Racism and Michael Jackson
Some recent actions by a number of politicians recently infuriated me.
These actions centered around the death of Michael Jackson, an entertainer loved by millions, possibly billions, of people around the globe. A man who completely transcended every artificial barrier society created. If didnt matter if you were rich or poor, or as a lyric in one of his songs says "black or white", he appealed to all.
So, after his death, what do some of our fine politicians from the idiot side of the isle have to say?
Representitive Peter King- R from Long Island, NY had a whole lot of interesting things to say
http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/news/sns-ap-us-politician-vs-jackson,0,1367597.story
In this article, he calls Jackson a "pervert and a child molester". Maybe someone should have told him that Jackson was aquitted of all charges on evidence based largely around testimonies of a single family. I wonder how deep the Grand Canyon would be filled if a quarter was thrown in for every time a celebrity was accused of, or sued for, something they were aquitted for.
No matter, many crimes a person is automatically guilty in the court of opinion without trial, and crimes against children is one of those crimes.
However, I dont believe this is a case of that. You see, the comments like this are largely coming from conservative whites, a great place to find racists. Mr. King speaks of how he posted the video after "speaking with his constituents" (by the way, Mr. Kings district is one of the whitest, wealthiest, and conservative districts in all of Metro NY).
Just the other day, I was listening to the local sports radio show, which I rarely listen to any more because of its host, Tony Mercurio, who continuously inserts his political opinion, and his frequent guest, lock stock and standard Republican and former politician George Allen, pretty much echoed Mr. King in spirit (he didnt personally insult Michael Jackson based on a baseless opinion as King did, but nonetheless insinuated that it wasnt news worthy).
Mr. Allen suggested that we should be writing stories about "North Korean missles" and "The War in Afghanistan". Well, for one, weve been hearing about the war in the middle east for nearly a decade, every single day. Thats an ironic subject to choose when you are complaining about the amount of coverage for a single subject. As for the North Korean Missles, I dont know what media he is watching but I have seen plenty of coverage of that issue.
Is Mr. Allen suggesting that maybe we should just stop talking about Michael Jackson, and not that there isnt enough coverage for other things? Any other day, guys like Allen are bitching about how the "liberal media" isnt portraying things correctly, but when a popular minority figure is in the news, he cant find reason quick enough to have the media switch attentions.
I wonder what the reactions would be if some country music superstar, a NASCAR star, or a prominent figure in some right wing special interest group died. Mr. Kings constituency would probably have a candle light ceremony, and bitch about how the "liberal media" wasnt giving it enough attention.
I remember when the great NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt tragically passed. Coverage for him was extensive, and on many channels for a long stretch of time. Keep in mind, this was a star in a sport largely only followed by a small segment of the US population. I never once recall ANY minority politicians, or any politicians at all for that matter complaining about how there "were more interesting things in the world" or insulting Earnhardt.
I remember when Princess Diana died as well. That was covered for weeks on end by every news outlet in the country. Did you see any politicians commenting on that coverage?
Yet, when a black man, famous the world over, who has done more to better peoples lives then most ever will do, dies, now people have things to say. I guess the millions of dollars he has contributed in life and death to worthy causes, countless hours spent on charities, and worldwide vigils attended by millions, wasnt nearly enough to buy the respect of the conservative white man.
These actions centered around the death of Michael Jackson, an entertainer loved by millions, possibly billions, of people around the globe. A man who completely transcended every artificial barrier society created. If didnt matter if you were rich or poor, or as a lyric in one of his songs says "black or white", he appealed to all.
So, after his death, what do some of our fine politicians from the idiot side of the isle have to say?
Representitive Peter King- R from Long Island, NY had a whole lot of interesting things to say
http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/news/sns-ap-us-politician-vs-jackson,0,1367597.story
In this article, he calls Jackson a "pervert and a child molester". Maybe someone should have told him that Jackson was aquitted of all charges on evidence based largely around testimonies of a single family. I wonder how deep the Grand Canyon would be filled if a quarter was thrown in for every time a celebrity was accused of, or sued for, something they were aquitted for.
No matter, many crimes a person is automatically guilty in the court of opinion without trial, and crimes against children is one of those crimes.
However, I dont believe this is a case of that. You see, the comments like this are largely coming from conservative whites, a great place to find racists. Mr. King speaks of how he posted the video after "speaking with his constituents" (by the way, Mr. Kings district is one of the whitest, wealthiest, and conservative districts in all of Metro NY).
Just the other day, I was listening to the local sports radio show, which I rarely listen to any more because of its host, Tony Mercurio, who continuously inserts his political opinion, and his frequent guest, lock stock and standard Republican and former politician George Allen, pretty much echoed Mr. King in spirit (he didnt personally insult Michael Jackson based on a baseless opinion as King did, but nonetheless insinuated that it wasnt news worthy).
Mr. Allen suggested that we should be writing stories about "North Korean missles" and "The War in Afghanistan". Well, for one, weve been hearing about the war in the middle east for nearly a decade, every single day. Thats an ironic subject to choose when you are complaining about the amount of coverage for a single subject. As for the North Korean Missles, I dont know what media he is watching but I have seen plenty of coverage of that issue.
Is Mr. Allen suggesting that maybe we should just stop talking about Michael Jackson, and not that there isnt enough coverage for other things? Any other day, guys like Allen are bitching about how the "liberal media" isnt portraying things correctly, but when a popular minority figure is in the news, he cant find reason quick enough to have the media switch attentions.
I wonder what the reactions would be if some country music superstar, a NASCAR star, or a prominent figure in some right wing special interest group died. Mr. Kings constituency would probably have a candle light ceremony, and bitch about how the "liberal media" wasnt giving it enough attention.
I remember when the great NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt tragically passed. Coverage for him was extensive, and on many channels for a long stretch of time. Keep in mind, this was a star in a sport largely only followed by a small segment of the US population. I never once recall ANY minority politicians, or any politicians at all for that matter complaining about how there "were more interesting things in the world" or insulting Earnhardt.
I remember when Princess Diana died as well. That was covered for weeks on end by every news outlet in the country. Did you see any politicians commenting on that coverage?
Yet, when a black man, famous the world over, who has done more to better peoples lives then most ever will do, dies, now people have things to say. I guess the millions of dollars he has contributed in life and death to worthy causes, countless hours spent on charities, and worldwide vigils attended by millions, wasnt nearly enough to buy the respect of the conservative white man.
Labels: Michael Jackson, Racism
posted by Lethal_Poison at 5:06 PM
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