The remarks he made:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM19YOqs7hU

Now this happened not too long ago actually and when it did I was going to start a topic on it but decided not to, because I really didn't think it was all that big a deal. But now the media is in a feeding frenzy over George Allen's 'macaca' remark and started the furious dig from 30 years ago for potential damaging comments made when he was in college in the 70's.

Questions for debate:

Where was the media when Joe Biden made his remarks regarding Indians?

If this was given more time(if any at all) in the media would it have hurt his race relations as a senator?

Where was the media when Joe Biden made his remarks regarding Indians?

I have seen this several times on MSNBC.

If this was given more time(if any at all) in the media would it have hurt his race relations as a senator?


I really don't know how people of Indian descent in Delaware see this.

The problem for Biden isn't the senate seat. I don't think he's up for reelection this time. He is, however, a candidate for president - not BTW my favorite. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out. Whether it's Allen or Biden, the old saying applies, "loose lips sink ships."


Here's a link to Biden's explanation concerning the matter.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13757367/

It was a sloppy comment that can be polished up in retrospect into a glowing homage to the great stream of Indian migration to the lower three counties by the Keystone state.

This is politics as usual. Not too admirable, but not quite a Macaca.

I think Biden well weather this comment better than George Allen.

It seems to be reasonably well covered and is out there to be brought up again if Biden becomes a serious presidential candidate or if he runs again for the Senate.

Here's something interesting from a media point of view... If you do a google search under news for "Joe Biden racist" it gives you 10 results. These are archived pretty deep so it has nothing to do with the fact that the Biden incident was in May as it would tally all relevant results since then.

When you search "George Allen racist" it gives you 650 results... WOW... No bias there in how the media is reporting this.

Just out of curiosity Sleeper, how many of those 650 hits on Allen were blogs? I don't think of blogs as media. I was 64-years-old last week. It is, as they say, "hard to teach an old dog new tricks." There now. I've done some self-deprecating humor. Maybe some of us take ourselves entirely too seriously.

I have to go get my son from his grand parents but I did a quick tally on just the first page of search results and it yielded 11 hard news sources, 1 more in the first page of listings than ALL results about Joe Biden. Nothing to see here

For a potential Presidential candidate to say this is just flat out stupid. Though, it seems that he knew the guy and I will admit that I have traded extremely insensitive, but ingenuine racist remarks with close friends of different races.

The difference between Allen and Biden is that Allen was antagonistic and Biden was playful. In the end it was still a stupid comment to make while on camera.

This is not a stupid comment for the average person, but for a politician it is very stupid.

You know what sleeper...it's not about words, it's about respect and disrespect. I don't see a problem with the comment at all. There was no malice that I could perceive, could you??

This all goes back too... "Why can black people use the N-word and it's O.K., but its wrong when a white person says it. " It's not about words... but what is said and what is felt by the people it is said to. You want to blame it on a liberal media, seriously.

Stop comparing apples and oranges.. You want to compare racist remarks.. to weak racial quips..

George Allen is accused of using the word "Nigger" around Black people.

Did you ever ask your self why he made a "macaca" remark... did you ever hear him call a white person that??? Why not?? Maybe, just maybe... it had something to do with the guys skin color??? What do you think?

Honestly, all I see droop is a liberal saying it's ok for his side to say things like Biden.

The difference between me and you is that I will actually call out people on either side, when all I have ever seen you do is defend a democrat/liberal and criticize a republican/conservative. I am the one who started the Foley thread and his actions disgust me.

I bet you even have an excuse for Robert Byrd's membership in the KKK and his trying to filibuster the 1964 civil rights act. Or do you just want to go silent on that one

No the difference is I have an idea what makes things "racist." You're trying to just make compaisons, while ignoring key differences. Context matters, message matters, relationships matter, environments matter, history matters.

Tell me where the racism is... Tell me what was said that was deragatory towards the Indian?? You got a beef... what is it... Look at your link and tell me that Biden wasn't trying to make a Joke with the Indian. George Aleen was making a racist remark AT the native American.

You want me to call out the other side... I think Byrdsa racist. I think most elected democrat are spineless.. They're just Republican-light. Now you can go search my post over the last couple years and see that your opinion is just wrong.

Back to the debate....

You need to tweak your racist radar... set it to "message", right now yours is set on "words"