And Now, A Time For Healing

I think there must be a class where Democrats learn how to look offended. S.R. Sidarth graduated with honors:

Oh the humanity.

The photo accompanies Allen on Damage Control After Remarks to Webb Aide, in which Michael Shear and Tim Craig phone around to see if they can find any others who are offended by Sen. George Allen's use of the the word "macaca," a term practically no one ever heard before. Yesterday, NRO's Stephen Spruiell said in passing that he didn't think the story was getting too much coverage, calling Allen's use of the word "boorish and idiotic." A tip of the integrity hat to Stephen for criticizing someone on his own side of the aisle when he thinks it's called for. But I'm having a hard time getting worked up about it, wondering instead if the Post will go for a hat trick and run an A1 story on this manufactured dispute three days in a row. Like Steve Mukherjee, spokesman for the Association of Indians in America,  I don't know what it means. Like the Post editorial board, We have no inkling as to what Mr. Allen meant by "Macaca." Unlike them, and others whose careers are based on feeling insulted, I'm unwilling to use my lack of knowledge as the foundation for a political assault.

Renowned scholar Ace of Spades says it means "stooge," "puppet," "errand boy," etc. Boorish, fine; but mainly I'm thinking the Post should register with the FEC for having made an in-kind contribution to the Webb campaign.

UPDATE: Tim Graham at Newsbusters recalls a Hillary Clinton gaffe that, astoundingly, did not result in major front-page stories.

Comments

[Macaca]

[This poster banned. He posted fund-raising info for Webb yesterday, which I deleted, while inviting him to disagree with my position. He did the same thing today. Fool me once etc. Bye.]

[Stephen Spruiell]

It was boorish and idiotic, but you're right that A1 two days in a row is overkill. They're putting Allen on their "must destroy" list next to Bob Ehrlich.

[Charles Warren]

So are you going to try and bury everything that has come out today ? To ignore the FACT that this 'harmless word that nobody knew' is 'n*****' [edited] in French slang ? And since Allen's mother is from French white settler stock and Allen himself is Francophone he was perfectly aware of what that term meant ?

For an ethical right, one which didn't shrug off racism as good clean fun, this isn't overkill. It should be a career ender.

[Christopher Fotos]

The n-word has a particular ugly meaning in America and it's unlikely to have a direct correspondent in French. And the French angle (Franco-Tunisian actually) has been cited on this very blog, by me, but it's hardly a deal-closer. If you have a non-lunatic citation by all means submit it. and you might forward a copy to the Post editorial board, and the Association of Indians in America, since somehow they are out of the loop.

[Charles Warren]

"The n-word has a particular ugly meaning in America and it's unlikely to have a direct correspondent in French."

A white settler society such as the one Allen's mother came from will be steeped in virulent racism towards the people their privileged status requires them to bully and humiliate in order to maintain their power. In the society she came from "macaque" meant the exact same thing as "n*gger".

[Christopher Fotos]

No sale, Charles, sorry. You are asking me to believe that George Allen through some tenuous French coding,and the absolute worst possible interpretation at that, was slyly calling this young man a you-know-what. That's ridiculous. It requires too many steps and inferences. Steeped in virulent racism, uh huh, that's sure been a part of Allen's public persona.

[Charles Warren]

"No sale, Charles, sorry. You are asking me to believe that George Allen through some tenuous French coding,and the absolute worst possible interpretation at that, was slyly calling this young man a you-know-what. That's ridiculous. It requires too many steps and inferences. Steeped in virulent racism, uh huh, that's sure been a part of Allen's public persona."

What's tenuous about your mother ? What's tenuous about the language and attitudes she taught you as a child ? What's tenuous about the ferocious racism of a white settler culture ? You are asking me to believe that it is pure coincidence that when he saw a dark skinned person the first word that came to his mouth was his mother's white settler slang for "n*gger" ?

Steps and inferences ? What is complicated about the fact that when Allen sees a dark skinned person he has to keep from saying what he truly thinks ? This time he slipped up and said what he thought.

[Christopher Fotos]

So now it's not just George Allen who's a virulent racist, but also his mother, a woman who, like the senator, I am fairly confident you never met.

Have a nice day.

[Charles Warren]

"So now it's not just George Allen who's a virulent racist, but also his mother, a woman who, like the senator, I am fairly confident you never met."

Allen's knowledge of French racial slurs had to come from somewhere. Why not someone who came from the losing side of a race war, i.e. the destruction of French white settler culture in North Africa when those countries became independent ? As the Algerian War raged in his childhood, do you imagine his mother was neutral in her passions ? Don't you think she probably had plenty to say about "macaques" ?

There is no reason to believe that he was not raised in the racial values of his mother's culture, which would be the normal values of a pre-1960 white Southerner or a pre-1990 white Afrikaner. There is nothing hypothetical about supposing that someone from a white settler society would be deeply racist. It would be a miracle if he/she weren't.

And which is why he identified so readily with Confederate flags.

[Christopher Fotos]

And which is why he identified so readily with Confederate flags.

You might want to Google "James Webb" and "Confederacy" and report back on his virulent racism.

[Charles Warren]

"You might want to Google "James Webb" and "Confederacy" and report back on his virulent racism."

So you have nothing to say in Allen's defense, your pretenses having collapsed, and just try to feebly turn it around ? You've stopped pretending that it is "tenuous" that he imbibed the racial attitudes of a refugee from the losing side of a race war, attitudes that were doubtless embittered by the brutal viciousness of the Algerian War ?

[Christopher Fotos]

Oh yes. My pretenses are collapsed. I bow down before your superior intellect.

Why did I ever start this blog, O Lord? Why?