Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Grow Up People

Two days ago Not Larry Sabato announced a scandal involving Senator George Allen. Yesterday, the story broke that Allen made a “racist” comment towards a volunteer/worker who was sent by the Webb campaign to follow Allen around and video tape the Senator as he spoke. The obvious attempt was to catch him saying something that could get him into trouble. It would seem Allen, whether inadvertent or not, obliged.

Already, blogs are beginning to scream Allen is a racist. James Martin is screaming off the rooftops that Allen called this Webb supporter a nigger and monkey. (See James, its not the hard to say or type.) Even ‘s more interesting is how fast people started to pull up Allen’s familial history, which showed Allen’s mother was from Tunisia and the word in question is often used by Europeans in describing North Africans.

Shortly after the entire blogging world got their panties tied into a knot over this, George Allen issued an apology and that should be the end of it. But no, it isn’t. It seems the Left is all in favor of blasting this in favor of their candidate Jim Webb. It wasn’t too long ago though Jim Webb was accused of being Anti-Semtic. A cartoon which displayed common stereotypes about Jews was made by the campaign and Harris Miller took offense. Webb issued the apology and that was fine by the Left. If we used the logic of James Martin and other like him, Webb should have dropped out of the race during the primary.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter is some people are willing to throw comments out there with full impunity. Lets face it, did Allen say he was better than this kid? NO. Did he pull out a sheet and a cross? NO. It seems people in NOVA have a certain degree of superiority about them because of where they live. Is “Welcome to America” now a racist comment? NO.

Let’s be honest here. The Metropolitan DC area is an anomaly compared to the rest of America. There are multiple races living here and a lot of money. Go elsewhere, and it is like a whole different country. Back in 2002, my dad and I did a cross country trip. We drove across the country, namely with the thought in mind that after 9/11 we should really appreciate everything that is America. I highly recommend doing it. Hell, if you want, I can tell you some places to go and even map out some routes for you.

But here in our little part of the country, we find ourselves living in a rich area with a population that rivals most states. Let’s face it people: THE REST OF VIRGINIA IS LIKE A DIFFERENT STATE!

In thinking about all of this, I think it is safe to say that those who scream Allen is a racist only wishes to do it from the safety of their homes behind a keyboard. Even more important is the background of these people. If they have lots of money and seemingly nothing to worry about in life, then why should they not be afraid of calling people names.

Add on to this logic the fact that a number of people did not know what “Macaca” meant, but KNEW it was bad, says something else. It makes me think of Clerks II when Randall did not know that porch monkey was a racist comment. His logic became: I am taking back porch monkey! Already I saw blogger comments using Macaca and showing how ridiculous it is. Kenton Ngo had a flag and promptly removed it after I called his actions dishonorable.

So for everyone who likes to call people racist just because you feel like you can, grow up! You know who you are.

7 comments:

James Young said...

Great post, BDM.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Bub, but Allen's comment was out of line. "Welcome to America" to a brown skinned young man?

Allen rightfully apologized.

.... said...

Why do you continue to defend Allen saying N******, surely you must be offended by such a piece of trash?

BDM said...

When did Allen say "Nigger"?

.... said...

Thats what Macaca means...

You've clearly been paying alot of attention.

.... said...

'Macaca' - French : racist slang; similar to English 'nigger,' used to describe Arabs.

Anonymous said...

BDM,

Wow.

Did you just say that just because George Allen isn't wearing a sheet and burning a cross, or openly advocating white supremacy, than completely excuses him from any criticism that he was taking advantage of race to make a cheap political swipe?

Wow. And I thought we as a society were improving in race relations.

Jaxebadt