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What Makes Jesse Talk?
Every time the media needs a comment from someone who is supposed be representative of the African-American community at large, there seem to be only two individuals who are trotted out- Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson. Their viability as leaders, however, is often questionable, due to incidents like the recent one in which Jackson was overheard making objectionable remarks about Presidential candidate Barack Obama.
 
Certainly, African-Americans are not expected to be monolithic in their thinking, any more than any other group of Americans.  Rev. Jackson is entitled to his personal opinions, but you have to wonder why he considers it "talking down to black people" because Obama gave a speech in which he stressed that the black community needs to take personal responsibility for itself.  Sure, racism still exists, but it can't be blamed for every ill within the community, such as teen pregnancy, absent fathers and gang violence.  Obama was simply expressing similar sentiments already spoken by people like Bill Cosby and others who are disturbed by the problems that overtake youths in the inner cities.
 
Jackson was speaking privately to another person on the Fox News set and, obviously, was  unaware that his mike was still on at the time his statements were made.  It might be argued that Fox News unfairly took advantage of that fact, which may very well be true.  On the other hand, it provided the nation with a chance to see the "real" Jesse, compared to the "public" Jesse.  Not even his own son- Jesse. Jr.- or his buddy Rev. Sharpton came to his defense, once the offending remarks were disclosed.
 
Could Jackson's antipathy towards Obama be based, instead, upon envy, rather than about differences in philosophy? After all, Jesse Jackson ran for the chance to become the Democratic Party's Presidential nominee twice.  His campaign was self-derailed in 1984, when he was overheard making remarks, in which he referred to Jewish folks as "Hymies" and called New York City "Hymietown." In 1988, he had an impressive turn as a candidate, but failed to win the nomination.
 
This is what makes me suspect that some degree of jealousy is at play. Jesse Jackson, while still respected for his connection to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and for his earlier civil rights stands, has been overshadowed by somebody who is younger, more popular within the mainstream American community and who may actually have a chance of winning the Presidency.  That must be difficult to deal with, when you have the kind of ego Jackson has.
 
His remarks will be forgotten after a few weeks, as the media moves on to something else, but it will be interesting to see if Jesse Jackson will gradually start to lose his
credibility in African-American circles, if he continues to keep putting his foot in his mouth.
By: Ezriela Devereux
Published: 07/18/08


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1 Posted Comments:

@ 8:29 am 08/02/08 by L Romano
I think that over the years people are starting to take him less seriously. With the comment he recently made about Obama I believe that peoples positive opinions of him have lessened.
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