Manners
Ulster peer finds new way to insult Kamala Harris:
A former deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist party and member of the House of Lords has been called on to apologise after referring to the US vice-president-elect as “the Indian” in a tweet.
He…what???
The 82-year-old peer was widely criticised after tweeting: “What happens if Biden moves on and the Indian becomes President. Who then becomes Vice President?”
He’s saying he didn’t know her name, that’s all. That’s all! What’s the big deal?! It’s totally normal to refer to her as “the Indian” if you don’t know her name. The fact that it would take two seconds to find out her name via Google is neither here nor there.
When challenged Lord Kilclooney, who sits as a crossbench peer, claimed he had not “known her name yet” and denied it was racist.
“Whilst Biden is proud to be Irish and Harris is rightly proud of her Indian background I certainly withdraw my reference to her as an Indian as it seems to have upset some people,” he tweeted. “I did not know her name and identified her with the term Indian. Most people understood. Racist NO.”
He told the Press Association: “I’m very fond of India myself, I’m a member of the British India all-party group, I have two Indians (tenants) in my flats here in London and there’s nothing racist in it whatsoever.”
Oh cut it out. One doesn’t refer to people as “the [nationality]” that way, especially not immediately after referring to the other party by name. It sounds rude and dismissive at best. If you’re having friends over you don’t say you invited Joe and the German. Multiply that by 100 for “Biden and the Indian.”
And the question is an easy one to answer, too. I mean, we’ve had that before, when Nixon ‘moved on’. When presidents have ‘moved on’ by dying.
Now, if he’d said what happens if the Catholic moves on and the Indian becomes president…no, wait, that would still be goddamned racist, and not acceptable (plus you would have the additional not-acceptable of referring to someone by their religion and not their name, but such insults rarely do harm to old white men – or young white men, for that matter).
And there’s nothing wrong in being proud of your Indian heritage, just as Biden is his Irish heritage. As part Irish myself, I am not ashamed of my heritage. But you don’t refer to people that way unless you want to other them.
“Joe and the German” sounds like a 1970s BBC sitcom. Sort of like that Fawlty Towers episode, but made into a series.
Actually, if the VP inherits the President’s job, he (or she) then can appoint a new VP (subject to congressional approval). Surely we can’t expect an 82 year old member of the House of Lords to remember the 25th amendment, or be bothered to fucking google it, now can we. :P
And I bet he even lets them use the toilet.
Also, what a weird question to ask if you don’t even know the VP-elect’s name.
“Hello, I am keenly interested in the chain of command of the United States, so I need to know who takes over as second after what’s-her-name.”
Unless, of course, it was meant in the spirit of “how many people do conservatives have to murder in order to get one of our own in charge?”
“Moss and the German” The IT Crowd (highly recommended btw)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1095845/
There’s also “the vice president” as an option; “the vee pee”, “the running mate” etc.
Ah well. He’s had a good career and is 82, maybe he might be encouraged by a staffer to retire before he sours his name further.
“Who then becomes Vice President?”
May I copy and paste from an email reply from a friend I sent this link
http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2020/miscellaneous/
featuring Stacey Abrams to?
“wouldn’t it be something if biden became too ill or (not wishing it) died and kamala got bumped up to prez and she was made vp. it is certainly a turning point for women.”
(This could really work: Section 2 of the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution: Whenever there is vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both houses of Congress.)