View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
ManintheMiddle
Joined: 20 Oct 2008
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 4:28 am Post subject: SLOW TRAIN COMING: JESSE JACKSON AND THE OBAMA WIN |
|
|
Did anyone here catch the ABCNews video clip of Jesse Jackson's initial reaction when Obama was declared the winner? I watched it five times, partly out of sympathy and partly out of nostalgia.
As background, let me say that Jackson and I have a history together, albeit rather fleeting.
In 1984, I was the assistant director in Dane County in Madison for the Jackson presidential campaign. I also arranged for Jackson to speak at a local public high school, Madison Memorial, while I was student teaching there. Before his talk in the school auditorium, he was on the phone to the NYT about an op-ed piece he'd written about apartheid in South Africa. Jackson was in rare form that morning with his Rainbow Coalition. Twice he chastised several Black students in the bleachers who were acting ghetto in this mostly White school.
But then soon after came the Hymie-Town remark and my hopes were dashed. I resigned from my post before the nominating convention that summer.
So what does this all have to do with my post?
Well, I came to loathe Jackson at times in the intervening years, finding him to be more an opportunist than a reformer. He never ran for public office, he never acquired a church, and he was known to womanize. He became something of an ambulance chaser--a dubious mantle of distinction now inherited by Al Sharpton and his ilk.
But part of me retained respect for the man because of his association with MLK and I was reminded of this when on the 40th anniversary of the latter's assassination in Memphis, Jackson choked up as he said, "They didn't have to do that, ya know."
And tonight he was again caught on tape, except the tears were welling up in his eyes and finally streaming as he watch the election tallies. I couldn't help but feel for the guy. He is a genuinely emotional individual, so I didn't for a moment think those were manufactured tears. And let's face it: to some degree he did help pave the way for Obama and with far less formal education, still evident in his speech patterns. He is who he is and I give him credit for rising above humble circumstances and trying, if in fits and starts, and more than a few setbacks, to carry on King's legacy. So the night was his too.
How did you react to the video, and if you haven't seen it, do you think Obama should acknowledge Jackson and John Lewis in a public way?(After all, he went on Oprah's show last year and said before an audience of millions, "You know, you're always my girl.") |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
ddeubel

Joined: 20 Jul 2005
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 4:37 am Post subject: |
|
|
Stevie,
Just go away! You're kinda respect is no respect at all. Your deeds count for much more than your platitudes....Jessie would agree. Go hide away.
DD |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Jandar

Joined: 11 Jun 2008
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 4:49 am Post subject: |
|
|
Jackson took the mantle afte MLKs death. It was unfortunate that the mantle was too big for him. But it was too big for anyone. Yes, I give him props for at least trying and keeping in our face. He just was not the same as MLK, no one was, and that's unfortunate.
The same can be said for all the wannabe democrats that followed FDR and JFK, non have stacked up. There will never be another Lincoln or another Reagan.
Obama may be following in MLKs footprints but he is his own man with his own mission. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
bacasper

Joined: 26 Mar 2007
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 7:21 am Post subject: |
|
|
Jandar wrote: |
There will never be ...another Reagan. |
Thank God for small favors.
How dare you even mention Lincoln and that guy in the same sentence! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Gopher

Joined: 04 Jun 2005
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 7:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
Never been a J. Jackson fan. Al Sharpton even less so. B. Obama stands far more sophisticated than they -- and that party explains his more universal appeal. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Tiger Beer

Joined: 07 Feb 2003
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 7:40 am Post subject: |
|
|
Jesse Jackson....uggh.
REMEMBER THIS ONE:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07102008/news/nationalnews/jesses_a_nut_job_119244.htm
Quote: |
WASHINGTON - In a shocking blast at Barack Obama that was caught on tape, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, "I wanna cut his nuts out."
He made the astonishingly vulgar remark as he accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of giving moral lectures to African-Americans.
"See, Barack [has] been talking down to black people . . . I wanna cut his nuts out," Jackson said.
His whispered comments - accompanied by his hand-miming a cutting motion - were picked up by a live mike before an interview on health care in Fox News Channel's Chicago studio Sunday.
|
We certainly haven't heard the last of Jesse Jackson, not by a long shot. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Kikomom

Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Location: them thar hills--Penna, USA--Zippy is my kid, the teacher in ROK. You can call me Kiko
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 11:40 am Post subject: |
|
|
I watched grown men choking up all over the place last night on TVOne.
Quote: |
he never acquired a church |
Thank God for another small favor. You think putting up with the Evangelicals is bad now?
But, why do we call him Reverend?
I respect anyone with the tenacity to promote Civil Rights, and where else are you going to see the injustices but down there in the trenches. Twenty years before your experience with him OP were very ugly, angry times. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
RJjr

Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Location: Turning on a Lamp
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
From what I've heard, Jackson actually saw Dr. King get murdered. Although I'm sure Jackson probably felt intimidated at times, he has shown a tremendous amount of courage over the decades and never let the assholes shut him up. He kept trying to get black Americans on a level footing with the rest of us and finally got to see a black man get elected President. King was clearly in a class by himself so it's pointless to compare and contrast Jackson and King. Jackson picked up the flag when King fell and did his best to carry it and over the decades has never given up. He's shown his ass a few times over the decades, but don't we all? I'm happy Jackson got to see a black man elected as our President. Hopefully, Jackson and Sharpton will make it into Obama's Cabinet. That would be awesome. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Yu_Bum_suk

Joined: 25 Dec 2004
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
He was probably crying because he came to the realisation of how unelectable he was all along. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Jandar

Joined: 11 Jun 2008
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 11:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
bacasper wrote: |
Jandar wrote: |
There will never be ...another Reagan. |
Thank God for small favors.
How dare you even mention Lincoln and that guy in the same sentence! |
Hey, c'mon I mentioned Jesse frikkin' Jackson with MLK and Obama.
Just be glad I didn't mention the most popular president of post war era. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Adventurer

Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 11:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Many black people cried and many Americans cried, period, when Obama was elected. For many Americans dealing with years of Bush has been a nightmare. Two, Barak Obama's election represents the first time ever for a man who is African American or black to be elected as president.
It's also the first time since JFK was president that a Democrat from the North became president. They've all been from the South. By the way, Colin Powell also cried on camera. Many of these folks like Jesse Jackson grew up in a time where so many hotels were segregated, people had to go to the back of the bus etc..... It's like a shock to see a black man actually elected for Jesse Jackson no matter what he thinks about Barak Obama. However, Barak was not running as a black man, he was running as an American, but he didn't deny his race. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong
|
Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 12:59 am Post subject: |
|
|
I have mixed feelings about Jessie Jackson. While he certainly has paved the way with his prior runs for the White House and his work throughout the years, he also has many negative associations. I've never been a fan of his either, but I saw him speak in 1998 at my university. One thing I will say is that his speaking style is almost mesmerizing. As for the tears, I have no doubt they were genuine. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
ManintheMiddle
Joined: 20 Oct 2008
|
Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:53 am Post subject: |
|
|
Jandar observed:
Quote: |
Jackson took the mantle afte MLKs death. It was unfortunate that the mantle was too big for him. But it was too big for anyone. Yes, I give him props for at least trying and keeping in our face. He just was not the same as MLK, no one was, and that's unfortunate. |
Gopher wrote:
Quote: |
Never been a J. Jackson fan. Al Sharpton even less so. |
Don't get me wrong; I'm no big fan of Jesse but I try to give him his due. As for Sharpton, that's a different story. He still hasn't been man enough to apologize for his false accusations in the Tawana Brawley fiasco. And he's dumb as a rock--knew nothing about the Federal Reserve when asked during the presidential primary debate last time around.
MilwaukieDave wrote:
Quote: |
I have mixed feelings about Jessie Jackson. |
I'm ambivalent about him too; clearly he has contributed in some substantive ways to the civil rights movement. He has also on occasion been critical of Blacks too.
RJjr wrote:
Quote: |
From what I've heard, Jackson actually saw Dr. King get murdered. |
Yes, he was on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel when King was shot. King was in some respects a father figure to Jackson, too, often gently chiding him about his dress and decorum.
DDeubel stammered:
Quote: |
Stevie,
Just go away! You're kinda respect is no respect at all. Your deeds count for much more than your platitudes....Jessie would agree. Go hide away.
DD |
Who's Stevie? And, my, aren't we mature in our response. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|