John Kerry Smacks Down George Allen for Divisive Comments

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Smacks Down George Allen for Divisive Comments
August 20th, 2006 @ 11:51 am

Last night at an Indian-American Community Event that was closed to the press event, John Kerry held George Allen accountable for his divisive, bigoted comments made last week. Kerry said, “We need to stop the politics of name-calling and division that push us apart and separate us.”

Here’s the partial transcript of Kerry’s comments about George Allen, from the closed to press event, as released to The Democratic Daily:

“It was so disappointing to hear one of my colleagues make comments that have no place in Virginia, no place in our country, and certainly no place in the United States Senate. George Allen singled out a lone Indian-American college student for ridicule in front of a crowd of mostly white voters. After using a word I won’t repeat, he added insult to injury when he said: “Welcome to America.”

Well, to Senator Allen I think it’s time we said ‘welcome to the twenty first century’ where slurs and slights aren’t a laughing matter. Welcome to a new day where we refuse to accept insults made about Indian-Americans that, if we heard them about African Americans or Jews or Hispanics, would be the end of a political career.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=3941

[karynnj]

1. Fantastic comments

[beachmom]

2. Thank you, Senator Kerry

Webb said he wasn't going to make a big issue about Allen's racist past (not sure if that includes this RECENT incident). I think that's a good strategy. Webb will be above it all, and meanwhile, the blogs and other Dems can continue to hammer away.

I really do hope that JK will fundraise for Webb again, because he doesn't have that much money. Also, he needs help with his campaign which is very disorganized.

[ProSense]

3. Excellent statement!

George Allen's attempt to make excuses when this was first reported was despicable!

[ginnyinWI]

4. I just asked my daughter about the word--

(She is a French-to-English translator and also married to a native-born Tunisian--who better to ask?)

She says that the word "macaque" means a very ugly man, a monkey if you will. Definitely a slur or put-down, and Allen certainly must have known what he was saying. Disgusting in a U.S. Senator, as JK said.

She didn't ask my son-in-law about it yet, but if it's interesting I'll post agaom when I hear about it.

Maybe we should name him Sen. Macaca after this.

[ginnyinWI]

6. Ok I asked him, and

he's never heard of the word! So it may not be as widespread as we think. He did say that if "macaque" means "a very ugly man", then it's a bad insult to make. My son-in-law speaks English, French and Arabic, so he would know if it was a popular insult in any language in Tunisia.

[europegirl4jfk]

7. My daughter knows the word

She went to school in France all her life and has sometimes heard people use it as an insult but doesn't know the meaning of it. It's not a word used very often by the French youth nowadays but they know it.

[Mass]

8. It is as widespread in French as we think.

Your son-in-law may not know the word because he was born in Tunisia long after independence and therefore would not have been submitted to French anti-arab racism, but yes, it is well-known enough (or was at least a few years ago).

[ginnyinWI]

9. true--that makes sense

In France there is certainly more anti-Arab and anti-Muslim feeling than in Tunisia, which the French basically abandoned after it became independent in the 50s. And my son-in-law was indeed born much later, in the 70s. Good thinking, Mass!

[fedupinBushcountry]

5. Perfect

I am so glad he didn't repeat that word, it is ugly and he knows it.

[JI7]

10. i think the "welcome to America" part really showed the bigotry of it

you can't claim he was just calling him a bad name and it wasn't bigotry with that statement added on. and i'm glad Kerry recognized that.

[karynnj]

11. Also that it was said to a lone Indian American

in an almost pure white crowd. That he was a young student makes it worse. (As it was it backfired because Allen wasn't bright enough to realize that the videocamera in the student's hand changed the dynamics and the tape came back to bite him. I can't believe that only Kerry and Webb have mentioned it.