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Sunday, September 24, 2006
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 NO KIDDING, THIS IS A SERIOUS QUESTION
As a Loyal Minion, I'm not ordinarily given to quesioning my Maximum Leader Naked Villainy is one of the great blogs out there, and I am one who wishes to stay in his good graces when the Mike World Order comes to pass. I've had dinner and drinks with the Maximum Leader, and I know him to be a good and gracious host. I am a fan of the Maximum Leader and consider him to be my friend. Therefore, nothing in this post should reflect on anything other than my own ignorance.
On Thursday, the Maximum Leader wrote about his junior senator, George Allen. For whatever reason, he ignores that his senior senator is the great patriot, John Warner. But this is neither here nor there.
Senator Allen's political troubles - and the irrefutable proof that that he is an inbred simpleton - began earlier this summer with this video.
As you may have noticed, Allen referred to an Indian-American supporter of his opponent, Jim Webb as "macaca." It was news to me, but "macaca" is apparently a species of sub-Saharan mammal, and a common European slur against those who are less than fully white.
Senator Allen, who is in a tighter than expected race for re-election, explained away this slip thusly on last week's Meet The Press.
MR. RUSSERT: Senator Allen, you, too, have gotten in trouble with words that you've uttered. Let me bring you back to August 11th. You were at a campaign stop, and a young man who was videotaping it for the Webb campaign was there also. Let's watch.
(Videotape, August 11, 2006):
SEN. ALLEN: This fellow her--over here in the yellow shirt, macaca, or whatever his name is, he's with my opponent. And let's give a welcome to macaca here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.
(End videotape)
MR. RUSSERT: And here's the young man, S.R. Sidarth, he's a resident of Virginia, an American citizen, straight-A student at Fairfax High School and now goes to the University of Virginia. Critics say that "macaca" is a racist slur, and that you used it because he was dark-skinned. What did you specifically mean when you said, "Welcome to America and the real Virginia"? Why did you use those words toward a dark-skinned American?
SEN. ALLEN: Tim, I made a mistake. I said things thoughtlessly. I've apologized for it, as well I should. But there was no racial or ethnic intent to slur anyone. If I had any idea that, that that word, and to some people in some parts of the world, was an insult, I would never do it, because it's contrary to what I believe and who I am.
MR. RUSSERT: Well, where'd the word come from? It must've been in your consciousness.
SEN. ALLEN: Oh, it's just made up.
MR. RUSSERT: Made up?
SEN. ALLEN: Just made up. Made-up word.
MR. RUSSERT: You'd never heard it before?
SEN. ALLEN: Never heard it before.
MR. RUSSERT: What did you mean...
SEN. ALLEN: And if, and if I did, honestly, Tim, if I thought that that was slurring anybody based on their ethnicity or their race or their religion, I would never do it. It's not who I am. It's not how I was raised.
MR. RUSSERT: But why would you say to someone "Welcome to America, welcome to the real Virginia"?
SEN. ALLEN: Because he was the cameraman for, for Jim Webb. He was following us around all over, all over the state. And we were going to small towns and rural areas and places that, while my opponent that week was out in Hollywood raising money, and I was talking about Virginia values. And so the point was, as you're talking to the cameraman, to talk to Mr. Webb, to say, "Hey, here's - welcome to the real world of Virginia," as opposed to Hollywood, which is a world of make-believe.
Okay, so Senator Allen accidently invented an African mammal to slur an Indian-American because said Indian-American was a supporter of his opponent, and that opponent's values are more consistent with "Hollywood." Hollywood is obviously not part of America, so it is obvious that an Indian-American person is an African primate Also, since Hollywood is demonstrably run by the Jews, it follows that it's denizens are "macacas." I think I've got it.
Or not. You see, Allen actually "made up" the phrase "macaca," not knowing that it is an African mammal, the name of which is commonly used to slur those of duskier countries by Europeans, who are themselves - by virtue of being European - barely white. One of the very few joys of being Canadian is that I'm whiter than everyone else, and can therefore stand in judgement of everyone else's caucasionosity. Al Gore has nothing on me.
I think I'm up to speed now. And that speed includes being secure in the knowledge that George Allen will never be president of the United States. It's a genetic thing, namely that George Allen is an idiot. The fact that his father told darkies how to throw a ball really far and properly cripple one another really shouldn't mitigate matters. Christ, O.J Simpson was a pretty good football player, too. That doesn't change the fact that he's a murderous motherfucker. I think Americans will make their greatest strides when they accept the fact that being good at sports doesn't preclude you from being a worthless human being.
More troubling was Senator Allen's explanaion of his history with the Confederate flag.
MR. RUSSERT: This is not the first time that people have looked at your record, and, and, and raised questions. The New York Times said, "In 1984, as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Mr. Allen opposed a state holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After being elected governor in 1993, he issued a proclamation honoring Confederate History Month." And the Associated Press says, "Allen used to keep a Confederate flag in his living room, a noose in his law office and a picture of Confederate troops in his governor's office." Can you imagine black Americans, black Virginians reading that? What would they be thinking about George Allen, and why did you do that?
SEN. ALLEN: There are a lot of things that I wish I had learned earlier in life. I grew up in a football family, as you well know, and my parents and, and those teams taught me a lot. And one of the things that you learn in football is that you don't care about someone's race or ethnicity or religion, it's a meritocracy, it's a level playing field, and it's what we should aspire to in our society. And that's why I've always been advocating, making sure America and Virginia's a land of opportunity for all.
There's a reason why state Senator Benny Lambert, a Democrat, an African-American, the senior African-American in the legislature, this past week endorsed me, because he knows my record on a variety of issues, particularly in education, and improving the opportunities at historically black colleges and universities. Through the years I've learned and I've grown, and I've learned from people. I've learned in the civil rights pilgrimage that I went down to Selma and Montgomery and Birmingham, and, and listened to heroes of the civil rights struggle...
MR. RUSSERT: So no more, no more Confederate flags?
SEN. ALLEN: On the Confederate flag--look, I wish I had had these experiences earlier in life, because I would have made decisions differently. The Confederate flag -- as, as a kid, I was rebellious, anti-establishment, I still am. And I looked at the flag as a symbol for that.
MR. RUSSERT: But you were governor.
SEN. ALLEN: Now a -- and I look at the flag, also, and some others do, as heritage and as regional pride. But I've also seen, over the years, talking and listening and learning and growing, that that flag, to African-Americans, represents repression, segregation and violence against them. And I would never want to have anything to insult or offend someone, and so that's why I would not be utilizing that flag, because that's not who I am, and I would never want to have that image or, or harmful impact on fellow human beings who I want to make sure are part of team America, because we do need to compete much better against countries in six and seven times our population. We need more women, we need more African-Americans, more Latinos interested in science and technology and engineering for us to be the world capital of innovation.
Okay, maybe I can see a Southern governor proclaiming "Confederate History Month," although I'd suggest it be really short month, like February, since the Confederacy only lasted four years. And I suppose that no one is a truly great American until the hang pictures of the only domestically organized force created to destroy the Constitution and the republic for which it stands. I get that, I think.
But a noose? African-Americans of a certain vintage have had some some experience with fair-skinned folks with that regional accent bearing nooses, and it was a less than pleasant one. I think most moral adults can only read one thing into that. And it isn't something good. Particularly if you've got a southern accent.
I'm not someone who throws around the term "racist" lightly, but keeping a noose in your law office and a Confederate flag in your home is something that I have a difficult time getting around. It might very well be that I'm just stubborn that way.
It might not be fair to draw the conclusion that a white southerner with a Confederate flag and a noose is something best avoided by black folks, but you can hardly argue that they aren't justifiably jumpy around them. There is, after all, something of a history there.
Some of my readers might disagree with me on this, but the "War of Nothern Aggression" was about one thing - whether the states had the soveriegn right to hold other human beings as property. Were it not for slavery, there wouldn't be a Civil War. If not for slavery, there wouldn't have been a Confederacy, and therefore no Confederate flag. At least, that's my understanding of American history.
Furthermore, Allen was 41 years old when he became governor and 46 when he left Richmond. It strikes me as just a little disturbing that you can get to be of that age and elected to an office of such influence and not know that that flag wasn't "insulting or hurtful" to blacks. I somehow doubt that anyone would excuse a guy in his forties for brandishing Nazi paraphanilia and proclaiming ignorance of what that means to Jews.
Although, to be fair, Allen has not yet admitted that his favourite movie is Mandingo, or that the he lovingly strokes the kinky hair of Negroes to treat his rheumatism. This is important to note.
Or am I wrong?
Where I come from, the stars n' bars are every bit the symbol of racial superiority that the swastika is. And not only are most Germans not proud of thier fascist past, the open display of the swastika is banned by law in Germany.
I'm not an anti-Sourthern guy. As a matter of fact, I count Southerners amoung my favourite people.
But I'm a white Canadian and not a black guy in, say, North Carolina. If I were, I'd likely have very strong feelings about seeing that flag. As it is, it makes my skin crawl a little. Seeing as that I'd probably share those feelings if the DNA dice rolled differently, I can't fault anyone for having them.
Anyhow, the Maximum Leader made this statement.
Yes, there is the whole Confederate Flag issue in Allen's past. But honestly, your Maximum Leader knows plenty (and he means PLENTY) of people who he can honestly say are not racists at all and honestly and sincerely believe that the Confederate Flag is a symbol of a noble and honorable cause for which their ancestors gave their lives.
My question - and I'm dead serious in asking it - "Is that possible?" The Confederacy stood for something that is historically irrefutable, specifically that you can actually own other human beings, exploit their labour and build a society on it. It really is that specific. Is that really something to honor? And if you're seeking to represent three hundred million Americans, of every of every imaginable hue, is it something you should say that you're proud of?
Easy Listening Recommendaton of the Day: Strange Fruit By: Jeff Buckley From: Live at Sin-E
PermalinkLabels: The Serious Side of skippy
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