rather than merely consider the “internets” a punchline to an anti-Gore joke, they need to wake up to Web 2.0.
DCist doesn’t think that the guide gets it at all:
But the real problem is that the “macaca” moment is hardly a “paradigmatic example” of the need for an “early warning system.” The “macaca” moment is a paradigmatic example of the need to not run candidates whose disturbing racial worldviews lead them to say crazy-ass things that make ordinary voters feel all sick to their soul. To say nothing of not running candidates who think their magic football will distract people from finding out that they are cornpone douchebags. [DCist]
I consummately agree.
You know, I could have saved the NRSC a ton of trouble and time. Instead of 39 pages of Allen-inspired instructions, try these five magical words; be ye not an idiot. The world is watching and the blogs are buzzing. Today, there is no mercy for the stupid.
Seriously, what kind of perv over 24 would join Facebook?
totally off-subject but that lemon drops recipe looks great!
what cuties! I’m glad you reprinted it b/c I missed the pic the first time you had it on SM – makes me want to have a kid now.
This one, or this one? 🙂
HA. hilarious. a guidline to not allow your racism to bubble over into your words. But I think the reps have been trying this type of advice for years: That is, be racist, but don’t tell anyone.
Yeah I found it fascinating that he had to spell out not to make rascist jokes, but not surprising.
This is almost as good as Hillary spotting Gandhi’s gas station down in St. Louis!
Yep, HMF. Haven’t things like “eliminating voter fraud”, strategic location of polling booths to make it more difficult for blacks to vote, and many other tactical moves been an integral part of republican party strategy? Not to mention ads like the one Bob Corker ran against Harold Ford, or Bush 2000 ran against McCain 1.0 (“Oh my god, he’s got a mulatto baby”).
It’s worked well for them, only now, they have a chance of getting caught even when they’re just among friends (like Trent Lott with Thurmond – although I guess Lott is back now that racism has been ended in the US, or Allen with his cheering and laughing Virginia crowd). Well, I’m sure evolution will select for better chameleons, that’s all.
Well, what’s good for the goose is also good for the Hillary and the Joe Biden, I guess.
hema, do you really believe that? What killed Allen was not his calling Siddhart macaca, but the fact that it amplified and provided concrete evidence of a 40 year long history of racism.
Not at all similar to when Hillary or Biden make a bad joke about Gandhi or Dunkin’ Donuts. The crime there is not against color, it is against humor. Although, I’d be much happier if Hillary stopped doing the drawl in Southern churches…
i almost agree. i’m looking into some non-commital form of adoption – maybe renting? (btw, that is completely a joke – i am a big champion of adoption, for real). those kids are adorable. and may i add, very dravidian-looking.
this is a rather stupid question, but SM is the first place where i have heard macaca being used on a regular basis, mostly in abhi’s posts. however, allen’s use of the word, obviously, improper. does macaca occupy the same place in desi society as n—-r in AA society? sorry, but i am always late in getting down with the lingo, desi or otherwise.
Oh, my parents called me maccu long before that!
hema, do you really believe that?
Rahul, no. My point is really that while bigots like Allen do ultimately experience some sort of backlash, people like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden don’t seem to experience a similar sort of desi backlash. Part of that is because of what you said already: there isn’t necessarily a documented history of bigotry with Clinton and Biden.
On the other hand, their glib pronouncements on cab drivers and convenience store owners shows that they’re just as capable of engaging in unnecessary racial/ethnic stereotyping as anyone else. It’s only a short drive to macaca-ville, if you will.
Thanks for the shout, ANNA!
no, not even close. And I keep saying that when people ask this question, they usually end up answering it themselves. Why do they censor the n-word (by saying thingsl ike ‘the N-word’) and not the “comparison word” ?
HMF, it’s funny you mention that test. There was an NPR program a couple of days ago on the 40th anniversary of the Loving decision, and covered current white-black interracial couples in Virginia. They reported on an interview with the white wife of one such couple, and said that, “People in her town called her wigger, and I’m guessing you know what that means.”. I found that extremely amusing.
Not if you have a Madras auto driver on the meter, and you’re new in town! 🙂
No self-respecting Madras auto driver is ever on the meter anymore, so you must be new in town! 🙂
I reread my comment on #16 (because I do such things), and realized that I could clarify: I found NPR’s tiptoeing amusing, not the abuses.
I know, hema. It completely screws up their erstwhile incentive structure to give you an unguided tour around town.
well, at least we’re taking responsibility instead of suppressing the free speech of the other side.
where is this?
“you will get hurt”
HMF, i used that comparison only because AAs use it amongst themselves jokingly (and otherwise) but it’s off-limits to all non-AAs. re self-censoring, i err on the side of caution when it comes to other cultures, for exactly the reason i stated above. though, i have to say, after a chappelle-show marathon, it took me days to stop thinking it.
The Daily Show, as usual, nails it here.
Personally, I don’t subscribe to the notion of unmentionable words, but tend to think of statements as offensive/funny/silly in context. I also tend to be more forgiving of statements, if they are born from ignorance, rather than malice. For example, I get less upset about the Meiyang Chang Indian Idol fiasco than many other people on this board, I think.
(But that’s different than deciding whether I use such words, because other people have different boundaries).
Rahul,
About the NPR tiptoeing:
“People in her town called her wigger, and I’m guessing you know what that means.”. Michelle Norris is the one who said it. She’s AA…
oka…where do i get my paws on one of those tees? i want me one for my little nik!
okay, not oka.
Interesting tidbit, diaboli #26. I didn’t know that, but it’s not surprising given the general unacceptability of the n-word in polite company.
unless it’s their name
For me and other Indians who put up diaries and comments on liberal sites lie MYDD or DKOS, the problem I had with Allen’s behavior went beyond the Macaca comment which was juvenile. It had to do with his “WELCOME TO VIRGINIA” comment to a guy who was more native to VA than Allen himself. But since he is not white, he is looked upon as not really American. To conservative republicans, it seems like the only real Americans are white Americans or sellout Uncle Toms(of all races, including Indians lke Dinesh) who have nothing to do with Massachusetts.
I always have a slight moment of hesitation when people ask me what my nationality is instead of what my ancestry or origin is. And this bothers me despite my move to India during my middle school years(due to some family situation). Imagine someone who was born and lived here all his or her life having to face a question phrased that way all the time.
people specifically ask you what your nationality is? people always ask me where i’m from – and most of the time they mean ancestry. i always say NY – since that’s the sort of answer they would expect if they’re asking a ‘real’ american.
That skit was hilarious, and Chappelle is pure genius. Makes me snigger every time!
ak, it varies. In the south, that was asked more of me compared to cities in the north. And this was more common in the 80s. And I have noticed that was asked of some of my Indian American friends too. I learned not to get bothered by it if someone still asks me. I just reply using the word Indian origin. Anyway, with the world getting so interconnected, I am not getting that attached to the term anyway.
Rahul, in that same radio story, the white wife clearly said she was called a “fucking nigger lover” the only word that was censored was “fucking”. Would you call that tiptoeing…? Personally I was surprised the whole epithet wasn’t bleeped beyond recognition, everyone in radio is tiptoeing around the FCC rules right now. Some classical music station’s are worried to announce Bach’s Air on the G-string…I find that hilarious!
The only non-commital form of adoption I can attest to is when your mom has a baby when you are your teens – like me! Had so much playing mom with my parttime adoptee – 🙂
allan calls a desi macacca and implies he’s not american. you call a them uncle tom and imply they’re not desi. hello pot, meet kettle…you two have a lot in common.
no actually that’s quite wrong. If you read his comment he refered to Dinesh D’Souza (but if he didn’t and you know who he was referring to, please let me know). D’Souza, in his book regarding the end of racism, devoted a large part of it to making the point that there is a hierarchy of cultures (European #1, everyone else in descending order) and that it is okay to recognize (although not for him, in a public manner, since he would instantly be branded a bigoted fool) this ‘fact’ in any debate.
Leaving aside the rather problematic use of the word ‘culture’ to refer to practices not borne of a single source but many, one can reasonably make the assumption that he, like many noble and dignified racists before him, believes that white people are more worthy than brown people who are more worthy than black people and so on…
granted he named dd, but was clearly referring to a group of people of whom dd is just a part:
i see no reason why condi rice, clarence thomas, or michael steele would not fit this bill. do conservative american not consider them american? perhaps Pravin can name names.
i haven’t read the book, but i don’t think believing in a hierarchy of cultures makes one racist or uncle tom, though it clearly intersects with racism (but hey, so does oppossing outsoucing and does that make kennedy anti-indian?). in fact, arguing cultural superiority to explain a freer or wealthier civilization would be a counter argument to racists, who would see these civilizations as proof of an innate racial superiority as opposed to social and governemntal constructions that can be grafted onto any race or society.
Furthermore, he wasn’t necessarily questioning their desi-ness, he was stating the conservatives only care about them when they themselves deny their desiness, or the value of that collective experience, or downplay it in favor of a “we’re all equal in the eyes of this perfect American society” attitude.
first of all, pravin used the term “uncle tom” which in this context referred to black conservatives (of whom he declined to name). only then does he bring in the other races (“of all races”) and only after that does he mention brother dinish: “including Indians lke Dinesh”
in a world where liberal cartoonist pat oliphant has portrayed condi rice as a big lipped parrot, where gen powell is called a house nigger, and where clarance thomas was subjected to a high tech lynching…i call out pravin on his racism, first aimed at blacks, secondly aimed at indians who stray off his liberal plantantion.
maybe pravin just got carried away and didn’t think it thru, but that was as racist as anything allan said.
in fact, arguing cultural superiority to explain a freer or wealthier civilization would be a counter argument to racists, who would see these civilizations as proof of an innate racial superiority as opposed to social and governemntal constructions that can be grafted onto any race or society.
Ok, I read this three times, but I’m still scratching my head. How is this a counter argument to racists? If I understand you correctly, you’re saying that cultural superiority is completely distinct from racial superiority, and I don’t think that’s actually true…and neither is it the point that D’Souza is making.
When I meant Uncle Tom, I was being a little sloppy with the wordplay. It did not mean that if you adopted a lot of white culture(as quite a few of us tend to do, including yours truly when it comes to music, accent, etc.) , you are an automatic Uncle Tom. A black person who speaks with what is known as a “white” accent is not an Uncle Tom in my book. FOr me, Judge Clarence THomas is an Uncle Tom, but while I lost a lot of respect for Condi Rice, I do not think she is an Uncle Tom. It’s a pretty loaded word to use and I probably should have used it more carefully. But someone like Dinesh is too smart to write some of the nonsensical stuff I see from him. I just think he and the Malkins finds it easy to ingratiate themselves to the conservative white establishment.
Someone like the guy from Louisiana – BObby Jindal is an Uncle Tom in my book. And it has nothing to do with the way he lives his personal life. Hell, I do not go to Indian gatherings. So who am I to judge based on where one wants to congregate. But I will not be embarassed by my origin. Jindal seems to have no problem using his Indian network to get funds, but seems to take the trouble to distance himself from Indian stuff (everything from his name change to his non reference to Indians when it comes to replying to a question on diversity) a little too easily. And while he may have a legitimate reason to convert to Christianity, I wonder if it was more of a way to assimilate than any true conviction. (I am an athiest, so I could care less what religion a person follows).
Anyway, my main point is quite a few white people of Allen’s ilk have this idea of who are the real americans. They glorify American values while bashing Massachusetts liberals at the same time as if their values are not really American. They see an Indian American and see an Indian. This is obviously a generalization and there are many exceptions, of course.
actually i said they intersect, but i can easily see how one can thread carefully and make the cultural superiority argument without crossing into racism. ie, japan is superior to the sudan not becouse of any genetic superiority of the japanese, but becuase of historical circumstance they have embraced a form of liberal democracy.
…but I know in my heart of hearts that dinesh d’souza isn’t a blatant racist because he’s such a ‘free-thinker’ he’s stuffed literally half of his torso up Reagan’s dead rectum.
read the book! Be a witness to your swelling pride as Dinesh tells you how Mumbai would’ve made him a boring, mediocre, prospect-less, pan-Indian failure, doomed to wallow in the illiberal, anti-modern clutches of his cognitively limited and short-sighted family for an eternity.
In fact, I challenge anyone to read his book and see if you winkle out any detail that would point to his not being wiling to sit have a beer with these folks or with this charming fellow
All he wants is to be left alone with his co-ethnics. Is that so racist? I mean, really…
here’s a thought pravin. allen and his ilk see Massachusetts liberals the same way you and your ilk see black conservatives. one as a traitor to their country, the other as a traitor to their race.
now this is complicated by the fact that real traitors of either kind do exist. by the mccarthyists like to lower the bar far enough to swipe up some innocent people in order to grind their political axe. and when that happens the allens of the world become themselves unamerican and the pravins become racists, ironically.
hema 42
it is one of the arguments that he makes in the book but it is also a necessary precondition for achieving his vision of an ‘end to racism.’
A bit late to the N-word argument, but this was a hilarious take on the issue.
Hmm, totally don’t remember that. I didn’t listen to the full story as I got out of the car, so I don’t know if I didn’t notice it or this was after I was done listening.
As for the classical music thing, it is totally ridiculous!
Manju, B.S. on your reply. I never said every black conservative is a sellout. I made a differentiation between Clarence THomas and Condi Rice as an example. I didn’t think Rice was an “Uncle Tom” because I feel like she would not sell out her fellow blacks. My problem with Rice is purely political. My problem with her was that she did a terrible job as the rest of the Bushies. My problem with Clarence is he reaped the benefits of Affirmative Action but would not stand up for the rights of other blacks to benefit from it.
I am actually a libertarian and share some ideas with conservatives. What Allen did was a typical powerplay you see in quite a few white folks in power, especially of his kind. The Welcome to VA was a lot more troubling to me than the Macaca comment. The guy was looking at a single non white guy in his presence and used the power of his numbers and his position to make him feel like he was somehow not someone who quite belongs here as the right kind of people. ANd if you really want to think about it, I wonder if they saw Dinesh D Souza on the street, and would have asked him the same kind of question if they had no idea what his viewpoints were.