Jesse Jackson: All on Obama’s… Well Watch for Yourself!




Why is Jesse talking about castrating this man on national TV?!??! That’s it for the Black cat in the hat, nursery rhyme riddling Jackson. Its time for him to sit down somewhere.


0 responses to “Jesse Jackson: All on Obama’s… Well Watch for Yourself!”

  1. When The Man is One of Us
    By Jack White | TheRoot.com

    Sure, Jesse is an old fool who doesn’t know how to act. But his latest gaffe shows how none of us is really ready for this moment.
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    July 10, 2008–On one level, it is easy to dismiss the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s crudely worded metaphorical threat to castrate Barack Obama for supposedly talking down to black people as the raving of an increasingly irrelevant, former big shot suffused with resentment at the rising star who pushed him off stage.

    That, after all, is the sort of talk we’d expect from a lynch mob, not a civil rights leader who does not seem to realize that the times have passed him by. Even his son and namesake, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., agrees that his dad is doing more harm these days than good. Pronouncing himself outraged and disappointed by his father’s ugly words about Obama, Jackson Jr. issued a statement that, in effect, ordered dear old dad to “keep hope alive” and shut up.

    That’s good advice, and one can only hope that Jackson Sr. accepts it. But in a deeper sense, his stunningly inappropriate comments symbolize the social, political and psychological vertigo that all of us, and especially black Americans, are experiencing because of Obama’s success. We are all, including Obama, in a place we never really thought we would be, and it has knocked us off our feet. We don’t know how to act. We don’t have a plan. We’re searching for our equilibrium. And until we regain our footing, we can expect all sorts of bizarre behavior from people who ought to know better. Hold on to your hat.

    We haven’t really been in a place this confusing since 1954, when the NAACP’s crusade against segregation culminated in the Brown vs. Board decision and the walls came tumbling down. It’s fair to say that we were so focused on winning that fight that we weren’t prepared for the victory or its aftermath. We’ve spent nearly 60 years since then trying to figure out what kind of relationship we want to have with America and with each other. For the most part, we, like Jackson Sr., have seen ourselves as outsiders battling for justice and a seat at the table. Our default has been to protest. And while that mindset has served us well, it has, in a flash, been made damn near obsolete by the prospect, even the likelihood, that one of us may soon become the most powerful man in the world. If that happens, how can we seriously argue that we’re being held back by anything but the limits we place on ourselves?

    That, it seems to me, accounts in part for the frustration some of us are feeling by what we interpret as Obama’s move to the center. We are simply not accustomed to one of our own playing real, power politics. Some of us see his call for an expansion of George Bush’s half-hearted commitment to faith-based social programs as mere politics, what Jackson Sr. castigated as “talking down to black people.” We explain Obama’s support for the compromise Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Supreme Court’s upholding of a citizen’s right to bear arms as attempts to inoculate himself against Republican attacks.

    And, of course, they are.

    But they, like Obama’s Father’s Day speech urging black men to take more responsibility for their children, are more than political posturing. They represent the first stirrings of a new consensus that places more emphasis on a public discussion of personal responsibility than on protest, on publicly delving into our own shortcomings and dysfunctional behavior.

    There’s nothing new about this kind of self-examination, but in the past we’ve conducted it mainly in private, in barbershops and beauty parlors, and churches. We’ve bristled when whites in power like Daniel Patrick Moynihan, joined in the critique of, for example, our soaring rate of out-of-wedlock births. We’ve moaned about the negative consequences of washing dirty laundry in public. But such a self-protective mindset no longer makes sense because Obama is one of us, who has taken part in our private handwringing about the self-inflicted wounds that bedevil segments of the black community. He hasn’t said anything most of us haven’t heard or said at the dinner table. But now, because Obama is who he is, the whole world is listening in to the conversation.

    The attention makes us uncomfortable and disoriented. So does the prospect that one of us might soon be in charge of trying to fix this mess instead of simply complaining about it.

    We’re not really ready for the day when The Man becomes a black man.

    It’s a dizzying idea that is going to take some getting used to. And until we do, we’ll stumble about, like Jesse Jackson Sr., saying all kinds of crazy things as we slip and slide on the new paradigm.

    Jack White is a former columnist with TIME magazine.

  2. ^Very tight article! It said everything I was thinking… and I was thinking Jesse Sr. has gone pure senile!

  3. There is a fear (from some of the black of us) that our cheese will be denied upon Obama’s election. This fear is of the following idea: “There’s a Black President! You people have been complaining for years! You no longer need handouts, set-asides, etc.”. While I will always appreciate Jesse for his fight to keep hope alive, somewhere along the way, his message has become about serving himself than it was about serving the people. A president needs to serve the people. Jesse is too busy wining and dining his white mistress (the latest of many) to make an impact on socio-ecomomic and moral issues that face African Americans.

  4. It really does sound so bad. However, knowing what I do know about American press and people like Mr. O’Reilly, I wouldn’t put it past him to have had som e special editing done. It is not a crime for Jesse Jackson or any other African American to have a dis-liking for another African American. Thus, the conversation was in whispers…For us to be fooled into thinking that ALL African Americans are on the Barack Obama Band-Wagon is one of the “Fairy Tales” that Bill Clinton spoke about. I am voting for Barack Obama because he shares my views of a better America…NOT just because he is African American. To do the latter would be silly and mis-guided. Everyone knows that he is an African American…But does everyone truly know that he is the best qualified candidate left? THAT is what we should focus on. Jesse Jackson can dis-like him if he wants…Unfortunately, our people prove dis-like for each other every single day…Just pick up a community newspaper in cities that have a large enough African American communities to have a newspaper. We kill each other, injure each other and prove our hatred for each other every day. So the next time someone wants to make sure a microphone is loud enough to hear how someone really feels about another, try putting one in your average fraternity or sorority meeting, or in an African American church board meeting…Or how about in an HBCU’s Trustee meeting.

  5. First, I need to preface my comments by reiterating that I am a huge Obama fan and will be voting for him come November and that I love it when we can talk openly and honestly about issues like this.

    Jackson supported Obama in his bid for the Illinois State Senate seat and he was onboard for Obama’s presidential bid before Obama had any name recognition or the head of steam he has now…
    For too long we have sat in front of our TV’s and just accepted the information that was being spouted without a deeper grasp of the “game” that is the media. And for too long we as Black folk have watched as white-owned and operated and spearheaded media groups have fed us a very biased account. We know this and complain about it to ourselves and in barbershops and during family discussions over Thanksgiving dinner but in situations like this, where Jackson, admittedly, made some very crude and downright mean comments on a “hot mic” that were not meant for public consumption about a candidate that we as a people believe in and has our full support, Black leaders do not get the benefit of the doubt from Black people. (Unity btw that is rarely seen by Blacks on a mass scale in this country since before I was born). When I say we KNOW that the media is biased towards Blacks what I mean is…we KNOW that mainstream Black thought has no avenue to be heard on TV. We are not the headliner of any mainstream show (ie Olbermann, Chris Mathews, Bill-O, Sean “Insannity” Hannity and the like) and it is rare that you hear a Black person that is not giving their stamp of approval to the notion of white supremacy and nodding their head in concert with a more conservative way of thinking (ie Rev Eugene Rivers, Juan Williams, Lee Elder, Armstrong Williams, Rev Joe Watkins and the like) I know…I know…get to the point Bruce….
    OK here it is… How many of you have really thought about the fact that these comments were recorded on a “hot mic” on Fox News (a notoriously right-wing network that has been out to dismiss and defame Jackson for years) By no means am I excusing Jackson’s comments but I think a real critique must be levied on a news network that has consistently shown Blacks in a negative light. This same network (Fox News & Sean Hannity) got snippets of Jeremiah Wright’s speeches and looped it for 6 weeks straight and in the process really hurt Obama’s stance among white-americans and could have cost him the nomination or better yet the presidency that we want him to have so desparately. In that 6 week period Jeremiah Wright stood mute and without comment but where was the outrage in the Black community about how those, other-wise true statements by Wright, were used as a wedge to white-America? It was only after Wright stood up for himself, his community and his church did Blacks show any fury…and guess where they aimed their fury…at Jeremiah Wright…. for speaking his mind about this racist society…not the systematically racist media that refused to give Wright’s comments any context. So who is exhibiting the crabs in a barrel syndrome? How many of you have heard Jackson speak on the need for personal responsibility of Black fathers and the Black community? I have. How many of you have heard Jackson give his unwavering supprt to Obama before anyone including members of the Congressional Black Congress did? I did. How many of you understand his broader point which is…that Barack has spoken to Black constituencies ONLY on topics which placate white-america (i.e. the issue of responsibility of Black fathers but he is reticent to discuss how government should have a role in righting generational wrongs or governments role in creating an urban policy that will help big cities or governments role in affirmative action or reparations (whether it be free schooling, or a check or an entreprenuerial tax break for Black businesses)). My point is…in order for Obama to win the presidency he must be Black enough to get our support but not too Black to alienate whites (We all know this) The FACT that he has to walk this tightrope, to me, makes it clear that this country continues on its same racist trajectory. When have we ever asked white canidiates to not be too white as not to alienate us? We don’t. These same white candidates rarely speak to our issues or our interests but we vote for them anyway. Jackson understands this political game and is making the point that Obama needs to speak to our issues like he speaks to Latino issues, Jewish issues, white-working class issues, Gay issues etc.. Don’t we deserve that??

    I must say this too. There seems, to me, to be a more sinister work at play here. In every newscast I have heard there seems to be a running theme of how there is some rivalry or jealousy brewing in the Black community between Obama and Jackson. Old thinking vs new ideology. There seems to be a need to put us against each other whether it be Obama vs Jackson or Jackson vs Sharpton or Farakhan vs Obama or Bill Cosby vs Michael Eric Dyson etc.. Let me be the first to say there is no rivalry in Black America. There may be a difference of opinion ideologically but there is no rivalry. All of these leaders want the best for Black America. They all believe in Black responsibility, Black self-reliance and a higher moral standard but they also should believe in the role of government, to which you and I pay our tax dollars, to uplift our community socially and economically. BOTH/AND not EITHER/OR. Just becasue we went to Howard and we root against Morehouse at Homecoming doesn’t mean we don’t have love for them on the Yard, right? The idea that some of you are “tired of the old school “so-called” civil rights leaders of yesterday who are full of $%^&” is frankly demeaning and mean spirited. If you don’t agree that Jackson should have made the comments then say that (I agree by the way) but to defame his character goes a bit too far. This is the same man who has continually spoken out for our community and like it or not we stand on his shoulders. It is precisely because of the “old civil rights leaders” that you and I have the positions that we have today. And just like we stand on their shoulders, Obama stands on Frederick Douglas’ and Shirley Chisolm’s and Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton’s collective shoulders. If there is any jealousy on Jackson’s part he should be ashamed. But the fact remains, I don’t see that as a reality considering his very early and steadfast support of the campaign from its inception. These are the same folk that marched, bled, died and saw their counterparts assasinated for the specific purpose of uplifting Black people. I will always LISTEN to my elders even if, in the end, we disagree. We atleast owe them that.
    I think it is clear that we must look for media that tells our stories from our unique point of view and that has not been historically negligent and biased to our history. I urge all of you seek out Black talk radio like Sharpton’s nationally syndicated show, Warren Ballentine’s and Joe Madison’s nationally syndicated shows. All of these shows can be heard on XM radio and Sirius is another good option as well.
    I love the discussion and I think it is our duty to bounce ideas off of each other. The discussion is the main thing. Let me know what you think…. Much love Black people…

  6. I just read part of a comment made by a fellow Bison that I have to take exception to:

    “Sure, Jesse is an old fool who doesn’t know how to act. But his latest gaffe shows how none of us is really ready for this moment.”

    Ready for this moment? This country is as ready for ANY moment as it will ever be!! Were we ready when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation proclaiming our freedom? Were we ready for a Civil War in which we had to fight for that freedom? Were we ready when this country was faced with the great Depression? Were we ready when a madman stood before thousands of people in a far off European country and declared that anyone that was not of pure Aryan blood should be exterminated? Were we ready for a portion of this country that willingly wrote laws that reminded us of the lie that Colored folks were inferior to white folks and therefore should never share any public or private facility including schools and hospitals, or have the right to vote, or live in their neighborhoods, or marry their sons and daughters? Were we ready for an immigrant from Jamaica that stood up and said if we band together we can make our own way, we can even go back freely to our place of origin? Were we ready when a beautiful, quiet woman refused to give up a seat to someone that by some immoral law felt he was entitled to that seat? Were we ready when a young man stood on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial and proclaimed on behalf of his people that we are equal to white folks? Were we ready for his dream? After he was murdered in Memphis Tennessee five years later were we ready to pick up where we left off? Were we ready for Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and a little retarded boy that claims he is the son of the previous Bush?

    Forgive me for ranting, but: Damn it, if we were ready for an intellectually challenged, severely mentally retarded adult with a silver spoon up his behind that had a C average at Yale (which his daddy probably bought), then we are ready for an honors graduate of Columbia, and magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School!

    IF WE ARE NOT READY, THEN DAMN IT, WE BETTER GET READY BECAUSE IT IS COMING ON THE FIRST TUESDAY IN NOVEMEBER!

    But then again, if you are ready for an old fart that has taken the claim to be some sort of war hero (lie! He was a prisoner war), and taken the claim to have command experience (another lie! He was a prisoner of war and commanded no one but himself.) then cast your vote for the oldest man ever to run for the office of President of the United States of America.

    It’s our choice so get ready!

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