George Allen claims he wasn't singling out S. R. Sidarth, who is Indian American, when he referred to him as "Macaca": Senator Says He Meant No Insult by Remark.
Thank you, Senator, but I ain't buying it. When you say stuff like, "Welcome to America," you're stamping a big fat FOREIGNER label on the only non-white face in the audience. Sidarth, by the way, was born and raised in Virginia. More here: Senator denies remark was racist.
It really does speak to a common, ignorant, and narrow view of who and who is not an American. I have an extremely hard time believing Allen's insistence that his remarks were not racially motivated.
UPDATE: Senator Allen met today with members of the US Indian Political Action Committee over this whole incident: Allen meets with Indian PAC over remarks. Meanwhile, Sepia Mutiny has all sorts of good info: When in doubt, blame your staff. And of course, someone has created a line of macaca-centric clothing: The Macaca Shop
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