Salon's "Person Of The Year"...S.R. Sidarth---"Macaca"

[Dr.Phool]

Salon Person of the Year: S.R. Sidarth
The Virginia native and son of Indian immigrants changed history with a camcorder and introduced Sen. George Allen -- and the rest of us -- to the real America.

By Michael Scherer

Dec. 16, 2006 | Sometimes, for just a moment, nothing makes sense. The senator who would be president stands on the dais. It is a bright summer day. The branches of trees, still green, sway gently in the breeze. Republican George Allen is feeling good, and the crowd likes him. Almost everyone thinks he will win reelection. Then he says something. "Let's give a welcome to macaca here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia." No one knows what has happened.

But the confusion does not last long. Over the next week, people consult dictionaries in several languages. They find that the word "macaca" is a term for monkey, used in some places around the world as a racial epithet. At first, the senator recoils from the claims of insensitivity, refusing to apologize. Then he apologizes hesitantly, then profusely. At first, the senator's advisors say the word was a nickname for a mohawk haircut. Then they say the word meant nothing at all.

As days stretch into weeks, a video of that moment, with the senator onstage, spreads over the Internet like a sickness, entering popular culture and political history. Months later in the fall, when the votes are counted, it becomes clear that a successful politician has stumbled badly over a 20-year-old with a camcorder. The career of George Allen, the former front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, is in shambles. And when he finally concedes defeat two days after the 2006 election, he has not only lost a seat that was considered safe but also handed Democrats control of the Senate, completing their takeover of both houses of Congress.

(snip) much more

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/12/16/sidarth/print.html

[BlackVelvet04]

1. I have a friend who grew up in the same area

that allen did (in California) and he said macaca was a common insult.

[otohara]

2. "I Am Macaca"

Weeks after Allen's blunder, Sidarth finds himself writing an entrance essay for a class at the University of Virginia, where he is a senior. The class is called Campaigns and Elections, and it has about four applicants for every spot. "I get all these large, elaborate essays about the meaning of politics and why they are going to be president," says Larry Sabato, the professor. Sidarth writes only three words. "I am macaca." Sabato lets him in. "When you have the right stuff, you don't need to brag," the teacher explains. "A simple declarative sentence will do."

Good choice Salon.

[kestrel91316]

3. Dateline 2040: S. R. Sidarth elected America's first

President of South Asian descent.................

He's off to a good start!

[Strelnikov_]

4. Butterfly Effect

It is pretty clear (to me, anyway) that Macacawitz was the GOP Reich's hand picked successor to The Chimp. A 'personable' average guy empty suit (and quite possibly even dumber than the Chimp). A ready receptacle for whatever domestic and foreign policy machinations the Reich had.

For all their failings, John McCave, Rudy, and even Mitt Romulan at least seem to have some intelligence, and would hopefully be somewhat resistant to the worst of the Reich's ideas.

Sometimes, I kind of wonder if the 'Macaca' event was similar to that scene from the 'Dead Zone' where candidate Stillson reveals his real self.