Apparently she’s an active DAR member.
2 Likes
The response was stupid. The racism was stupid. The questioning her patriotism was stupid.
13 Likes
I wasn’t aware there was a clear delineation, and that you can be racist without shitty and stupid.
6 Likes
“But how do you KNOW!!”
People really think anything up to and including burning crosses on a lawn isn’t racist.
13 Likes
What a horrible thing to say.
7 Likes
I think it might have. I assume every European I meet does not have American ancestry.
Agreed. Glad we agree! 
2 Likes
You can be shitty and stupid without being racist.
2 Likes
When John McCain talked about his family’s tradition of military service none of his opponents ever smugly replied “oh, I didn’t realize that your parents came here from Panama to fight for Admiral Nimitz.”
Like Duckworth, McCain was born abroad to an active duty officer in the US Military. But his ancestry and patriotism were never questioned because he “looks American” (that is, white) while Duckworth looks Asian.
46 Likes
Sure. I still think this counts. His underlying assumption is that she couldn’t possible be a real DAR because one of her parents is Asian.
17 Likes
Slurs aren’t the only things that are racist. It’s the underlying attitude.
Its the same as when someone asks my (half asian half european) girlfriend where she is from.
People often ask her “where are you from”, to which she will reply “New Jersey” where she was born.
But looking ‘different’, people often say: “no, no, but where were you born?” To which (to their surprise!) they get the same answer.
Then they say: “Oh, okay. So where were your parents from?” To which she then replies, a bit more in detail with "My dad grew up in Florida, & my mom moved here from Taiwan."
Thus the confused white person feels satisfied, they know which category to file her in. It’s not like they actually care what her ancestry is any more than they would about my wasp lookin’ ass (If they did, it might be important to mention that her mothers parents actually moved to Taiwan from China)
Its about the assumptions we make & expectations we feel entitled to have fulfilled. Its like these people (although not consciously malicious) feel that someone like my gf owes them an explanation of why she looks the way she does.
Also, see what Mindysan33 said.
30 Likes
Veterans disabled in the line of duty, boo!
Armed insurrectionists, yay!
I am finding conservatives very confusing these days.
29 Likes
He was trying to “other” her, pose her heritage as not being American, based upon what he believed would be a bias toward her race. No doubt he feels insecure, given her service and sacrifice, vs lying about his own:
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk accepted responsibility Thursday for a series of misstatements about his Navy Reserve career, including that he served in the Gulf War, that he once commanded the Pentagon war room and that he came under fire while flying intelligence missions over Iraq.
Kirk apologizes for misstatements about military career
This is very important because our leaders are there to represent us; ALL of us. When I see a politician “other” people like this, I can’t help but assume they do that when it comes time to consider funding, neighborhoods, hate crime legislation. etc. It shows an ignorant clannishness that isn’t tolerable from a leader in a diverse culture.
Frankly, when someone shows this level of dimwittedness, does racism even have to enter into the question of them being a public servant? Anyone that would utter such a thing behind a podium, knowingly into a hot mic… well, do they even have the presence of mind and situational awareness to represent other people publicly?
32 Likes
And yet she’s an American citizen, which is all that she needs to be in order to run for office. So the remark WAS racist–it’s entire purpose was meant to call her ancestry and military record into question.
22 Likes
Duckworth’s father was an American expat working in southeast Asia. Not quite the same as McCain’s situation, but not completely different. So, fair point.
I also think McCain was never attacked on his patriotism is because he’s a Republican. If he was a Democrat, maybe he would have been
4 Likes
This article and comment thread would make for a good educational opportunity in schools on racism, simply because some people just assume he’s being a jerk, but not a racist jerk. And he is being a racist jerk, btw. If you still don’t quite get that, all hope isn’t lost…but it’s fading fast.
14 Likes
The extra shitty bit is that apparently Mark Kirk has previous claimed military honors for himself that he was never, in fact, actually given. Irony!
Yeah, “Tammy Duckworth” is one of those really traditional Thai names - it’s really hard to figure out. That’s clue number one - the other one being that Kirk’s response was to her talking in detail about being a Daughter of the American Revolution whose family had a long history of military service. There’s no possible excuse for that guy.
I assumed she was born in America because she’s American and her father is American. Funny, that.
19 Likes
You mean that he knew her father was American and he was appealing to the racists in the crowd?
Asian people marry people who aren’t Asian. I assumed that was the case.
So, she’s used to it?
