Victim S. R. Sidarth

Better known to the nation as "Macaca," politically active University of Virginia student Shekar Ramanuja Sidarth was in 2006 a victim of a disdainful right-wing slur delivered by George Allen, a former Virginia governor and in 2006 a Virginia senator.

Allen was campaigning for reelection, and Sidarth was assigned by rival candidate Jim Webb's camp to attend and videotape Allen functions.

Appealing to the state's right wing, Allen dismissively pointed to Sidarth, inviting rally attendees to give a welcome "to Macaca here." Most of the crowd hooted appreciatively. Sidarth was embarrassed.

Most Virginians were unfamiliar with the word "Macaca," which reportedly is derogatory racial slang used by French colonists in North Africa for people of color. Actually, Sidarth, an Indian-American, was born in Virginia and, like Allen, had played the all-American sport of football. He wrote sports for his campus newspaper, had been an intern for Sen. Joseph Lieberman and was a competitive chess player.

The fallout from Allen's ill-considered remark was considerable. The senator, a Californian by upbringing, had portrayed himself in such as way as to appeal to Virginia's Bubba and Bubbette crowd and earlier had been criticized for having a Confederate battle flag displayed in his office.

Allen lost to Webb in the election by a fairly narrow margin. Sidarth went on to campaign in 2008 for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in the Democratic presidential primary.