Gook: John McCain's Racism and Why It Matters

The UpTake's Chuck Olsen interviews author Irwin Tang about his book, "Gook: John McCain's Racism and Why It Matters." McCain first used the work "gook" in the mass media in his 1973 article for U.S. News & World Report.

The word appears 12 times in the article and is available online here. Most recently, McCain used the term in his 2000 presidential campaign, as documented by the San Francisco Chronicle. To learn more about Mr. Tang's book, which also details McCain's connection to white supremacist groups, visit his web site.

Comments

[AZAcct]

Why oh why isn't this bigger news and why are there only 8 comments???

This is terrible and as Mr. Tang says...if he had used the "N-word" it would be all over for him...

ugh...

[phae100]

Why in the world are any sane people planning to vote for this man? I mean, I can sort of understand why the uber rich who want to keep getting huge financial advantages from government would vote for him

(altho, the truth is, I don't really see the point in stockpiling multi millions for personal use. How many houses, vcr's and cars do you need to feel happiness? After you've collected all possible toys for yourself, wouldn't it make most of us happy to help in some way to make the world a better place for everyone, if only to leave our positve mark on the world?)

But why in the world are the average people, the near 50% according to the polls, going to vote for a man who offers absolutely nothing helpful to them, and is a liar, a racist, ignorant, and following lockstep in the footsteps of the worst president ever? WHAT IS UP PSYCHOLOGICALLY WITH MCCAIN SUPPORTERS? They can't all be racists. What gives?

[Avembe]

I do think however ,Mr TANG should have waited a little bit more in order to release the book in the beginning of October...Yeah Right there...Now they WON'T be able to attack OBAMA with the Rev Wright

[Makesense]

That is the same reason McCain says bomb bomb bomb Iran as a joke.

[Paladine]

Somehow, I'm not surprised.

[sherbug]

He's right. Using the n-word would have finished McCain.

[robXdion]

I always wondered WHY no one picked up on this obvious racial slur in the past. The media continues to give him a pass. Perhaps Asian-Americans need to be more vocal and aggressive like Irwin Tang is here. And it's interesting how he tied it up so nicely to pass uses and American conflicts. This is why it's so inane when people say "the past is the past", as if there is no effect on the present.

[lovethesinner]

I'm really glad to see this issue of IMPLICIT REPUBLICAN RACISM brought up, and especially to see it being brought up by an Asian-American.

Degrading minorities has become so rampant among conservatives that the GOP has been equated with THE WHITE PEOPLES PARTY. Voices like Pat Buchanan, Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, Bill Bennet, Rush Limbaugh and others have consistently used racial terminology to identify themselves and divide America on wedge issues. (This is what Obama meant when he made the remark that voters vote out of "bitter"-ness.)

HATE is the base of the Republican platform. They hate anything:

new
that disadvantages the rich
addresses social justice
strengthens education
promotes peace

And, John McCain (once a "maverick" in their midst) has embraced all of this HATE to court their support to defeat CHANGE.

But, two items were always his own to claim: he voted against giving African-Americans MLK day, and he's consistently throughout his career as a politician degraded members of the Asian-American community, even though HIS OWN DAUGHTER is a Bangladeshi orphan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain#U.S._Congressman_and_a_growing_family

In my 56 years, I can't remember a person running for president of the United States with such a proclivity for demeaning behavior. John McCain's character, though heroic in his military service could be best characterized by the word:

RECKLESS.

[JJeff88]

At the very least, this is one more example of time passing McCain by.

He continues to sound like a dinosaur in an increasingly complex and modern world.