I met Irwin Tang first thing Thursday morning at Netroots Nation at the Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus. He held up his book Gook: John McCain's Racism and Why It Matters. As Irwin says, many many people have an immediate visceral reaction to it, and this was true of me.
During the introduction rounds, I found myself saying that his book needed to be a film, and I was volunteering! Even faster, though, was Uptake, who videotaped an interview with Irwin at Netroots Nation and put it up:
I must point out here again that this is not only about McCain's captors. Although I'd heard of McCain's use of "Gook", even as a half-Asian American, I thought it was maybe a one time thing, and was perhaps even forgivable given he was tortured as a P.O.W. But Irwin pointed out to me that McCain's unapologetic use of the word has been pervasive and ongoing for decades, and he only stopped using the word in 2000 because, being the darling he is, the media told him they couldn't report what he was saying if he kept using the word.
In 2000, McCain was running for president on his "Straight Talk Express" tour. There were video cameras everywhere, and yet the media refuses to pony up their footage or audio of McCain. Irwin has contacted several media people who were there, to no avail. If you find any, please let me know, or upload it yourself! Although I'd say he's the go-to expert on McCain's racism right now, and he is offering his book for sale, Irwin is passionate about disseminating this information.
I will be working on more videos about this. Sign up for Twitter updates.
McCain's use of "gook" is just the surface of his deep-seated racism. Irwin makes documented ties into things like McCain's support for white-supremacist candidates and his de-humanizing war-mongering. You may purchase Irwin's book at Paul Revere Books.
Stay tuned for more.