Don't be fooled
More background info on George Allen's acts of racism is coming to light. We all know that Allen has tried innumerable times to explain away incidents that might be construed (generously) as racial insensitivity or (less generously) as racist. But funny, they keep popping up. What gives?
We know about the Confederate flag -- merely a sign of youthful rebellion.
And the noose -- just shows he's a law and order kinda attorney general!
A holiday for MLK? Who needs another holiday? Unless it has something to do with Confederate pride... but that's just celebrating the history and culture of the south -- and who wants to celebrate slavery (so ugly, after all), so let's just whitewash that bit out.
And "macaca" -- an invented nickname with no particular meaning. A mere misunderstanding and lapse of his memory for the guy's name.
And bristling at the suggestion that his grandfather might be Jewish -- only trying to protect his mother's privacy. Admirable.
George Allen, he's just a good family man and tough public official with a misunderstood sense of humor. He can't help himself; he was born to be "one of the boys".
Indeed.
And here's what some of those other boys have to say: Three members of Sen. George Allen's college football team remember a man with racist attitudes at ease using racial slurs reads the headline of this article on salon.com.
I'm sure Allen will try to explain this away too... perhaps these recollections were just how things were done back then -- nothing extraordinary -- and he was just doing what he needed to in order to build team spirit and comaraderie?
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Don't be fooled, Virginia voters. This guy reeks of intolerance in a way that only someone who has embraced racial supremacism as a way of life does. That racism may be plastered over with a manufactured veneer for the sake of his public face, electibility and career, but the evidence continues to draw a picture of a bigot.
I find it quite disturbing that two teammates were so concerned about retribution from the Allen faction that they only spoke on the condition of anonimity. Seems he was bully as a teenager (just ask his sister), was a bully in college and is probably still a bully. Definitely, there's a mean streak there, even his friends acknowledge it.
I'm sure Allen will assert that the anecdotes were either complete fabrications meant to malign his character (is that even possible at this point?) or false memories being trundled out by folks with democratic ties and a political agenda. And then they'll probably seek to undermine the credibility of those who made the assertions... which could have devastating personal and professional repercussions for those involved. Yeah, I don't really blame them for not wanting their names in print.
But if they put themselves out there, aren't they fair game and just cowards for ducking attribution? One might suggest that. Others might say that clearly the former teammates think it unconscionable that a publicly elected official with mighty responsibilities holds these attitudes -- and that the voters deserve to know. That their personal lives have nothing to do with the incidents of the 1970s. But this line of discussion is a red herring to distract focus from the nature of the allegations.
Now we all know that I am bugged by George Allen and would rather see a macaca elected to the Senate than him, so that's my agenda. The author of this article interviewed more than a dozen former teammates of Allen, and there are several from the college football team who defend Allen as being without prejudice or bias -- and are quoted as saying so. There are some who remember him as a good guy without any particular animosity towards blacks, so both sides of the story are represented (although Allen's side is not because no one would return the writer's calls regarding these allegations). Either way, judge for yourself. The article is a good read.
UPDATE: Allen's camp denies the allegations in the WaPo.
We know about the Confederate flag -- merely a sign of youthful rebellion.
And the noose -- just shows he's a law and order kinda attorney general!
A holiday for MLK? Who needs another holiday? Unless it has something to do with Confederate pride... but that's just celebrating the history and culture of the south -- and who wants to celebrate slavery (so ugly, after all), so let's just whitewash that bit out.
And "macaca" -- an invented nickname with no particular meaning. A mere misunderstanding and lapse of his memory for the guy's name.
And bristling at the suggestion that his grandfather might be Jewish -- only trying to protect his mother's privacy. Admirable.
George Allen, he's just a good family man and tough public official with a misunderstood sense of humor. He can't help himself; he was born to be "one of the boys".
Indeed.
And here's what some of those other boys have to say: Three members of Sen. George Allen's college football team remember a man with racist attitudes at ease using racial slurs reads the headline of this article on salon.com.
I'm sure Allen will try to explain this away too... perhaps these recollections were just how things were done back then -- nothing extraordinary -- and he was just doing what he needed to in order to build team spirit and comaraderie?
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Don't be fooled, Virginia voters. This guy reeks of intolerance in a way that only someone who has embraced racial supremacism as a way of life does. That racism may be plastered over with a manufactured veneer for the sake of his public face, electibility and career, but the evidence continues to draw a picture of a bigot.
I find it quite disturbing that two teammates were so concerned about retribution from the Allen faction that they only spoke on the condition of anonimity. Seems he was bully as a teenager (just ask his sister), was a bully in college and is probably still a bully. Definitely, there's a mean streak there, even his friends acknowledge it.
I'm sure Allen will assert that the anecdotes were either complete fabrications meant to malign his character (is that even possible at this point?) or false memories being trundled out by folks with democratic ties and a political agenda. And then they'll probably seek to undermine the credibility of those who made the assertions... which could have devastating personal and professional repercussions for those involved. Yeah, I don't really blame them for not wanting their names in print.
But if they put themselves out there, aren't they fair game and just cowards for ducking attribution? One might suggest that. Others might say that clearly the former teammates think it unconscionable that a publicly elected official with mighty responsibilities holds these attitudes -- and that the voters deserve to know. That their personal lives have nothing to do with the incidents of the 1970s. But this line of discussion is a red herring to distract focus from the nature of the allegations.
Now we all know that I am bugged by George Allen and would rather see a macaca elected to the Senate than him, so that's my agenda. The author of this article interviewed more than a dozen former teammates of Allen, and there are several from the college football team who defend Allen as being without prejudice or bias -- and are quoted as saying so. There are some who remember him as a good guy without any particular animosity towards blacks, so both sides of the story are represented (although Allen's side is not because no one would return the writer's calls regarding these allegations). Either way, judge for yourself. The article is a good read.
UPDATE: Allen's camp denies the allegations in the WaPo.
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