Date: August 22, 2006 4:10:06 PM PDT
Subject: Konformist: Media Matters on George Allen & "Macaca"
Please send as far and wide as possible.
Thanks,
Robert Sterling
Editor, The Konformist
In reporting Allen's use of derogatory North African word "macaca,"
most major media outlets ignored Allen's familial ties to region
MediaMatters.org
Wednesday August 16, 2006
Summary: In reporting on Sen. George Allen's use of the racially
derogatory word "macaca" to refer to one of his opponent's campaign
volunteers and his claim not to know what the term means or why he
used it, the majority of media outlets left out a fact that might
shed light on the claim's veracity -- Allen's mother was born and
raised in Tunisia, a former French colony in North Africa, as Allen
has repeatedly noted in the past.
In reporting on Sen. George F. Allen's (R-VA) reference to one of
his opponent's campaign volunteers as "Macaca," most major media
outlets noted that the word is a slur that apparently originated in
North Africa. However, in reporting Allen's claim not to know what
the term means or why he used it, the majority of those media
outlets -- including The Washington Post, ABC, CNN, The New York
Times, the Associated Press, and MSNBC -- left out a fact that might
shed light on the claim's veracity: Allen's mother was born and
raised in Tunisia, a former French colony in North Africa, as Allen
himself has repeatedly noted in the past.
On August 11, Allen was caught on tape referring to S.R. Sidarth, a
volunteer with Allen's Democratic Senate challenger Jim Webb,
as "Macaca" and "[w]elcome[d]" Sidarth "to America and the real
world of Virginia." Sidarth is of Indian descent, but he was
reportedly born and raised in Virginia. As The Washington Post
reported on August 15, "In some European cultures, macaca is also
considered a racial slur against African immigrants, according to
several Web sites that track ethnic slurs." Responding to questions
raised over Allen's use of the term "macaca," Dick Wadhams, Allen's
campaign manager, "dismissed the issue with an expletive and
insisted the senator has 'nothing to apologize for,' " as the August
15 Post article reported. As an August 16 Post article further
noted, Allen subsequently apologized for his use of the term,
claiming his remarks "have been greatly misunderstood by members of
the media." The August 15 Post article had previously reported that
Allen did not know what "macaca" means, and that his use of the term
was really intended as a play on the word " 'mohawk,' a term that
his campaign staff had nicknamed Sidarth because of his haircut."
The article had added, "Sidarth said his hairstyle is a mullet --
tight on top, long in the back."
But as Salon.com Washington correspondent Michael Scherer detailed
in an August 16 Salon article, in addition to the fact that the
term "macaca" is "racist shorthand for blacks" with North African
origins, Allen's mother was born and raised in Tunisia:
Though he doesn't like to use it, the senator's full name is George
F. Allen. He gets the middle initial from his grandfather, Felix
Lumbrosso, a French-Italian who was incarcerated by the Nazis during
World War II. Felix raised Allen's mother, Etty, in Tunisia, a
French protectorate [sic] in North Africa. As a child, Allen's
grandparents lived near the family home, and Etty spoke five
languages around the house. Allen makes no secret of his heritage on
the campaign trail. "I have my grandfather's bloodlines," he said at
a recent swing through a suburb of Richmond. "My grandfather is
French-Italian. I have about one-sixteenth Spanish in me."
In North Africa, the word "macaca," often spelled "macaco"
or "macaque," is far more than a string of random syllables.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word dates back to
the mid-1600s, as a Flemish approximation of the Bantu word for
monkey in the Congo and southern Gabon. The word migrated north,
taking on all the racist connotations that followed African
colonization. By the early 1800s, Jacko Maccacco, a famous fighting
monkey, could be found on display in Westminster Pit, a notorious
London arena for dog fights. The word had entered the common
vernacular, and it eventually became a racist shorthand for blacks.
Additionally, a September 24, 2000, Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk,
Virginia) profile of Allen reported: "[I]t was Etty Allen who shaped
her son" (emphasis added):
He started talking at 10 months, and Etty Allen started quizzing
him. She had brought a bunch of records from: French, Italian,
Arabic and Spanish.
"Which language is that?" she'd say.
"The pretty one," he'd answer, or "the dark one."
She and her husband continued quizzing their children -- two sons
and then a daughter followed George -- in the family station wagon
on vacations. Dad would do the math, Mom the languages.
In his Salon article, Scherer also reported that Allen's sister
attested to the numerous languages spoken in the Allen household,
but said she and her mother were unfamiliar with the word "macaca":
In an interview Tuesday, George Allen's youngest sister, Jennifer
Richard, told Salon that both her mother and grandparents spoke
multiple languages around the house when they were kids. "My mom
speaks French to me. She spoke Arabic," Richard said. But she said
she knew nothing about the word "macaca." Later in the day, she
asked her mother, who she said also did not recognize the word.
Allen has frequently touted his mother's French-Tunisian links, most
recently on June 19. While discussing his Senatorial race on MSNBC's
Hardball with Chris Matthews, Allen mentioned his mother's Tunisian
ties to guest host and MSNBC chief Washington correspondent Norah
O'Donnell:
O'DONNELL: I read recently, though, that you recently said you wish
you were born in Iowa.
ALLEN: Well, during the gestation period, my father got his first
head-coaching job -- was at Morningside College in Sioux City [Iowa]
where my mother met him. My mother came over from Tunisia and fell
in love with my father. They got married.
During the gestation period, my father got a job at Whittier College
[California] -- the Poets, a fierce name for a team. And so, that's
where I was born. Of course, my preference would have been my father
got offered a job at the University of Virginia and I could have
been born in Charlottesville like all my kids.
During a May 25 press conference, Allen highlighted his family's
origins while discussing immigration reform. At the press
conference, to apparently show that "we are all a nation of
immigrants," Allen told reporters and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA): "My
mother came from Tunisia, although she has about three-eighths
Italian blood in her." Allen also emphasized his mother's Tunisian
ties while discussing immigration reform during the April 2 edition
of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Teasing Allen's
interview, Stephanopoulos noted that Allen's mother was "an
immigrant from Africa." Later, during his interview, Allen touted
his mother's immigration to rail against "rewarding" illegal
immigrants with "amnesty."
Yet as AMERICAblog's John Aravosis noted, the August 16 Post story
failed to mention that Allen's mother emigrated from a North African
country. Indeed, the Post's August 15 report also ignored that
apparently salient fact, as did most other media outlets that have
reported Allen's response to the "macaca" controversy. For example,
neither MSNBC nor ABC noted Allen's family's ties to the region
while reporting both on his use of the word "macaca" and his denial
that he meant to employ the term's derogatory meaning, despite him
touting his mother's Tunisian upbringing on their own news programs:
MSNBC: During the April 15 edition of Hardball, host Chris Matthews
stated: "Republican Senator George Allen apologized for calling a
rival campaign worker a 'Macaca,' a derogatory term for a North
African." Later in the broadcast, MSNBC correspondent David Shuster
elaborated, stating: "Macaca is a term that can refer to monkeys.
Allen says he was making a reference to the young man's mohawk
haircut. In any case, Allen has now apologized." Despite the fact
that Allen noted his mother's North African ties during the June 19
broadcast of the show, neither Matthews nor Shuster ever mentioned
Allen's Tunisian links while reporting on Allen's apology.
ABC: On the August 16 broadcast of Good Morning America, ABC News
White House correspondent Jessica Yellin reported on
Allen's "racially insensitive" remarks, noting: "Literally, 'macaca'
describes an Asian monkey, but in Europe and some immigrant
communities in America, 'macaca' is used as a racial slur." Yet,
even though Allen himself highlighted his mother's French-Tunisian
ancestry on the April 2 edition of This Week, Yellin failed to
report the connection when she noted Allen's apology, and co-anchor
Bill Weir also neglected to make the connection when he posed the
question: "[I]s this just an innocent case of foot-in-mouth disease
or something more sinister?"
Other outlets that neglected to note Allen's mother's ties to North
Africa* include CNN, The New York Times, and the AP:
CNN: In multiple CNN reports on the incident and Allen's apology,
CNN reporters or anchors have noted the racial epithet and Allen's
denial, without ever reporting Allen's family's connection to the
region and the language. For instance, reporting on the controversy
during the August 16 edition of CNN's American Morning, CNN
congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel referred to Allen's
remarks as "off-the-cuff" and simply stated "in some European
countries, "Makak" is used as a racial slur." Commenting on Koppel's
report, CNN Worldwide anchor and reporter Carol Costello said: "So,
you say potato, I say po-tah-ta. George Allen says 'macaca' instead
of 'mohawk.' So, decide for yourself."
The New York Times: In both its August 16 news article and editorial
on the incident, the Times also failed to note Allen's mother's
upbringing and heritage. Times reporter David Stout wrote in the
August 16 article, "Senator Says He Meant No Insult by Remark," that
the term "macaca" was "a genus that includes numerous species of
monkeys found in Asia." Stout then went on to note, citing the
August 15 Post article, "Mr. Allen said Monday that he had meant no
insult, that he was sorry if he hurt anyone's feelings and that he
did not know what 'macaca' meant." In addition to ignoring Allen's
familial connection to North Africa, neither Stout nor the Times'
editorial board even noted the apparent derogatory meaning of the
word in North African and European communities.
AP: In two August 16 wire reports, the AP also ignored both the
derogatory meaning of "macaca" and Allen's mother's upbringing.
Writing on Allen's denial, AP writer Larry O'Dell reported that
Allen "said the name was 'just made up' and that he had no idea that
macaca is a genus of monkeys including macaques." O'Dell further
reported that "Allen has been accused of racial insensitivity
before."
From the August 16 edition of ABC's Good Morning America:
WEIR: All right, Robin. So, damage control is under way this morning
on the part of a U.S. senator who was caught on tape making what
some are calling a racial slur. The senator has apologized, but is
this just an innocent case of foot-in-mouth disease or something
more sinister? Our Jessica Yellin in Washington has details. Jessica.
YELLIN: Good morning, Bill. Senator George Allen of Virginia is
considered a Republican superstar, a safe bet to keep his seat in
the Senate, and a serious presidential contender. But how quickly
presidential and political fates can change, especially when there
is a camera around, because now Allen is under the microscope for a
racially insensitive comment he made, and it was all caught on tape.
[...]
YELLIN: The video has exploded on the Internet and put Senator
George Allen in the hot seat.
MATTHEWS [clip]: Is this suicide by George Allen?
YELLIN: It happened at a campaign appearance. The senator used a
little known racial slur, "macaca," to apparently mock a man of
Indian descent.
[...]
YELLIN: Literally, "macaca" describes an Asian monkey, but in Europe
and some immigrant communities in America, "macaca" is used as a
racial slur.
[...]
YELLIN: In the age of YouTube and the Internet, you can be sure the
gaffe will continue to hunt Senator Allen for years to come. The
senator has since issued a statement saying that the word was,
quote, "in no way intended to be racially derogatory," and he says,
quote, "I apologize to anyone who may have been offended by the
misinterpretation of my remarks." We understand he has not placed a
call to Sidarth. Robin.
