Gook: John McCain's Racism & Why It Matters

Hats off to author Irwin Tang, who has placed out there in the universe an accessible account and analysis of John McCain's "gook" slur incident from the 2000 election.  The revelations of his book, Gook: John McCain's Racism & Why It Matters, may not exactly come as a shock to Asian Americans, of course, but it recalls an incident that was likely little more than a tiny political ripple for non-Asians, and who may not see why it's "all that big a deal" anyway... In a review by African American critic Kam Williams on IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, the importance of the book is not so much in its mere explanation of how and why the slur is offensive and hurtful to Asian Americans in patricular (which can be easily discounted by conservatives as just a hypersensitive minority "playing the race card" or being "P.C."), although that will certainly ring true for APA readers.  More to the point,  Williams observes, it is valuable for what it indicates about the temperament, worldview and likely diplomatic outlook of a candidate who

"has courted the support of numerous white supremacist organizations over the course of his checkered political career. Most importantly, he then shows why this warmonger cannot be trusted to set the tone for tolerance either domestically or in terms of international affairs, given his history of dehumanizing ethnic and religious groups he doesn’t care for."

In an era when our country's standing in the world has been rendered so precarious, its challenges abroad rapidly mounting, and its citizenry diverse and polarized, a leader who can't control the demons of his past among fellow citizens before the national media is a dangerous proposition.  Unless, Williams suggests, we are willing to resign ourselves to living in a perpetually divided nation in which hatred of difference just doesn't matter.  Williams asks:

"Have we as a country really become so desensitized to hate speech that we’re willing to elect someone President who so openly stereotypes and acknowledges his dislike of a large segment of the society he is supposed to govern?"