Siddarth

By: Lowell
Published On: 8/14/2006 4:07:44 PM

The guy who George Allen called "macaca."



Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign.  The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.


Comments



That's No Mohawk, Plus Another Set of Definitions (lauralib - 8/14/2006 4:18:11 PM)
That's no mohawk.  Wadhams is covering his candidate's ass.

Another set of definitions --

http://education.yah...

  ma·ca·co -ca

adj.
America ugly, misshapen
Puerto Rico foolish, silly
m.
zoology macaque
Mexico bogeyman
Honduras small coin
f.
zoology female macaque
Chile entomology large coleopteran
colloquial (borrachera) drinking spree or binge



In Latin America... (NIckJGVA - 8/14/2006 4:38:52 PM)
"macaco/a" means "monkey" and is a derogatory term for people of color.  This is well known, both in Spanish and in Portuguese.

Nick
Los Blogueros



Well said (PM - 8/14/2006 5:28:19 PM)
And an entertaining site; I was able to use my unjustly-neglected Spanish


is anybody (Matt in VA - 8/14/2006 4:21:41 PM)
working on a followup diary for Kos tomorrow on Allen's history of racism? everyone keeps saying that this is part of a pattern and unfortunately, not even many people who read blogs know the man's history.


Via NLS comments... (Rob - 8/14/2006 4:30:47 PM)
appears that Macaca is a slur in Tunisia and ... wait for it ... Allen's mother is French Tunisian - potentially explaining where he got this word from.

The final puzzle piece?



Wonkette has picked up the story (lauralib - 8/14/2006 4:33:06 PM)
Wonkette has a big piece on it.  (I sent them a tip about 30 min. ago.)


Handsome guy! (Arturo - 8/14/2006 4:40:41 PM)


Siddarth's hair. (va.walter - 8/14/2006 4:41:30 PM)
I can't believe this is relevant.  That said, I actually met Siddarth after Allen's Wytheville stop.  I was trying to pass out some Webb stickers and he had been asked to leave (it was in a private home and neither of us was successful).  I can say unequivocally that he does not have a traditional mohawk but he did have the sides of his hair shaved up pretty high.  Actually, I've never seen a haircut like that.  Not sure I'd call it a mohawk but I can understand where that description comes from.


Americablog has the story up (PM - 8/14/2006 4:56:27 PM)
This will go national fast


two questions (teacherken - 8/14/2006 5:23:07 PM)
1) does G FAllen know Siddarth's real name?

2) Does he realize the origin of Siddarth's  name

a followup question

is it possible to get the S Asian community to propagate this within the community?  It is an insult to them....



The APA community (Ingrid - 8/14/2006 5:39:18 PM)
teacherken: an email has already gone out to the Asian Pacific Islander Dem community, with a link to the article in the Post. I just received it.


It's called a "high and tight" (JC - 8/14/2006 5:24:15 PM)
And you can find plenty of them on any American military base: it's a popular haircut for servicemen.  But then George Allen never served, so how would he know.


his hair (martha - 8/14/2006 9:12:07 PM)
It is NOT a high and tight. We saw him last Wednesday in Lynchburg and his hair is diferent. Sort of like a mohawk where the sides are growing out.
He stopped and talked to us while we were standing on VES Rd after we put up about 70 Webb signs!
He was hustling around taking pictures and then went and changed and went into the Chamber of Commersce luncheon.


What? (DanG - 8/14/2006 9:33:46 PM)
"Sort of like a mohawk where the sides are growing out."

Wait...you mean, not a mohawk? 

Defenition:
"In modern times, when both sides of the head are shaved or buzzed and the remaining hair is long and (often) spiked in the middle, the hairstyle is known as a Mohawk or, somewhat less commonly, as a Mohican."

If it doesn't follow that pattern...it's not a mohawk.



This thing is really cookin... (Eric - 8/14/2006 5:32:55 PM)
Almost 2000 views of the video, the WAPO has 4 pages of comments on the article, comments are through the roof on NLS, and over 400 on dKos.

Thank you George Allen for showing your true colors to the world.



YouTube (kevinceckowski - 8/15/2006 9:02:49 AM)
get it over there.
they get a million hits per day.  MY BROADCAST! GO FOR IT!

http://www.youtube.c...

kc.



Clip:YouTUBE (kevinceckowski - 8/15/2006 9:16:30 AM)
It is up there. Super job. So many stories going around.  Front page of the WaPost, Virginia. My partner was REALLY surprised.  I told him it was BIG BIG BIG.  I think the part of George Allen's speech that irked me the most was "Let's welcome Macaca to America".  My blood was boiling and that is a barometer for NEWS worthiness.

http://www.youtube.c...



Siddarth (Bubby - 8/14/2006 6:23:58 PM)
I don't need an interpretation to understand what George Allen was doing to you. I know hate. I am sorry that this occurred in my neck of the woods because folks already think that hill people are a bunch of ignorant losers. That is not the case. Those fools laughing and applauding Allen make me sick, and now they represent me as America views the video. 

I certainly would not have handled this exchange as professionally as you did.  Thanks for staying clear and getting the video.  Good job.  George Allen does not deserve to sit in the U.S. Senate. We got plenty of dumbass, Virginia needs quality leadership, and we have it in Jim Webb.

I promise you that from this day forward I will work twice as hard, and give twice as much to see George Allen removed from office.  This just became deeply personal. 



Mohawk my ass (DanG - 8/14/2006 7:34:35 PM)
That's likesomebody using the n-word and saying we were only saying that because he looked like a ninja.  Just because two words have similar beginnings doesn't mean it' linkable.


I Just talked to my French/Belgian buddy (Nick Stump - 8/14/2006 8:21:29 PM)
He's the chef at my favorite restaurant.  He tells me the term is the worst insult you could give a person.  He also said Mr Allen's accent on the word (I showed him the video) was accurate and that he must have known the what the word meant. especially since he said it twice. 

According to my friend, it means both "Dirty Arab" and the "N" word, but carries the worst connotation of both and is interchangable.  This a word Senator Allen learned a long time ago, either from his mother or his expansive education. 

The worst of it is: Allen said this in the mountains, up near the Kentucky border.  Now I'm from the Ky mountains and I know the Virginians near there and that's not the way most of us think, so whatever you guys may think about George Allen--don't start thinking good mountain people are a bunch of ignorant racists. We're not like that--your present Senator is.  Vote for Jim Webb and end the confusion. 



Thanks for your service to the Webb campaign (Kindler - 8/14/2006 8:36:04 PM)
Siddarth, sorry that you had to take this bullet, but thank you for being brave enough to stand in the line of  fire.  You caught George Allen being himself, and that was enough!


My Apologies to Siddarth (Tony Mastalski - 8/14/2006 8:38:45 PM)
I know we've met once or twice in the campaign HQ area and my first impression of you was that you were a very nice young man / volunteer .... a positive good feeling one gets from a gentleman.

So I am more than dismayed that you would be the subject of such a slurr .... The Allen camp has had a least one or two guys circling Jim Webb since March .... not once did Jim lose his cool ....

George Allen however is sweating his career ... so what can you expect from a guy who bullied his sisters .... even so I apologize for the senator because you shouldn't have to hear crap like that.... and let's face it George Allen and company won't offer one up.

Sorry for you taking an clear racial insult in the line of campaign duty ....

cheers to you,

Tony



"Welcome to America" (thegools - 8/14/2006 11:34:21 PM)
that one gets me the most....macaca can be played off, but that cannot easily.


COMMENT HIDDEN (I.Publius - 8/15/2006 9:04:18 AM)


ipub Alert!!! (Loudoun County Dem - 8/15/2006 9:06:23 AM)

Image borrowed from John Campanelli on dKos



I'm guessing you are white, Publius. (DanG - 8/15/2006 12:24:48 PM)
Would you like it if somebody called you that Honkey guy?  "Welcome, Honkey, welcome to the real world.  We know where you come from, you all hit on your sister and shoot anything that moves.  So welcome to the real world."

No, doesn't sound nice, does it? 

Allen used a slur and a stereotype offensively in less than a minute.  The guy has a right to be offended.  He called him a monkey and then told a born-citizen that he was not from this country because, apparently, only white people are.



Another take on the monkey graphic (charcoal - 8/15/2006 6:44:38 PM)
Thanks for posting the monkey graphic.  I made a slight adjustment to it.  I will be faxing this image to George Allen's fax machines (repeatedly).

Macaca caca courtesy of George Allen

Fax numbers are:

dc - (202) 224-5432

Abingdon - (276) 676-2588

Roanoke - (540) 772-6870

Virginia Beach - (757) 518-1679

Richmond - (804) 771-8313

Herndon - (703) 435-3446



Here's a picture of his hair (Westbrook - 8/16/2006 6:32:36 PM)
It is sort of a mohawk and sort of a mullet. 
http://www.esoterica...