Maureen Chao utters racial slur while representing the United States in India
While giving a speech in India Maureen Chao, a United States diplomat, thought the following comment was appropriate:
But, after 72 hours, the train still did not reach the destination… and my skin became dirty and dark like the Tamilians
Needless to say this comment is not sitting well with the people of India or the nation’s government; both Maureen Chao and the United States have issued apologies for this embarrassment. But this is the type of thing that can be expected when the United States is being run by a bunch of amateurs–she has embarrassed the United States of America on the world stage and I have to wonder about her judgement when she thought this was acceptable. I also have to wonder about Barack Obama’s judgement for sending her in the first place.
This insult was made on foreign soil while she was representing the United States and it must be remembered that these were prepared remarks, this was not off the cuff banter, she had plenty of time to review her words and did not think there was anything wrong with what she had prepared to say.
So where is the outcry in the media? It is nonexistent of course, but remember the media coverage when George Allen called a volunteer from his opponent’s campaign “macaca?” The media made sure to tell the people–with its incessant coverage–that this was a racial slur and the American people became outraged and George Allen apologized, claiming he didn’t know what the word meant. This cost George Allen both his Senate seat and his presidential aspirations.
George Allen deserved his fate whether or not he even knew it was a racial slur when he spoke it–he should have been smart enough to know he should look up a word’s meaning before using it. Having said that, Allen’s statement pales in comparison to what Chao said–not in content, but because of the circumstances surrounding the two incidents.
George Allen’s slur was a spur of the moment mistake, while Chao’s slur was thought out and prepared. George Allen’s slur happened at home during a domestic election while Chao’s slur happened on the world stage. This is not meant to diminish the severity of George Allen’s statement, but rather an example of media bias at its greatest.
The media is giving Maureen Chao a pass on this issue–a pass that wouldn’t be afforded if Barack Obama was a Republican–an apology from Chao should not be sufficient, and it wouldn’t be if the media covered the Obama regime with the same vigor they covered George Bush’s presidency. But the media gives Barack Obama a pass on virtually every issue; from tax cheats and radicals in the cabinet, to Operation Gunrunner the media simply has not done its job up to this point and I wouldn’t expect them to start now.
America's Watchtower 
If a WASP or anyone on George Bush’s watch would have made that statement they would have been skewered in the MSM. Loudly and long. But that is the hypocrisy of this regime and their media lapdogs.
And as a side note – the few Tamils I met while on liberty in Singapore did not refer to themselves as “Tamilian” but as just plain Tamil.
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The double standard is on full display here, Maureen is lucky to have been appointed by Barack Obama because if she weren’t she would already be out of a job.
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She is a WASP, moron.
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I forgot the word ‘male’ after WASP. Will you ever forgive me for such an oversight?
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I don’t think that Sue is coming back, but she has given us yet another example of the left attacking an opponent rather than debating the issue at hand.
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Sue was on-point: Maureen Chao is a white woman (no, not blonde, though).
Otis, Confucius say, “When have pie on face, enjoy!”
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I would love to know her background, and how she got the job. No doubt more than we would want to know.
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The Obama regime smells of cronyism, no doubt in my mind that is why she got the job.
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chao in spanish means bye. her background
a wet back ooooops i mean douche
🙂
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I know Maureen and she hovers all of you right wing racists. She was a Fulbright scholar and has spent her life helping those less fortunate than her. Maureen would never intend such a horrible thing as suggesting a person’s skin color looks dirty. She made an unfortunate remark, that’s ONE unfortunate remark! I would need a super computer to count up all the unfortunate things GW Bush has uttered (and so many like the many folks on this site). There is one important difference between’s Maureen’s unfortunate remark and those of the right wing, she didn’t mean it.
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She just happened to make that one unfortunate remark while representing America and the people of India took such offense to it that the US government had to issue an apology. It may have been a mistake and she may not have meant it as an insult, but the damage was done and you can make excuses for her all that you want but the fact is she embarrassed herself and the United States.
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General: so when a libtard says something like that, they didn’t mean it to be racist? Besides, it doesn’t matter how she meant it, you know why?
Because you libtards have given us the new world order of politically correct fascism, in which no one can ever be forgiven under any circumstances for making just such a mistake…that’s why.
But you don’t like it when it happens to one of your own, do ya? Well that’s too bad, ya see sparky, this is how the sword works, it cuts both ways.
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Good point Leonard, this is the world the left has thrust upon us, a world where all slips of the tongue are unforgivable. But then when it comes back to bite one of them they quickly change their tunes. They want it both ways and we are not going to let them have it.
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I don’t think Ms. Chao meant it in the way it has been interpreted. She was simply saying that after a long train ride, her skin looked like that of the Tamil’s who were also on the train. As a society it seems everyone is scouring everyone else’s words looking for offense. In fact, I think that the people that take offense at her remarks are saying more about themselves than about her when they criticise her comments. It may have been a clumsy thing to say in the PC environment of the culture but I don’t think she is a racist.
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Well, Keith, the Tamil’s found the comment offensive and racist. That alone should have been reason for the media to react in the the same way as they most assuredly would have reacted if the comment had been made say by a visiting Republican congressman or Senator. Steve’s point about the bias and hypocrisy of the main stream media is entirely valid.
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Thank you, and you are exactly right; she insulted the people of a nation while on a diplomatic mission and even if she did not have racist intentions that is beside the point. The people of India took this as an insult and that is enough for me to consider her words harmful to national relations.
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She’s a nobody. You know how many obnoxious embassy staff there are, from any country?
Seriously: I went to the French embassy right here in NYC asking for information on traveling to France and joining the Foreign Legion — and the woman who gave me a simple mimeographed (not printed-out, mind you, but mimeographed) piece of paper looked like I was bothering her.
Maybe you folks think everyone’s as touchy and ready to be offended as you are, but the truth is the world is a very big place and most people can’t be bothered to notice yet another racist comment from yet another white person!
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She was overseas representing the US, and she did offend many people while over there. the US went so far as to apologize so yes, people did notice.
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Maybe so but this is the world that the politically correct left has thrust upon the American people, so it is hard to feel bad for a leftist when the culture they incubated comes back to bite them. In this case it is even worse because it was the people of another nation that considered this an insult.
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Dark is OK , What about “dirty”
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Basically she’s saying that Tamils look dirty and dark and she somehow can become like them after she spends 72 hours stuck in a train. Not only does she mock their skin color- which they have no control over but she also says that they are dirty.
Further these are children she is addressing. So that gives them a nice racial complex as a corollary to the initial kick up the rear!
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I’d normally agree, except that it’s reported that she said “dirty” as well as just “dark.”
I think that was a Freudian Slip there, that’s all. Kinda like Joe Biden opining that Barack Obama had a chance to win the Presidency because he was “well-spoken”…!
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Yes, the first articulate, clean black man. But wasn’t that Dick Durbin.
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Sure…even after giving her the benefit of doubt, as an official representing a nation, one expects more cautious and politically correct statements from her. I mean, what’s the difference b/w her (a senior official in a responsible position) vs an illiterate guy on the street who cares for nothing on this earth?
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As a Tamil, this statement is overt and outright racism. We do not need any apoligies from this individual – she merely needs to be expelled from India. We are an ancient culture and do not need poorly educated self serving diplomats to lecture us on anything and then apoligise. As far as the americans governement – what more can you expect from a non-culture whose only calling card is disseminating death around the globe.
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Thank you for your comment Rajasekar and you are right; coming from a regime which constantly seems to talk about the arrogance of America this comment seems to prove the point the Obama regime has been trying to make for years.
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The fact that you are offended means nothing to me.
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So much for celebrating diversity I guess.
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Unfortunately, this is NOT about Americans but about the Indians. And what they feel in their own country is their wish and they have every right to do so.
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Exactly Ed, she offended people in another nation while representing the US over there.
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Wow, an Obamite getting *called* for being a racist… How refreshing…
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Lots of misinformation here. The President, Republican or Democrat, does not handpick and send all diplomats out. The State Department is a bipartisan organisation as are all other Departments of the Federal government. The head of the Dept would of course depending on the administration be Dem or GOP.
Also Chao is a Vice Counsel, which means that she is among the most junior of the staff at the Consulate. She was speaking to a bunch of students in Chennai. Not the world stage.
[Also it’s entirely possible that Chao might have entered the service when Bush was President or may be a Republican herself. Neither of these have anything to do with her comments.]
Having said this, it is deeply offensive and ungracious to insult your host country and unprofessional of a diplomat to make slips like this in a public forum. Doesn’t matter if George Allen says it or Chao – a racist comment is a racist comment. Perhaps she is just cut out for diplomatic work. I think she should be recalled to show the Indians that the US truely regrets her words and that it does not reflect official US thinking.
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So Obama isn’t responsible at all for who is sent overseas to represent America? Chao was representing America and Barack Obama is the president, this means that she represents Barack Obama as well as America, to think that this does not reflect on Barack Obama is naive.
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It is entertaining to see the Obama regime called on the carpet; they have been playing the race card for so long, it is good to see the tables turned on them for once.
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It does not matter her particular political position or in which government she was sent to India. She is a representative of the US government, and Obama is the utmost representative of the US. Thus she represents Obama, she represents America, regardless of who appointed her.
It is because governments cut the budget for education that morons like this sprout everywhere turning the US a country of idiots, without any money or intelligence but still believing their superiority. Can it get any more ridiculous?
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And any diplomat in a foreign country, talking to students, political leaders, homeless or sick people, housewifes, military staff, etc. IS surely acting representing the US in another country. This surely translates in world stage. This is basic commom sense.
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Exactly!
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Wow – what an unbelievable comment.
Now I know why “some” Asian women EXCLUSIVELY date White guys (and I say “some” because you can’t say that all people are the same).
As far as Ms. Chao is concerned, I hope that someone kindly explains to “Miss Identity Crisis” that her comment was far from appropriate.
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You would think that someone would have explained this to her before her speech, but now that it is too late and she has embarrassed the country I hope she shows good judgement for once and steps down.
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This is not the first time that etiquette has been a problem with this administration. Where is Miss Manners when you need her? They really need someone in there to tell them what is appropriate and what is not, don’t you think?
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Relax: She’s white. Not blonde, but if anything, she may have married an Asian guy! (Though “Wang” apparently is also an Austrian surname, “Chao” is probably 100% Chinese!)
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She should be removed from India. Her life would be in danger if she hang around in tamilnadu. Indians are emotional people especially tamils. It is not slip of the tongue. it is how she thinks. Bad Bad for obama to keep her there. Longer she stay OBAMA support i everywhere goes down because if you tolerate racist you have no right to say anything.
Anything OBAMA say will be devalued. White racist sitting in black neighbourhood callin every one a nigger will get beaten up and shot immediately. She should not be in india.
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You are right, this was not a slip of the tongue because these remarks were prepared and thought out and she simply did not think there was anything wrong with what she said.
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Why even use that kind of verbosity? besides, I thought we were broke. What is a moron like that even doing in India?
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A good point, it seems like we could have saved a little money be cancelling this trip before she had the chance to embarrass us.
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Simple and great comment. Right to the point!
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It sums it up well, doesn’t it?!
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I sm surprised..such a comment coming from a US Diplomat. I am sure she is not representing the Unprejudiced and impartial US People when she made that statement. US Government or People are not known for making or supporting such comments.
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She does not represent the views of the American people, but the American left has made it part of their policy to divide the American people into groups and conquer them one by one, so this falls in line with the leftist playbook.
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This is just a weird story. She’ll be gone soon I bet. The odd thing is why even say that? Sometimes I don’t get people.
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That is what is so odd about this; why did she say it and how could she possibly think that is was a good idea? She will be gone, I don’t think she will be going on any more diplomitic missions any time soon.
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Another great article Steve.
Of course all the claims that the same remark from a conservative appointee would ruin them are right. However I’ve got to disagree with most on one point.
It’s not hard for me to interrupt what we KNOW was said, with no additional context as to intent as an attempt to emphasize the point that Chao’s skin was visibly dark with filth after 72 hours on a train. A pretty tacky way to make a point but if this is in fact the case, certainly not worth losing a job over.
My deal is I’m sick to death of all things PC. Especially the incessant baseless cries of racism that have destroyed the credibility of the politically left over the past couple of years.
Personally, I’d not now call for someone’s termination over a stupid comment simply because I know the same courtesy would not be extended to a conservative.
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Thank you and you make a really good point.
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I’m a Tamil and what she said is indeed offensive though I dont think she meant in an offensive way. But that sure is a mistake coming from a diplomat. However, this should be taken as a one off incident and not stereotype the US as being insensitive and racist. From my experience with the people from US, they are really nice & accomodating people. There will be ignorant people everywhere and the best way to handle them is to ignore them.
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I am sure she didnt mean it in an offensive way, but it was a really stupid thing to say and she obviously wasn’t thinking.
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Hate to spoil your theory about the left having double standards…I originally read an outraged post in a left blog…here’s the link my friend – http://bossip.com/441493/ho-sit-down-u-s-diplomat-in-india-calls-the-native-folks-skin-dark-and-dirty-43081/. And I read another outraged post in the Huffingtonpost as well.
You are right, there is an organized conspiracy to divide and conquer the masses. But it ain’t the left nor is it the right. It is conducted by a non-aligned ruling elite. Read the history of Nathaniel Bacon, a white man that organized a black and white milita in 1676. He was able to unite former slaves (slavery wasn’t a life sentence at that time) and former indentured servants; his actions scared the ruling elite so much they decided to create a social construct that forever would keep poor whites and poor minorities divided.
Peace – harveysglobalpolitics.blogspot.com
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So what Indians are dirty and ugly and to think they have two of them rag head hadji dark people with whitey hair as governors in the deep south.Now that is change. It’s know wonder inbred lizard lip whiteys will be the minority in America by 2030
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Do white people ever think before they speak?! I mean take a second to say the commnet in your head before catching foot-in-disease.
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Barack Obama could also benefit from this advise so the problem isn’t only with white people.
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She seems to ignore the fact that dirty and dark people from India are much better than people who look like white and pale lab rats, like her, in math and computer skills, so much that dumb white people are increasingly jobless in her own nation. Not only her skin but her brains seems to be bleached. BTW, I am also white but I despise this kind of white human garbage.
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If I lived in the US I would be a democrat, 100%. (I live in Canada and vote NDP, pretty much the party farthest to the Left that can ever be successful in an election)
I also think she meant to say “skin became dirty (new idea) and dark like the Tamilians.”
But an apology here simply isn’t enough, especially not an apology “if her unfortunate remarks offended anyone.” You apologize for what you DO, it’s not conditional on the reactions of the crowd.
The general attitude of “it’s OK because they’re on my side of the political spectrum” is just scary (and I see it on both sides in equal measure). I may despise most right wing policies but if I let the people who claim to represent me talk like a bunch of idiots I just deligitimize my own values. People have a lot to say about the lowering of political discourse (moreso in the US, a sad number of Canadians are content to be pathetically ignorant) but no one side is wholly responsible, and at this point I worry that the whole continent is going to go up in flames if it’s not reined in fast.
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Yup, lots of misinformation here. As AT pointed out, while she does represent the US in all that she does, she is not a political appointee, and Foreign Service officers are career employees. They don’t start over every time we have a new election. This has nothing to do with left vs right.
The question I’d ask you is did you ever consider that the media might have misquoted her, before you judged her? Have you seen or heard her speech? Ever consider that one media source spliced two separate comments together, and the rest of the media just took that and ran? Stuff like that never happens, right?
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Ah yes, the vast right wing conspiracy rears its ugly head once again!
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How did you pull that tired old BS from my comment? Did you skip the part about “This has nothing to do with left vs right? Since media often misquote (intentionally or unintentionally) people from all walks of life (again, this is hardly a partisan issue), my question is whether the original source of this partial quote got it right. Your readers might be interested to know that the original source of this quote, whether you realize it or not, is…wait for it…the Hindustan Times.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/US-diplomat-calls-Tamils-dirty-and-dark/Article1-732857.aspx
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Her comments were totally taken out of context. Americans – in general – do not have good grammar skills in spoken or written English.
What she said was (analysis added in parentheses):
… my skin became dirty …(whose skin would not be after 72 hours on a train that was likely crowded and with doors and windows wide open like all trains in India?)
… and dark like the Tamils (what is wrong with that? Who can deny that Tamils are “dark?”)
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Yes, so after a long train ride her skin became dirty and dark and she compaired this to the Tamils. Which means she feels the Tamils look dirty, or she was playing into a stereotype
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ML:
Careful now, you might hurt your back bending over backwards like that 😛
LOL
The march of the drones is in full force.
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It is amazing the lengths that the left will go to defend this racist statement!
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Yo Whitey,
why are u grey when u die?
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Actually the skin turns a mottled color of either purple/red/blue, due to a result of reduced blood circulation. This is at the end stages of life. You might want to rethink the “grey” color.
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Ah, yeah?
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I love how the Libtard Borg comes out to defend her, it’s truly pathetic.
The LA Times for example: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/08/us-diplomat-maureen-chao-remarks.html
Oh, and she’s a “Fulbright Scholar” who dedicated her life to “poor people” ….
You Libtard Borg drones crack me up 😛
In a sane world, we’d probably give her a break, but why should we when the Libtard Borg viciously attack every conservative in America by blaming them for every stupid word ever uttered by anyone even remotely associated with the tea party or Republicans, etc.?
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They go out of their way to paint her as a good person who made a simple mistake and that may be right but I want her treated the same was a conservative would be treated for making the same mistake.
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There are some people that say stupid stuff because of ignorance and there are some people that say it to hurt. I guess we really don’t know which she is. As I have said before “consider the source” and don’t take things so personal. She was not speaking for me.
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Hi, I’m Preethi, I am a Tamilian living in Tamil Nadu, India. Her words have really deeply hurt all of us..yes we are dark…but that does not mean we are all dirty..yes Chennai is dusty and humid which makes dust stick on to our face…but we are proud of our city..this city has historical significance and we expect everyone who come here to respect this city and the people here..whether she really meant it or not is a different issue..but how can someone just stand in our city and talk about us so boldly..?..if she meant that all the dark people are dirty then I’m sorry what is Barack Obama like?. We are completely shocked by her remarks..and one more thing would you imagine if anyone from a foreign country makes a low remark about USA standing in the USA how will they react?..and Maureen could never have come back to the USA if she said something similar in China about the Chinese..basically there should be respect between every individual no matter what race or religion or status they belong to..and when it comes to being a diplomat they should definitely be very cautious about what they talk..I’m sure she was taught how to talk and what to talk,..this was a complete shock to all of us in the state and we flushed in embarrassment when we heard the word “dark and dirty”.
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Thanks for stopping by. I cannot believe all of the people who have come out of the woodwork to support Chao and I find it disgusting. It doesn’t matter if she meant it to be offensive or not because the fact is that people like you did find it offensive.
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Poor ex Consul,
has to live with a 2 inch lonf chinese Weiner. Must be soooo frustrated
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What was that? It actually had no meaning to it, did it? Ah, it must have been just random words.
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I’m not sure either, but I will leave it because it shows us what we are dealing with here.
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Looks like Maureen Chao is being expelled from India. I’m American of Tamil origin and it’s disgusting to hear the liberal establishment (e.g. La Times) defend Chao, who is clearly a clown. She may have helped poor people her entire life but her comments make it clear: she sees those people as inferior. It’s the same situation as when Clinton made those Gandhi gas station comments several years earlier. There are plenty of people in the liberal establishment/media who are racists.
The other comment I would like to make is that her comments are at the very least an ignorant stereotype. I would expect someone who spent so much time in India would know that there are many light skinned Tamils. I am one of them- and I still take offense to Maureen Chao’s “unfortunate” remarks. What she said merely perpetuates long standing Aryan-Dravidian stereotypes which is a fundamental basis for the caste system.
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It must be very frustrating to hear these liberals defending her words. It is the liberals who constantly tell us about celebrating diversity and yet when one of their own utters a racial slur they come to her defense.
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