Michael Jackson plays the skin pigment card
By STANLEY CROUCH
The way in which Michael Jackson is conducting himself as his child molestation case comes closer to trial proves a couple of things.
At the age of 45, Jackson seems to have lost contact with any reality — other than the one we have learned to accept in our time, which is that constant repetition of an image often can manipulate the masses.
But even in his loopy state, there are factors of color that he chooses to play on. When it was convenient, he chose to be just a human being. Now he feels that he must call upon black allegiance, based on the skin pigment he once had.
Jackson has not looked good for a long time and does not seem to know what he should do about it. He seemed to think he could do a version of one of his videos after he was arraigned in a Santa Barbara, Calif., courtroom, by prancing and dancing on top of a car. Fans chanted love and belief in him with such awe and fury that one was momentarily reminded of the pop fascist imagery of Jackson in his video HIStory.
Last week, we saw him go to Washington, where he was snubbed by the Congressional Black Caucus on the shaky excuse that those congressmen had much law they had to write or fight over.
Jackson then announced that he was willing to support any causes they had and told everyone willing to listen that he was going to Africa to join in the fight against AIDS.
Thus we see Jackson return to the issue of race whenever he cannot get his way or whenever he comes to the conclusion that white people in positions of power are out to strip him of what he values most — his eccentric but cuddly image.
At first, we saw him seeking out the stern and lunatic majesty of Louis Farrakhan, the man to whom rap thugs turn when disputes get out of hand and somebody might get killed.
Now Jackson has returned, like the prodigal son, and black people are being told that the ever-present noose is around his neck. Folks are asked to remember how that white man is: Can't stand for a black man to get too much power. If he does, he has got to come down, crashing. The white man has changed a bit, but he's still the white man. Got new tricks for you. Used to not let you make any money. Now he will let you make some money, even a big pile of money. He will let you get some attention, even become known all over the world. But he will not — under any circumstances — let a black man get too big for his britches.
The trouble is that there is more to this attitude than just race paranoia, and that is why it sometimes works. Few are the black people in this world who have not seen it proved in large and small situations.
The largest was when Bill Cosby got tired of all the television minstrel updates that black actors were stuck in and let it be known that he was going to buy one of the major networks and go to war. They would not sell it to him. Not even to beloved Bill.
So when we see Michael Jackson returning to the black fold for support, some of it will be pure con and sentimentality; the other will be an attempt to manipulate a very real fear black people have about the whites way up there in the towers of power.
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20040430/s/r2497586458.jpg T-shirt vendor Mac Freedom sells souvenir Michael Jackson (news) t-shirts at Jackson's arraignment dealing with allegations of child molestation at the courthouse in Santa Maria, California April 30, 2004. Jackson pled innocent to the charges. REUTERS/Phil Klein
Michael Jackson Case Update: Jacksons Accusers Racist
JACKSON MAINTAINS RACE ATTACK IN EASTER RADIO INTERVIEW
MICHAEL JACKSON asked fans to think of him during their prayers on Easter Sunday (27MAR05), during an appearance on pal REV JESSE JACKSON's weekly religious radio show.
The pop superstar insisted he is "completely innocent" of child molestation charges, adding he's the victim of a conspiracy on Jackson's syndicated KEEP HOPE ALIVE show yesterday morning.
The THRILLER star stated a court-imposed gag order prevented him from discussing his trial and conspiracy claims in detail, but he told the host that he believes he is the latest in a long line of "black luminaries" to be unjustly accused.
Jackson claimed he has joined NELSON MANDELA and MUHAMMAD ALI among the black leaders targetted by white lawmakers.
During his hour-long interview, Jackson said, "I would love your prayers and your goodwill, and please be patient and be with me and believe in me because I am completely, completely innocent. But please know a lot of conspiracy is going on as we speak... I can't comment on it, but there's a lot of conspiracy out there."
Jackson also used the interview to clear up reports he has financial problems and is on the verge of bankruptcy, stating, "That's not true at all. It's just one of their many schemes to embarrass me. It's to drag me through the mud."
I don’t know what he joins but I know he needs to join an asylum.
When you’ve been haled as a musical genius god your entire life, it’s very easy to start believing your own press. When that happens, then you get the detachment from reality.
Mike is an epitome of that example. He’s so very very lost and the problem is that he don’t even realize it.
The day he acknowledge that this is all his fault will be the start of his healing processes. Laying the blame on everyone else instead of himself is just a delusional as his Mandela/Ali statements.
It’s troubling because as of yet, I don’t think he’s learning anything so far about his inappropriate behavior.
I am so sick of celebrities pulling the race card when they're accused of a crime. Are we now not supposed to prosecute criminal behavior in the celebrity world simply because the accused is black?
I'm sorry but it doesn't matter what color of the rainbow you belong to, what your sexual orientation is or what political party you belong to...if you do the crime, you should do the time, period. And if you've been repeatedly accused of molesting kids throughout the years, you should stand trial for those allegations to either clear your name or convict you of your crimes...no matter who you are.
1) he's not black
2) he's not a leader in the black community
Most black people hate him, maybe that's the race issue he's talking about?
I don't know about the second point, but I always thought the first was true.
Michael Jackson seems to have waited a long time to play the race card. In India, most controversial people of religious minority waste no time in playing the religion card.
KenNJ, I know you love it, but PLEASE try and stay on topic. What do T-shirts have to do with him playing the race card?