There is an important way to look at George Felix Allen's recent "macaca" outburst, which I haven't seen discussed. Racial epithets work in two directions: they create a `them," and, at the same time, they create an "us." In many cases, it is the creation of the "us" that is the most important.
Many of us were introduced for the first time to George Felix Allen by the public flap and the ample controversy over just what "macaca" means and why it was said. Perhaps different things stand out for some who learned of him in this fashion. For some, the things that stand out about Allen's history may be his father, the famous football coach;, his college history of Confederatophilia, and his being a Republican Governor and now Senator from Virginia. For others, perhaps one of the things that stands out most is that Allen, who is not from Virginia, was insulting a man, Siddarth, who was born and bred in Virginia. Welcome to Virginia? Hold on a sec.
Who is the real outsider here?