The petition
According to an article in the Washington Post, Senator George Allen, a Republican 2008 Presidential hopeful, called an Indian American staffer for his opponent, Jim Webb, "macaca."
Per the Washington Post:
"Democrat James Webb’s Senate campaign accused Sen. George Allen (R) of making demeaning comments Friday to a 20-year-old Webb volunteer of Indian descent.
S.R. Sidarth, a senior at the University of Virginia, had been trailing Allen with a video camera to document his travels and speeches for the Webb campaign. During a campaign speech Friday in Breaks, Virginia, near the Kentucky border, Allen singled out Sidarth and called him a word that sounded like “Macaca.”
“This fellow here over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca, or whatever his name is. He’s with my opponent. He’s following us around everywhere. And it’s just great. We’re going to places all over Virginia, and he’s having it on film and its great to have you here and you show it to your opponent because he’s never been there and probably will never come.”
After telling the crowd that Webb was raising money in California with a “bunch of Hollywood movie moguls,” Allen again referenced Sidarth, who was born and raised in Fairfax County.
”Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia,” said Allen, who then began talking about the “war on terror…” (Washington Post)
According to blogger Jeffrey Feldman, "macaca" is a real racial slur.
"Macaca' or 'macaque' is a nasty racial epithet alright. It is often used by American white supremacists to describe black people. In Belgium, it is a racial slur for 'dirty arab.' Could this be George Allen's Mel Gibson moment?"
Jay Chaudhuri, President of the Indian-American Leadership Initiative (IALI), issued the following statement regarding United States Senator George Allen's demeaning comments.
"It is unacceptable that Senator Allen used a racial slur to refer to a twenty-year old native Virginian of Indian descent. Senator Allen needs to explain himself and owes the Indian American community an apology."
WE THE UNDERSIGNED DEMAND A CLARIFICATION AND A FORMAL APOLOGY FROM THE ALLEN CAMPAIGN TO THE INDIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY:
Sign the petition
Fields marked * are required.