I’ve wrestled with this one for a couple hours now, and have decided I may as well get it off my chest…
Jesse Jackson is in the news again. It almost makes me sad to write him up this time. Here’s the deal:
While reviewing some footage of a Jesse Jackson interview late Tuesday night, a Fox News editor noticed that Jesse Jackson was caught whispering some political nastiness during some downtime. Jackson was whispering so as not to be heard, but was caught on an ‘open mic’* saying of Senator Barack Obama (and I quote)…
“[Barack] is talking down to black people“, and later; “I’d like to cut his nuts off.”
Ouch. (For more reasons than one.)
Fox ran with the story and gave everyone something new to talk about for a couple days. Followers of Jackson are shouting racism, which is what they do. This ridiculous assertion only emphasizes the fact that Jesse is preaching from an ever-smaller stump, and that his platform is becoming irrelevant. I know there are still pockets of resistance out there, but come on: the only time I hear about racism any more is when reason is traded for offense. Take for example this remarkable situation.
Everyone else is talking about how much mileage Obama will get out of the new expanse of distance the situation has placed between them. I agree; let’s break it down:
Jesse Jackson was apparently referencing Obama’s recent Father’s Day speech during which he discussed the shortcomings of a disproportionately large number of fathers among the black community. Of this, Barack apparently said “Any fool can have a child; that doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.” I believe his words were meant to be inspirational and encouraging. Amen, brother.
And don’t get me wrong; I believe this statement applies to fathers of every color. There is certainly room for improvement in every corner of society. However, not since the great Bill Cosby lashed out at the black community for fostering gangsta rap, multi-generation welfare, and thin family values have we heard anyone boldly offer constructive criticism from within. No, the likes of Jesse Jackson would rather preach hateful rhetoric about how oppression, The Man, and lack of reparations have held the people down.
This argument once had merit. Perhaps Jesse Jackson even fueled the resolute direction our society is heading. But his role is now defunct.
Jackson’s comments revealed, yet again, a two-faced politician who’s only game is to stir things up in order to promote himself and his aging agenda. Obama scored big this week with people on each side of the color card who are ready for real change and are tired of Jackson and his ilk holding us back simply so they can have a purpose. Obama is uniquely positioned to be the guy who truly inspires the black culture in America to let go of the past, and embrace the future with pride and unity. With Jackson’s comments directed to ‘one of his own’, I hope blacks from every social level will see him for what he is.
Jackson is like the Tony Stark character played by Robert Downey Jr in this summer’s Iron Man; When a young soldier gives the peace sign, Tony Stark, a military weapons contractor, says something to the effect “Yeah, peace, when there is peace we’ll all be out of a job.” I can’t help but think that Jackson goes to bed at night thinking that he will be out of a job the day we all stop using racism as the basis for the ailment of the day, and start being better fathers.
*An ‘open mic’ is a microphone that has been left on. Throughout modern history, politicians of every creed have been caught saying embarrassing things, or even doing embarrassing things, such as using the toilet while wearing an open microphone lavaliere.
