Senator George Allen's controversial comments about an Indian American youth flashed across the country last week, but nowhere more rapidly than in Virginia's Indian American community, where frustration over ethnic stereotypes has intensified since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Dolly Oberoi, chief executive of a Northern Virginia technology company, says: "To me it sounded like, 'You dirty kid, get out of my way.' That was very painful to a lot of people."
But it was the scene -- of a senator singling out a member of her community in front of a mostly white crowd -- that affected Oberoi more than any word. It smacked of insults directed at her since terrorists, none of whom were Indian, attacked the Pentagon and World Trade Center nearly five years ago.
Allen's comments during a campaign stop in southwest Virginia were directed at S R Sidarth, who was videotaping the event for Allen's Democratic opponent, James Webb. Allen repeatedly pointed at Sidarth, dismissively calling him Macaca," and saying: "Welcome to America and to the real world of Virginia."
Once posted by the Webb campaign on the Internet, the video became a sensation, prompting anger about the use of 'macaca,' which refers to a genus of monkeys and is a racial slur in some countries.
Oberoi recalled an incident in which a woman started honking at her and yelled 'All you people from the Middle East!'
"They get mixed up about who is from what part of the world," Oberoi added.
Virginia is home to about 80,000 adults with Indian ancestry, most of whom live in Northern Virginia, according to the US Census Bureau. In interviews across the state last week, many said they were offended and disappointed by the comments from the one-term Republican senator and former governor, according to a report in the Washington Post on Sunday.
Some said they hoped that the video, widely available on the Internet, would make people think twice about voting for Allen in the November election. Others said they hoped the incident would help cement Allen's solid support for their community's issues, such as allowing more visas for high-tech workers from India and backing nuclear cooperation between India and the United States.
The Indian American community in Virginia began expanding dramatically in the 1960s and '70s, when an influx of highly educated young immigrants began arriving. Many were engineers, doctors or teachers who settled in Washington's suburbs. Thirty years later, the community has broadened and matured, civic leaders say.
Many of its members are successful, especially in the region's information technology industries. And they are tight, placing a high value on sharing information quickly. When Allen's comments became public, the video link was sent nearly instantly across a very wired community.
Politically, Indian American influence in Virginia is growing, though it is somewhat limited by their numbers. After the September 11 attacks, Indian Americans formed many groups aimed at expanding their political reach.
Many cheered when Governor Timothy M Kaine (D) named a young Indian American business executive, Aneesh P Chopra, to be secretary of technology. Recently Sanjay Puri, the leader of an Indian American political action committee, organised a meeting between Allen and about two dozen Indian Americans last week after the senator's comments became public.
After the meeting, Allen promised to continue supporting Indian Americans on the visas and on a nuclear cooperation agreement with India. He said the apology he issued shortly after the comments were made public 'was not just to (Sidarth.) It was to anyone who might have been offended.'
But several Indian Americans said Allen's comments added to a sense of discrimination that has increased since the September 11 attacks. There were several high-profile attacks on people of Indian descent by those who linked them to terrorists. And sitting in a plane with a turban suddenly attracted suspicious and worried stares.
Smita Siddhanti, president of an environmental consulting firm in Tysons Corner, said she had planned to vote for Allen before the incident. She does not know what was in Allen's heart, but she said she is disturbed that he could be so careless with his words.
She said she didn't know whom she would vote for now, the Post report said.
