The new third rail
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Speak no evil |
When Macacagate first broke, I felt profoundly disrespected and helpless. It wasn’t because someone had yelled a racial insult, because that happens all the time, but because the offender was a sitting government official who could slur with impunity, escape without repercussion and win reelection handily. That seemed as much an affront to the idea of America as Dubya’s spying, disappearance and torture laws, and though smaller-scale, far more personal. Indeed, it took George Allen two weeks of falling poll numbers to be browbeaten into apologizing to S.R. Sidharth.
What I hadn’t counted on was that Allen’s slur played into an existing narrative about his racist history. Or that his Senate seat was widely considered part of the Republican firewall, key to their hopes of retaining the Senate. Put those together with a hometown paper, the Washington Post, which abhorred Allen’s Neanderthal history, competent oppo researchers on the Webb campaign and liberal blogs baying for blood, and you had the perfect storm.
Because of our limited readership, desi blogs had much less to do with Allen’s defeat than large political blogs and the mainstream media. We suckled off the teat of the political blogs, filtered out the wildest partisan rhetoric and presented the remainder as a popcorn feast. But we were largely bystanders.
Nevertheless, politics, like baseball, is a highly superstitious game. Anomalies on the political trail turn into legend. There are any number of reasons why Michael Dukakis lost to Bush père, but you won’t see many Dems taking tank rides any more. Or for that matter candidates crying in anger, politicians parading unshaven in front of the camera, candidates promising to raise taxes or take away your guns.
One of the most lasting effects of this campaign is that slurring desis is now seen as a political third rail, just as insulting blacks has been since the Civil Rights Movement and slurring East Asians has been for the last couple of decades. Mandarins sitting around campaign war rooms will tell ghost stories to even the most insensitive of candidates. ‘Watch what you say about Indians,’ they’ll say. ‘You remember what happened to Allen.’
And they will. Their political antennæ will shiver. Allen’s campaign was already in the spotlight. His meltdown was spectacular in a way reserved for traffic accidents and Courtney Love.
By an accident of history, right-place-right-time, or by political masterstroke, Sidharth has turned the course of a war and will probably save thousands of lives. Serendip repays in unexpected ways. We’ll still get random teens yelling ‘Go back to Iraq!’ from their jacked-up 4×4’s (true story). But not from a government official, not in public. They’ll think twice before casually slurring us, our families or our children.
Is the third rail effect irrational? Yes. Is it cargo cult science? Doubtless. If current immigration trends continue, desis will remain a small percentage of the U.S. population for years to come. But let’s not look a historical accident in the mouth. Tuesday night spelled the end of macaca in mainstream American politics.
on Thursday, November 9th, 2006, 7:13 pm in Issues, Macacagate, Politics › 
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Manish,
A very sobering analysis. Largely, Young Virginians, under 30 helped push Webb over the finishing line ahead of Allen. Macacagate did influence that swing from right to left of that spectrum of the voting population. Like the infamous ‘Dukakis’ tank ride, Macacagate will go down in history as a significant event. eventhough Sidarth may be a mere foot note in this whole process. And, like you said, it will be a long way before a Desi becomes one of the faces of this nation.
Cliff
You do have more influence than you realize! I contributed to the Webb campaign after I read on of your early postings on the subject. In fact, this was my first even political donation.
Manish,
Great article..where do you come up with all this stuff?
“..We suckled off the teat of the political blogs, filtered out the wildest partisan rhetoric and presented the remainder as a popcorn feast…”
“..His meltdown was spectacular in a way reserved for traffic accidents and Courtney Love.”
and yes, you influenced my first political donation too!
You have summed it up nicely. Though I’m not eligible to vote (in US), I did make an effort to get the word out.
Manish, very timely afterthought to the Macacagate. the point is not if we are going to be reckoned with as a political force or not becuase of this incident, but the fact (as you said) that people in power would now think twice before slurring desis. and Webb’s dosa session was clearly an attempt to court the desi junta. not that it means anything more than last minute dramatics that politicians indulge in.
but yes, blogs like yours have contributed towards making more desis aware about this issue. You won’t believe, but even though the elections are over, there still are desis in US who haven’t heard of Macacagate (very well educated, well-placed desis at that). if nothing else, then some of these folks atleast have gotten to know that “once upon a time there was a macaca” :).
beautifully written Manish..
You posted about Macacagate and made me bite my nails on monday night as Allen went about being a bufoon on telly.
Well done all around!
Thanks, guys. It’s truly wonderful to know that a) people are reading and b) people contributed to the Webb campaign!
GO MACACA!
Allen’s Macaca slur has been the greatest blessing of this election. With it, he revealed himself a racist, bigoted jackass. Without it, we all may well have known what he was but would have been stuck with him, or worse, he may have ended up president.
So let’s all give a moment’s thanks for macaca. He took one for the team, but the team won the race.
Hey.. you’re famous, Manish!!
Um, “Mandarins”? You’re being ironic, right?
Anyway, nice to see you in Salon War Room today.