Letters to the Editor
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Virginia Veteran
your letter gives me goosebumps. Great insight.
Here's my star to you.
*
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George Allen was just following in the "nickname" footsteps of his beloved leader, the "other" George
Oh come on, give George Allen a break. He was just trying to be like his beloved leader, Dubya.
After all, Dubya has a well known penchant for giving people idiotic nicknames and calling them out during press conferences.
And I've heard that "Obnoxious Nicknames" is actually a class at at the Top Secret Rovian Republican Academy for Political Maneuvering.
It comes right after Doublespeak 101...you know "War is Peace," "We must take away rights to protect rights," and all that.
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bully: poor framing, perhaps, but accurate
I had to think a little bit about the letters that suggested it sounds defeatist to complain that Sen. Allen is a "bully." My first reaction was to refer to the comfortable myth that Americans hate bullies and root for the underdog. But, you know, on second thought I have to agree. Americans love to see a good old fashioned one-sided walloping.
Sadly, it helps little to complain that Sen. Allen used his considerable power to ridicule an eager young American whose only mistake was to take an active interest in democracy. I cannot think of a better word to describe Allen's behavior than "bullying", but I admit that as political framing it is worthless. The majority of Americans will always root for the monster truck, not the car it crushes under its tires.
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sound of one hand clapping
for a confederate dude he sure knows his slurs. my comment here is that i dont know any of these terms that other people seem to have so handy. lately there is a lot of this going around. there is tarbaby. never heard of it till discussed in the papers. now this term - who knew? i am no fan of this allen guy but am just amazed that someone from his roadkill background would know such sophisticated international slurs. and as for the liberals dont keep pointing out people as dark skinned or brown or whatever. really adds to the entire circus.
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nepotism
>>He [George Allen' was a dim bulb. I was amazed that he graduated from UVA law school, but then...cronyism seems to help some folks in politics as far as educational opportunity goes.>>
His Dad was the favored football coach at UVa.
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I agree, the "Welcome to America" bit is more offensive.
Being an American of Indian origin, the use of 'macaca' did not bother me at all. I have a feeling he just pulled the first funny word he could think of out of the air. But "welcome to America"? That did not sound inclusive at all.
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Bully - Walk loudly and carry a very small stick....
> Even though it may be the case that Sen. George Allen is a bully, can we on the left stop using that term?
Sure. Let's start calling him what he really is.
We all know that macho bullies -- especially those who evade military service while talking tough -- are trying to hide something.
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Obviously...
Michael Scherer did not write the article out of an interest for forwarding some golden ideal of ice cold objective truth; but because he was offended by Allen's remarks and wanted to tear him a new one. He's motivated by vengence, another brand of the thirst for power and sadistic pleasure practiced by his opponent. I can't see how you could not be, I'm just saying that it's useless trying to take the moral high ground while writing and celebrating a piece like this.
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Fake Bonhomie
Virginia Veteran, I had the same response to Allen just from watching clips. And he does indeed remind me of another George. I'm glad you mentioned the lack of empathy, the eyes and the vibe, because one of the things that's been incredibly frustrating is that the MSM for six long years has blathered on and on about George of the Texas Jungle's charm and easy-going nature, his humor, etc. Like those "funny" nicknames, that are really about power of naming, not about having fun. All you have to do is turn the sound off when he's on TV and watch the affects expressed on his face: contempt, disgust, anger. They predominate and they belie his words, as does the smile that emerges at the wrong times. One of the only people to get this and say it in print is Justin Kaplan in Bush on the Couch. The MSM blindly takes GB at his word, or has for way too long, and has helped create a Potemkin President.
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So, what's the effect?
I'm here scratching my head. I don't get it. I understand why progressives are upset about Allen's racist remark. I just don't understand why it's necessarily a mistake. I mean, won't the fact that he's a racist pig make him even more popular with voters in rural Virginia??
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moonbat, you're missing my point
After the fact, all Virginians knew all of this stuff. But do you honestly think that the audience knew all of these facts at the moment that Allen uttered his inanities? We have a moron making moronic jokes in a pubic setting. Yes, he most likely happens to hold the generic darker skinned person in lower esteem than the generic lighter skinned person, but he was trying to make sport of his oppoisition in front of his supporters. His choice of words was informed by his predjudices, but lets use common sense in trying to discern his motives.
Drop your partisan blinders and think, man.
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If you haven't noticed...
"as for the liberals dont keep pointing out people as dark skinned or brown or whatever. really adds to the entire circus..."
They're liberals. They ARE the circus.
Decent folk might object to a candidate ridiculing a young person of any complexion.
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The American Way... Allen IS a real American
Looks like American democracy at its finest: empower the majority at the expense of the minority.
This is a pattern that repeats itself ad nauseum in America, and not just in W's polarized times.
Really, George Allen does represent the Real America, and all you intellectual, lefties and centerists at a fine site like Salon do not represent the real America, which is why Democrats have so little power in today's USA.
Good luck with the freedom thing ... but America really doesn't understand the issue at all.
Ron
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Amen SalemLawyer and No Name Given
As a Virginian, living in Northern Virginia, I would like to go on record as saying that George Allen does not represent me, nor has my interests at heart. We pay the lion's share of taxes in the Old Dominion and do not get our money's worth. Far from it. Instead of putting a homophobic referendum on the ballot in November (which, by the way, will also discriminate against unmarried heterosexual couples living together), I wish they'd propose a referendum allowing us Northern Virginia to secede from the Commonwealth and form our own reasonable state.