ON MACACA AND THE REAL WORLD

SAID FROM THE HEART

USA Today had some words on it's editorial pages that sum up this Republican's view on "Macaca-gate", which is now almost two weeks old:

"Real world. Sen. George Allen, a Republican senator from Virginia running for re-election this year and perhaps the presidency in 2008, is in hot water.

At a campaign stop in a rural part of his state, Allen pointedly referred to an Indian-American aide working for his opponent as "macaca." Allen's critics charged that the word referenced a genus of monkey, or a derogatory expression for African immigrants; Allen said he meant no offense.

Whatever he meant, perhaps even more revealing was what Allen said to and about the 20-year-old aide, a college student named S.R. Sidarth who was born in the USA: "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia."

Real world? The Census Bureau reported last week that the immigrant population is surging. Northern Virginia, the most populous part of Allen's state, is home to about 500,000 immigrants.

Real world? The USA, always a nation of immigrants, attracts more of them than any other country does, the Population Reference Bureau reported last week. "It's always the hope of a better life," said Carl Haub, a bureau demographer.

Real world? Starting Oct. 1, the two iconic American beverage companies will be run by people who were not born here. Coca-Cola's CEO, Neville Isdell, hails from Ireland; Pepsi announced that Indian-born Indra Nooyi would take its helm."

Well said, USA Today.

If you missed the original excerpt of Senator Allen's words, you can view them here, via YouTube, in their full, politically unvarnished form.

If you're wondering about what "Macaca" means, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

"Macaca (also written as macaque) is a dismissive epithet used by Francophone colonials in Africa for native populations of North and Subsaharan Africans.^[1] It is derived from the name of the genus comprised of the macaque primates."

Senator Allen has since apologized for the remarks, and tried to explain them as follows, via KansasCity.com:

"Allen has said he meant to refer to the student as ``mohawk.''

``It was a mistake on my part,'' Allen said Wednesday night after a Norfolk campaign rally. ``They were not proper words. I learned from it, and we are moving forward.''

Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire.  "Mohawk" isn't that much better.  Now he's he's going after American-Indians as well as Indian-Americans.

As I mentioned in a post last month on Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo, these types of incidents really make it tough to take as a card-carrying Republican.  Not to mention being pro-actively supportive  in the upcoming campaigns.

I know it's just politics, and both Democrats and Republicans are fighting for their political lives in the upcoming mid-terms.

I know that politicians of both stripes need to appeal to narrow constituencies on the campaign trail and express views that may not be consistent with how they really feel on the subject.

I know as a public speaker how difficult it is to try to connect to a crowd extemporaneously, while riffing furiously in an effort to bond.

I know that politicians need to live in multiple "Real Worlds' simultaneously to survive and thrive.

And I know that most politicians know in their heart of hearts that part of America's "secret sauce", is it's unique ability to integrate immigrants, and make them a part and parcel of it's greatness.

But it's nevertheless disappointing to see instances such as these.

They're constant reminders that the ideal "Real World" most Americans aspire to, is always under threat, and can never be taken for granted.

Comments

[Sierra]

Most politicians know in their heart of hearts that part of America's "secret sauce", is it's unique ability to integrate immigrants, and make them a part and parcel of it's greatness.
It's great!!