You can claim all you want that people change, but they don't, really. A person can change his outward behavior in an attempt to fool others (and himself), but his true feelings will betray him, and his constituents, eventually. It is disgusting that George Allen has been able to fool all of the people all of the time so far. He "made up" the word macaca? Give me a frickin' break.

I guess it's all right to ignore her:

a) she lost

b) she screamed about the Jew menace

c) it was Indian money that defeated her

d) she stood with people openly supporting terrorists

e) she's fucking crazy

See - we can all play the 'character' game can't we? Wouldn't want to tar that baby with too broad a brush, eh?

I think one of the more remarkable things about Allen is the insecurity and self-hatred regarding the Jewish part of his background.

I mean, here we are in 2006 rather than 1906, and the guy is having conniptions about "admitting" that a grandparent or something was Jewish.

Wonder if that kind of self-loathing is what drove a California surfer dude to embrace upon his arrival in Virginia, by way of overcompensation, the imagery of Cowboys (who don't exist in Virginia), the iconography of racist rednecks (who don't like Jews or even part-Jews that much), and adopt that faux-Bubba pose that has become a hallmark of Allen ever since.

People try to gain acceptance in new environments by imitating the locals all the time, and it probably wasn't easy for a young man who is part Jewish to fit in the social scene of the early 1970s' University of Virginia. Still, this guy went way overboard in adopting and aping the baser views and tendencies of the crowd whose acceptance he wanted so bad.

Maybe Salon should do a followup on this story with a shrink examining that self-hatred angle.

-K-

Wasn't this a song from a very popular musical in the 1870s?

I'm a

Colored spade

A nigger

A black nigger

A jungle bunny

Jigaboo coon

Pickaninny mau mau

Uncle Tom

Aunt Jemima

Little Black Sambo

Cotton pickin'

Swamp guinea

Junk man

Shoeshine boy

Elevator operator

Table cleaner at Horn & Hardart

Slave voodoo

Zombie

Ubangi lipped

Flat nose

Tap dancin'

Resident of Harlem

And president of

The United States of Love

President of

The United States of Love

(and if you ask him to dinner you're going to feed him:)

Watermelon

Hominy grits

An' shortnin' bread

Alligator ribs

Some pig tails

Some black eyed peas

Some chili

Some collard greens

And if you don't watch out

This boogie man will get you

Booooooooo!

Swift Boat Veterens?

It never fails to astonish me how people born into the right race, sex and class must pose as victims when they aren't treated with deference by people who carry the burden of five hundred years of institutionalized racism, while white boys whine about affirmative action, or actually have to compete on a truly level playing field. They failure of empathy, and the need to be a victim is the height of vanity and absolute self centeredness.

It kind of reminds me of these Christianists who scream they are being persecuted when you reject their faith or don't let them have their way.

The projection of "black racism" is one of those dirty little secrets which is the refuge of those who must have some excuse for a precious victimhood, and is a slap in the face at millions of people who have truly suffered, and continue to do so today.

Does it matter to anyone that the original Swift Boaters were liars, and the evidence showing Allen's recist past and present is overwhelming AND true? Or are people arguing that personal attacks are always irrelevant, you know, like with Clinton in the '90s?

Were there enough elevators around in the 1870's for "elevator operator" to be a common racial slur? The electric elevator wasn't invented until the 1880's, and so they'd have to be steam elevators...

And isn't "mau mau" a term from the 1950's?

Not invalid - just not worth much. Your little bit of empiracle observation means nothing in a population of almost 300 million people - particularly when you live in the most expensive city in America and work in one of the most elite fields in the world - try city government if you want to see people of color in charge - go to a city college if you want to see professors of color.

i see who has what jobs, who buys and who makes the coffee at starbucks

Really, because in the Star Bucks I go to, the baristas are white as white bread... Look, Macaca, welcome to America - where 200 million white people get the plum jobs over 15 million black people - want to see blacks in charge - go live in Africa or the Caribbean.

but by % of population, not just sheer numbers, black people are more likely to be poor than white people.

I wonder if that's really true - particularly if you factor blacks from the West Indies and Africa. There's an awful lot of po' white folks in this country...

So because i work in corporate law means i can't possibly be aware of what is going on in the world...

Nope - you live with blinders on and you get your ideas about black people from the NY Times - I've lived in Black/Latino neighborhoods (as well as white ones) in this city for the last 20 years, and the city you describe - only white professionals, only black nannies, is not the one I know (my house cleaner is white, for example), while my building has at least 3-4 blqck professionals...

So, you live in morningside heights somewhere, because the rent is too expensive on the upper west side? Congrats.

Actually, i live in Inwood - up from the financial district - after 9/11 - I like the park, and I like the fact that all the asshole lawyers and professionals - the ones who turned this city from a creative one into a luxory condo one, live below 96th Street...you still get a 1980s East village feel uptown...