Twitter rallies around #MyNameIs hashtag after a GOP Senator mocked Kamala Harris
It's pronounced Kamala, with emphasis on the first syllable.
Georgia Senator David Perdue kept things real classy as he introduced Mr. Class himself, Donald Trump, at a rally in Macon on Friday. As Perdue turned his attention toward the Democratic candidates, Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris, he mispronounced the latter's name.
That description actually fails to capture the extent of Perdue's antics. He didn't just say Harris' name incorrectly. He did so repeatedly, and mockingly. Here's a clip of the moment, shared by Jon Ossoff, Perdue's Democratic competitor in the upcoming election.
You May Also Like
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Later on Friday, Perdue's campaign released a statement defending the senator's rally comments. "Senator Perdue simply mispronounced Senator Harris' name, and he didn't mean anything by it."
Let's pause for a brief moment and call a bad faith argument out for what it is. You can see that clip above. Any reasonable person watching it would conclude that Perdue leaned in on the mispronunciation, and that he very much did mean something by it. A campaign statement saying otherwise doesn't change basic facts.
Anyway. Plenty of people outside the Perdue campaign did see the senator's words and tone for what they were: openly disrespectful and vaguely racist. Some of those people chose to respond, populating the #MyNameIs hashtag on Twitter with information about the etymology of their own names.
(Kamala, it should be noted, means "lotus" or "pale red" in Sanskrit, according to BehindTheName. It's also another name for the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi.)
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Topics Politics
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
