Republican Senator David Perdue a week ago at a presidential rally for President Donald Trump in Georgia mocked his Senate associate and Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris by continually misspeaking her name.
“KAH’- mah-lah? Kah-MAH’- lah? Kamala-mala-mala? I don’t know. Whatever,” Perdue, who was wrapping up his comments at an occasion in Macon, said while referring to Harris. The crowd laughed. A representative for Perdue later tried to explain that the senator didn’t mean anything by it.
Perdue’s comments have shocked countless Harris’ supporters and the public. While many brought up the radical feeling joined to it, many got down on the senator for bigotry. Amit Jani, who is the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Coordinator of the Biden campaign — launched the ‘My name is’ campaign.
People of colour began posting the origin of their names and furthermore their implications as the criticized the senator’s comments.
https://twitter.com/gauragDC/status/1317505114752638976?s=20
#MyNameIs Pramila. It comes from the Sanskrit word “prem” which means love. The name is constantly mispronounced as is my last name. I only mind that when it is done willfully and continuously. Let’s build an inclusive America. Vote #BidenHarris2020. Our vote, our power.
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) October 18, 2020
#mynameis Ashish which means blessing https://t.co/BEVRtOKXj3
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) October 18, 2020
Expressing their displeasure at the senator mocking Harris’ name, several people also spoke on how the problematic attitude has had repercussions before.
I've tweeted about this before and how many immigrants change their name/pronunciation due to mocking or peoples' refusal to pronounce it correctly. Learn how to say peoples' names correctly. It's part of their identity and doing so is a basic form of respect. https://t.co/jueHSZLucJ
— Naomi Nkinsi, MD, MPH (@NNkinsi) October 17, 2020
https://twitter.com/kalpenn/status/1317618283407986688?s=20
Former United States Attorney and lawyer also posted the meaning of his name.
https://twitter.com/meenaharris/status/1317524204376354816?s=20
#MyNameIs Mayra. And yes, I’m constantly correcting people on how to say it. But I carry it proudly as a reminder of my Mexican culture. I used to hesitate to correct ppl, but my parents did not traverse miles and cross a border for me not to stand up for myself. https://t.co/SVr7UtT4Fp
— Mayra Macías (@lachicamayra) October 17, 2020
#MyNameIs Mayra. And yes, I’m constantly correcting people on how to say it. But I carry it proudly as a reminder of my Mexican culture. I used to hesitate to correct ppl, but my parents did not traverse miles and cross a border for me not to stand up for myself. https://t.co/SVr7UtT4Fp
— Mayra Macías (@lachicamayra) October 17, 2020
https://twitter.com/meenaharris/status/1317524204376354816?s=20
I’ve now had to do this multiple times because of Republicans.#MyNameIs Xochitl. It’s Aztec & means flower. My 97 year old grandfather with Alzheimer’s owned a nursery. He’s always been proud of my name bc he knows diversity is our greatest strength.https://t.co/1w8Segc9hG https://t.co/zSU380Dgx1
— Xochitl Hinojosa (@XochitlHinojosa) October 17, 2020
Indian-American Democratic fund raiser Shekar Narasimhan said his name means a Hindu God who represents a half man-half lion and exhibits courage and humanity.
#MyNameIs Shekar Narasimhan which means a Hindu god who represents a half man-half lion. Exhibits courage and humanity. My son’s name was Sidarth to symbolize Gautama Buddha, the enlightened One. We are proud Americans and can pronounce others names correctly. https://t.co/MQhNL8F35j
— Shekar Narasimhan (@ShekarNara) October 17, 2020
Meanwhile, after the severe backlash, Perdue’s spokesperson John Burke put out a clarification saying that the senator was just making an argument against the radical socialist agenda.
“Senator Perdue simply mispronounced Senator Harris’ name, and he didn’t mean anything by it. He was making an argument against the radical socialist agenda that she and her endorsed candidate Jon Ossoff are pushing, which includes the Green New Deal,” Burke tweeted.
Medicare-for-all, raising taxes, and holding up COVID relief for the people of Georgia. (2/2) #GASen #gapol
— John Burke (@JBurkeNation) October 16, 2020
However, several Twitter users called out the Republican side, calling the comment by Perdue as intentional, who pointed out that considering Harris and Perdue were colleagues and have served in the Senate for years, there was no way he didn’t know the pronunciation of her name.
My opponent, GOP Sen. David Perdue of anti-Semitic attack ad infamy, just mocked Sen. Harris' name as "Kamala-mala-mala-whatever" at a Trump rally.
We are so much better than this. pic.twitter.com/9AvoQK4RdN
— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) October 16, 2020
Perdue’s Democratic opponent Jon Ossoff called out his comments.
“This kind of vile, race-baiting trash talk is what President Trump has unleashed from sitting Republican members of the Senate,” Ossoff told MSNBC last week.
This however is not the first time the Republican senator has been called out for racial issues. Earlier in July his campaign ran a social media campaign featuring Ossoff, who is Jewish, with an enlarged nose.
Democratic fund raiser from California Ajay Jain Bhutoria also joined the campaign, saying that Harris was attacked by Senator Perdue for her Indian name. “Please help us push back against this bigotry, will you join thousands of celebrities, elected officials and friends in all communities by tweeting or sharing #MyNameIs…,” he said.
