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Ethnic slur from a darling of liberals By Eric Ruder | January 16, 2004 | Page 2 AT A campaign event for a fellow Democrat in St. Louis, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) thought that it would be funny to use a racial stereotype for some cheap laughs. To introduce a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, Clinton said, "He ran a gas station down in St. Louis for a couple of years." After laughter in the crowd of 200 quieted down, she continued, "No, Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader of the 20th century." In response to calls for her to apologize, Clinton sounded like she thought that people who took offense were the problem. "It was a lame attempt at humor, and I am very sorry it might have been interpreted in a way to cause distress to anyone," read a statement issued by her office. But for many in the Indian community, the damage was done. "I'm so angry with Hillary Clinton, I heard her on TV," said Amir Sabri. "When Republicans say stupid things, they have to be re-educated. Hillary is a Democrat, but she should go to diversity school, too, to learn about her stupid stereotypes." Or maybe Clinton should reread her 1996 book It Takes a Village, in which she wrote, "Within and beyond their homes, adults must speak out against racial, ethnic, religious or gender slurs."
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