Was McCain's "gook" comment racist?

[ReverendHellh0und]

Was McCain's "gook" comment racist?


Yes or no.

Why?

 

[the makeout hobo]

Was McCain's "gook" comment racist?


Yes or no.

Why?

Whats your thoughts on the matter?

 

[ReverendHellh0und]

I voted "yes"


Also I think his "spin" of stating he was refering to his captors was just that, spin.

 

[Red_Dave]

Was McCain's "gook" comment racist?


Yes or no.

Why?

Given the fact that the comment in question was "I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live" I cant see how theres anything to debate here. Stateing that you will always hate another race is pretty conclusive evidence of racism. Why hate them anyway? I thought they where there to liberate vietnam from those nasty communists?:roll:

 

[MSgt]

Who cares? The guy fought them in a war and was a captive, which probably did not include the comforts of home. How many WWII vets hated Krauts and Japs? How many Gulf War Vets referred to their enemy as ermanstowel heads?

These are terms reserved for the enemy...not the population. This has always been so.

 

[MSgt]

Given the fact that the comment in question was "I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live" I cant see how theres anything to debate here. Stateing that you will always hate another race is pretty conclusive evidence of racism. Why hate them anyway? I thought they where there to liberate vietnam from those nasty communists?:roll:

Much of those nasty communists were Vietnamese.:roll: He obviously meant his enemy. Can't fault a guy that has real world experience and with it all the emotions.

 

[Iriemon]

"Gooks" was a derogatory terms refering to Vietnamese people. Derogatory statements referring to a nations people aren't necessarily racist (ie calling Germans "krauts" is not a comment on race) but in the same genre.

 

[Iriemon]

Much of those nasty communists were Vietnamese.:roll: He obviously meant his enemy. Can't fault a guy that has real world experience and with it all the emotions.

I'd certainly fault a guy with real world experience and with it all the emotions who calls blacks ******s.

 

[aegyptos]

Given the fact that the comment in question was "I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live" I cant see how theres anything to debate here. Stateing that you will always hate another race is pretty conclusive evidence of racism. Why hate them anyway? I thought they where there to liberate vietnam from those nasty communists?:roll:

Who, specifically, was McCain referring to, Dave? Answer that honestly and you'll have your answer as to whether or not his statement is racist or not.

 

[MSgt]

I'd certainly fault a guy with real world experience and with it all the emotions who calls blacks ******s.

And when did we have a war against blacks? There is a difference between hating someone for their color and hating them for shooting at you.

 

[Iriemon]

And when did we have a war against blacks? There is a difference between hating someone for their color and hating them for shooting at you.

So your point is its OK to be racists as long as your at war? It's not; though I recognize its done all the time because the goal is to get your troops to hate their troops by characterizing their troops as evil/inhuman.

For the record, I don't hold anything against McCain for it.

 

[MSgt]

So your point is its OK to be racists as long as your at war? It's not; though I recognize its done all the time because the goal is to get your troops to hate their troops by characterizing their troops as evil/inhuman.

No. My point is...."Who cares?" His comment wasn't about Asians. It wasn't about Japanese or Koreans. It was about the enemy he fought in a war that held him captive for a time. There is a natural tendency to hate your enemy without any indoctrination. Politicians and civilians are the ones that need indoctrination. Military personnel only need to hear the bullets fly by. We do a job. The rest of you thrive on emotion to muster up support or protest.

For the record, I don't hold anything against McCain for it.

I don't either. If he stated the opposite.....he would be a liar......or a true politician.

 

[Iriemon]

No. My point is...."Who cares?" His comment wasn't about Asians. It wasn't about Japanese or Koreans. It was about the enemy he fought in a war that held him captive for a time. There is a natural tendency to hate your enemy without any indoctrination. Politicians and civilians are the ones that need indoctrination. Military personnel only need to hear the bullets fly by. We do a job. The rest of you thrive on emotion to muster up support or protest.

So why did they call them gooks?

 

[MSgt]

So why did they call them gooks?

For the same reasons they called Germans "Krauts." For the same reason they called Somalis "skinnies." For the same reason they called us "yanks." For the same reason they called us "devil dogs." In wars, we all nickname the enemy. It's derogatory and can be racist. But it's all about the event.

 

[Iriemon]

For the same reasons they called Germans "Krauts." For the same reason they called Somalis "skinnies." For the same reason they called us "yanks." For the same reason they called us "devil dogs." In wars, we all nickname the enemy.

OK, I had misinterpreted your previous post as suggesting the military folks were above that and it was the politicians who were indoctrinated.

 

[MSgt]

OK, I had misinterpreted your previous post as suggesting the military folks were above that and it was the politicians who were indoctrinated.

Well, we face the enemy. We can develop hatreds simply because we are supposed to kill each other. A civilian hates the enemy, because he has been indoctrinated. A civilian has the luxury of deciding to hate an enemy that others fight for him or to dismiss it all together. And often enough, a politician decides who the enemy is. But the troop faces it.

I have no problem with someone calling someone else a gook or any other derogatory name developed in war. But, this is my circle. We don't really have a nick name for our enemy today. "Towel head" was a Gulf War thing and hasn't found its way to popularity these days. I guess the nickname for the enemy today would be "terrorist."

 

[mikhail]

I would guess the majority of the vietmanise hate all Ameicans too pretty much.

You cant blame someone fo disliking people when the only ones you have met have tried to kill or hurt you.

 

[aegyptos]

The young ones don't seem to hate anyone except the Chinese who are their traditional enemies.

I made a trip to Vietnam in 2005 visiting the old battlegrounds of I Corps where I served as a young Marine. The Vietnamese were much as I remembered them. They seemed pretty happy to see us and treated us with great hospitality. The young especially seem to like Americans.

If there is any hatred left it probably would be found in old North Vietnamese soldiers and former Viet Cong who haven't been able to get past it. For myself and the other veterans who took the tour with me, we found that all we felt for our former enemies was a sense of respect for their courage and amazing hardiness in the face of all we could throw at them.

 

[disneydude]

Who cares? The guy fought them in a war and was a captive, which probably did not include the comforts of home. How many WWII vets hated Krauts and Japs? How many Gulf War Vets referred to their enemy as ermanstowel heads?

These are terms reserved for the enemy...not the population. This has always been so.

Military experience....albeit honorable....is still no excuse for racist comments.
The term....clearly is racist and derogatory towards Asians.

 

[RightOfCenter]

Well, we face the enemy. We can develop hatreds simply because we are supposed to kill each other. A civilian hates the enemy, because he has been indoctrinated. A civilian has the luxury of deciding to hate an enemy that others fight for him or to dismiss it all together. And often enough, a politician decides who the enemy is. But the troop faces it.

I have no problem with someone calling someone else a gook or any other derogatory name developed in war. But, this is my circle. We don't really have a nick name for our enemy today. "Towel head" was a Gulf War thing and hasn't found its way to popularity these days. I guess the nickname for the enemy today would be "terrorist."

Hadji is the current term.

 

[new coup for you]

I think a better question is "do you think McCain would pursue policies prejudiced against Asians?" The answer, of course, is no. So who cares.

 

[Zyphlin]

I agree with new coups view of this.

I also find the response to this thread compared to the "lazy black people" thread very interesting, espicially the suddenly lack of attacks levied at RHH. It almost seems as if people didn't mind perhaps racially focused polls, or polls with little initial discussion from the poster, or polls with an obvious agenda...but instead people are bothered when the agenda is one they don't like.

 

[MSgt]

Military experience....albeit honorable....is still no excuse for racist comments.
The term....clearly is racist and derogatory towards Asians.

Is it? Did he mean Phillipinos, Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, and such? Or is your use of "Asians" merely a way to exaggerate his meaning?

The term..."gook".....refers to the Vietcong and plenty used it to describe all Vietnamese people. But that is it. It was not a term for "Asians."

 

[new coup for you]

I agree with new coups view of this.

I also find the response to this thread compared to the "lazy black people" thread very interesting, espicially the suddenly lack of attacks levied at RHH. It almost seems as if people didn't mind perhaps racially focused polls, or polls with little initial discussion from the poster, or polls with an obvious agenda...but instead people are bothered when the agenda is one they don't like.

or maybe people find it exhausting to debate something as obviously racist as that post

 

[MSgt]

Hadji is the current term.

Ah yeah. Still, I rarely hear it. These type nicknames are very discouraged in the Corps. I remember a conversation with some Marines about it. A "Hadji" would refer to an Indian. Some idiot said the wrong thing somewhere and it caught on.