By now most of you have seen a video clip of Joe Biden talking to a man, while campaigning in Manchester New Hampshire. Senator Biden has been widely criticized by both sides of the political spectrum for his comments.
In reponse to the criticism, Senator Biden said that his comments were taken out of context.
Were Senator Biden's complete comments captured in the video clip, or was the video clip edited to put him in the worst possible light? Read on and discover the truth!
When I first saw the video clip in question, I noticed that Senator Biden was still talking to the Indian-American man when the clip ended. Was there something being said that I was not being allowed to see? I went to the CSPAN website to watch the full exchange between the two men, and see if it altered the impression that was left after viewing the original video clip. I am not very computer savvy, so hopefully you can click on one of the following links to view the clips.
Here are links to the original (short version) clip:
(wmv) http://www.video.exposetheleft.net/...
(mov) http://www.video.exposetheleft.net/...
Here is a link to the longer CSPAN clip:
(Real Player) http://switchboard.real.com/...
In response to the controversy, Senator Biden is quoted as saying ""I was making the point that up until now in my state, we've had a strong Indian community made up of leading scientists and researchers and engineers,"Biden said. Lately, he said:"We're having middle-class people move to Delaware, take over Dunkin'Donuts, take over businesses, just like other immigrant groups have, and I was saying that ... they're growing, it's moving." "I could have said that 40 years ago about walking into a delicatessen and saying an Italian accent in my state,"
http://www.foxnews.com/...
It's clear from the longer video clip , that Senator Biden was not in any way trying to discount the value that immigrants from India bring to the state of Delaware, or the our country as a whole. I believe that in the original video clip, he was describing a situation where Indian immigrants and their families are trying to achieve the american dream by owning their own businesses. I fail to see how mentioning that someone is working in a convenience store or a doughnut shop is degrading. Is mentioning that a certain ethnic group dominates ownership in a specific type of business somehow racist? Even if it is factually correct?
I saw a comment on another blog , that was responding to the Biden "controversy" . In part it said:
Immigrant presence in specific occupations, particularly franchises like gas stations, 7-11s and Dunkin Donuts is an unsurprising social and economic phenomenon, not a racist stereotype. In the Wilmington area, there are 3 DDs along R13 between the city and the state line, all owned by Indian immigrants (Gary Patel and his relatives, to be specific); the DD going out of WIlmington on Rt52 is owned and operated by Indians, as are several on Kirkwood Highway and Concord Pike. They are all of the main routes out of the city. An Indian-owned corporation is the largest holder of McDonalds in the state, and there is a typically large Indian presence in gas stations, although Sikhs own more of these franchises than Hindus.
I live far from Delaware, so I can't personally vouch for the accuracy of the description of business owners in the area. However, even from thousands of miles away, I can see that Joe Biden was unjustly defamed ( and most likely deliberately so) by the editing of the original video clip.