Excellent post. Very adept analysis.
I've had a personal experience with Rev. Jackson's son, Jesse Jackson, Jr. Congressman Jackson accused me of racism for asking him to put out his cigar in a public place (a bar where I managed...guests were allowed to smoke cigarettes, but not cigars).
The Jackson family has a history or playing the race card when convenient, but failing to notice racist tendencies when they're the guilty party. The Congressman was, in a sense, being racist with me, assuming that as a white man asking a black man to put out his cigar, my only motivation was to single out and humiliate a black man. He knew nothing about me personally, but made a snap judgment on what my reasons for action were. He judged incorrectly.
I understand that blacks and black culture have been the subjects of racial misdeeds for centuries, but this does not excuse racist behavior on their part, especially by those in their community who speak with the loudest voices.
What does "acting white" even mean? He's a smart well spoken black male. Does that make him "act white"? Perhaps because Obama doesn't seem to draw attention to his race in favor of people actually listening to his views, makes him "act white". Insinuating any of these makes a clear statement that Jackson does not think blacks are capable of either. Jesse Jackson is a racist against blacks, and he doesn't even know it.
I have to seriously wonder what MLKjr would think about remarks like this. Especially given that Jackson was with him all the time. Was he even listening to what MLKjr was saying?
Skevimic: You are right. The term makes no sense. I've lived in cultures around the world and found "white people" who are very different from one another. The "acting white" in the South is very different from "acting white" in San Francisco. I am currently in the UK and "acting white" varies siginificantly from one one class of people to another.
I know I have condemned whites who say things like this about blacks or Mexicans or other collections of people. And the same condemnation is deserved by Jackson. But boy the media is afraid of that one.
I have deleted a comment that was, quite literally, incoherent. Here is a taste of the message to prove my case: "Did you thought it should be engrossed elsewhere, anyway. Gentle reader: the dish was not require you to be engrossed elsewhere, said that gave Chicago it’s nickname: You put it should be a death,"
Someone is not taking their meds again.
The deleted comment sounds like it was either submitted by George Bush or one of the creatures from Stormfront.
If Jesse Jackson is not a con artist he's at least a hypocrite for all the shit he says and does behind the "Reverend" title. Let's not foget one of his more recent earned nicknames: Reverend Lovechild-maker.
I'm glad someone else sees Jesse Jackson for the racist windbag he really is. He and that other bloviating moron Al Sharpton can hold their own against the stupidity of any racists of any color anywhere.
I think that this article does make some good arguments about inequalities between different types of racist remarks. But the real focus should be on the remark towards Obama. I am no stranger to hearing that I am white, even though I'm 100% ethiopian. What people are trying to impart is that I do not fit the black stereotype, so then I am not black? I beg to ask them what is the black stereotype. This is what the injustice of the phrase is. It isn't about Black-on-White racism. It's about one individual singling out another for "not conforming to a certain set of guidelines".
Commenting by HaloScan
