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Jesse Jackson to blame for Chicago night club tragedy?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by bigtexxx, Feb 20, 2003.

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  1. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Member

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    http://www.nationalreview.com/dreher/dreher022003.asp

    February 20, 2003 9:00 a.m.
    Jesse’s Twirl
    Jackson’s usual MO in Chicago.

    Mean-spirited cynics (like, well, me) heard the news that 21 people died in the stampede at a black nightclub in Chicago, and thought, "Jesse Jackson is going to take advantage of this somehow."

    It took about 2.8 seconds for Jesse to make the scene, inviting survivors and the families of victims to show up at Rainbow/PUSH headquarters to grieve. And now he's conspiring with Johnnie Cochran to sue the city and the nightclub's owner, Dwain J. Kyles, in connection with the disaster. A real defender of the people, that Jesse.

    Well. You find once you spend much time perusing the details of Revvum Jackson's affairs that the cynical approach is simply realism. The cynic was not surprised, then, to discover that Jesse's outreach to the families of the dead was nothing more than an exercise in C.Y.A. We now know that in the recent past, Jackson and other black ministers and politicians lobbied the mayor and police officials on behalf of the club, on the grounds that its owner was the victim of a racist "witch hunt."

    According to newspaper accounts, club owner Kyles, who had piled up numerous building code violations, and was at the time of the stampede defying a court order barring entry to the club's second floor, is a close friend of Jackson's. Jackson has known the Kyles family for decades. Dwain Kyles's father, the Rev. Samuel B. Kyles, was a cofounder of Operation PUSH, Jackson's Chicago-based organization. Last April, Jackson wrote to city officials praising the Kyleses for their involvement in civil rights, and called the club "an example of the best that our business community has to offer."

    The New York Times reported Wednesday that several black Chicago ministers said they were told by Jackson's people to rally behind the club, to hold functions there and take business there as a way to support the establishment in the face of racist harassment by city inspectors. "There was a move to close ranks around this business," one pastor told the Times. "There were people who felt, including myself, that maybe the city was on a witch hunt to close black businesses."

    Now that Jesse's Very Good Friend, on whose behalf he played the race card, is certain to face criminal charges and civil lawsuits in connection with the deaths of 21 black Chicagoans, Jesse is desperately trying to change the subject. This lawsuit he's trying to gin up with Cochran is an act of chutzpah reminiscent of the legendary man who murders his parents then throws himself on the mercy of the court, claiming he's an orphan.

    Longtime Jesse observers know that this isn't the first time Reverend's private lobbying for friends and financial backers has been at odds with his image as the best friend of the black community. Let us consider a small but representative sampling of the ways:

    Jackson, whose attempt to boycott Anheuser-Busch failed in 1982, was invoked by black employees of a company beer distributorship in Chicago, who believed they were being discriminated against. In what many observers saw as a blatant (and successful) attempt to buy racial peace from Jackson, Anheuser-Busch awarded the lucrative distributorship (with revenues of between $30 million and $40 million a year) to Jackson's sons.

    With his friend Bill Kennard running the Clinton-era Federal Communications Commission, Jackson publicly opposed a number of high-stakes telecom mergers on moral and racial justice grounds. But when these companies doled out huge sums to Jackson's organization, and started doing business with corporate insiders tied to the Jackson family, Jackson gave approval to the deals, which were subsequently approved by the FCC.

    In 1998, Jackson came out against the proposed Citibank-Travelers merger, again on grounds that it was bad for the black community. Suddenly, Travelers chief Sanford Weill became Jackson's best friend, opening his pocketbook and making his private jet available to the pastor. Suddenly, Jackson was singing a new tune, coming out in favor of repealing legislation prohibiting banks and insurance companies from merging. Some black community activists felt this damaged the Community Reinvestment Act. As one black businessman told The New Republic, "It took a little while for [people] to realize that Jackson was really working for Weill and not [for] them."

    In the 1980s, Jackson geared up to attack Coca-Cola for doing business in South Africa. Coke responded quickly by awarding distributorships to blacks. The first to receive a Coke franchise was Jesse's half brother, Noah Robinson. Also in line: Cecil Troy, an Operation PUSH funder. Robinson got on the Jackson family gravy train a year later when Jesse negotiated a similar deal with Kentucky Fried Chicken. As Kenneth Timmerman reported in his 2001 book Shakedown, Robinson once said, "I told Jesse, 'If you just do the talking for us — and I handle the financial operations — we can rival the Rockefellers in riches.'"

    Wall Street securities broker Harold Doley Jr., one of the wealthiest black men in the country, was an early backer of Jackson's Wall Street Project, but bailed out when he became concerned that Jackson's initiative was really just a racketeering scheme designed to enrich Jackson's friends, cronies and contributors. In the fall of 2001, a disgusted Doley told me, "He's using African Americans to enrich himself."

    Some things never change. It's hard to see how Jackson can make money off the stampede tragedy, but he is still using African Americans to get the heat off himself. If what has been reported so far stands up to scrutiny, Jackson used his influence to rally Chicago black community leaders, urging them to mau-mau city inspectors into taking it easy on his friend Dwain Kyles, who had been found to be running a dangerous business. Now this same Dwain Kyles's negligence, and flouting of city orders, appears responsible for the deaths of 21 black men and women. If Jesse Jackson, who is a powerful political figure in Chicago, hadn't pushed for the city to give Kyles a break, it is possible that those people would be alive today. In an attempt to distract people from that rather inconvenient fact, Jackson is now positioning himself as an advocate for the interests of those crushed or stomped to death in Kyles's nightclub. What will it take for ordinary African Americans to see what became clear to Harold Doley years ago: that Jesse Jackson is no friend of theirs?
     
    #1 bigtexxx, Feb 20, 2003
  2. Pole

    Pole Lies, damn lies, stats, and peer reviewed studies
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    This is why an idea that perpetuates racism, Affirmative Action, is so hotly fought for.

    The ones that scream the loudest about racism have the most to lose from its demise.

    The race card is the hottest gig in town.
     
    #2 Pole, Feb 20, 2003
  3. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

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    Wow, great journalism. The 2.8 seconds part, this writer is definately a person who pays attention to detail. Watch out though, you know those sensetive black people might take offense to the whole "Revvum" Jackson joke.:rolleyes:


    Jackson is a questionable figure, like all public figures these days. I trust him about as much as I trust Bush, which isn't a lot. Still, to accuse him of being responsible for the Stampede, when the owner was ignoring a court order, which apparently, whatver Jackson did, hadn't been changed, is just irrisponsible journalism.
     
    #3 Oski2005, Feb 20, 2003
  4. bnb

    bnb Member

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    Agreed.
    Low blow
    Plenty to dislike about Jackson
    But not here
    Not now.

    I suppose a Dem will now write how it was all Bush's fault.
     
    #4 bnb, Feb 20, 2003
  5. Mrs. JB

    Mrs. JB Member

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    No kidding. It upsets some white people too. The second my eyes hit the word "Revvum," the writer lost all credibility with me. The facts in his story may be true, but he just alienated a large chunk of the public with his "subtle" dig. Real classy.
     
    #5 Mrs. JB, Feb 20, 2003
  6. finalsbound

    finalsbound Member

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    I agree with Pole. I'm a black (conservative); I'm sick of the race card being drawn in immensely weak situations. If this country wants to move forward as far as integrating culturally and socially, we need to look toward the future, not the past. Be thick skinned. I've experienced racism, especially since moving to Houston, but I've learned to let it go.

    Jesse Jackson just makes me think about this kind of stuff.
     
    #6 finalsbound, Feb 20, 2003
  7. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

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    He lost credibility with me when I clicked on the link and saw the website. With articles like "Surrender Monkey Appeasers," "Asbestos could help the economy," and "Maybe Trista can help us eliminate some Dems now," just doesn't seem like a place for objective and truthful reporting. Of course the covert (giving him too much credit) racism from the writer with the "Revvum" joke is pretty appalling. I actually sent an email asking if it was a typo.
     
    #7 Oski2005, Feb 20, 2003
  8. Timing

    Timing Member

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    I think it really does make him feel better to scream race card all the time. It's almost like a Dorothy thing, there's no place like home.

    It's a shame that people like this national review clown, Bill O'Reillly, and the growing wave of blowhard conservative zealots have the opportunity to use shady behavior from Jesse Jackson to in effect declare the illegitimacy of the fight for civil rights and equality. I guess we can add "race card" to the growing list of big government conservative phraseology used to demonize and sterilize.

    Jesse Jackson is a clown but this article is total crap. He helps a long time friend fight city hall, not exactly a crime, and then sues that same friend when his behavior results in 21 deaths. And? Maybe now someone can write an article giving Bush a little credit for these 21 deaths because his little terror alert was based partly on lies from an inmate at Gitmo.
     
    #8 Timing, Feb 21, 2003
  9. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Member

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    What do you expect from the National Review? It's a filthy rag, and it ought to change it's name to the "Honky Herald", or "Rich White Racist Tribune".
     
    #9 RocketMan Tex, Feb 21, 2003
  10. giddyup

    giddyup Member

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    That is a wholly irresponsible thing to say. When have you ever heard Bill O'Reilly call the fight for civil rights and equality illegitimate? He may challenge some of the methods (which you yourself are doing), but many are doing that from all sides.
     
    #10 giddyup, Feb 21, 2003
  11. Timing

    Timing Member

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    It's not irresponsible, it's called no spin. Duh...

    Maybe if I compared Ludacris to Jeffrey Dahmer and Ozzy Osbourne to Winona Ryder then that would be irresponsible. :rolleyes:
     
    #11 Timing, Feb 21, 2003
  12. giddyup

    giddyup Member

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    Neither one of those illustrations have anything whatsoever to do with your accusation. Try again. Are you just flailing here or do you have a legitimate point you want to make?
     
    #12 giddyup, Feb 21, 2003
  13. Another Brother

    Another Brother Member

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    Could we wait until all the bodies are counted before we start this crap...people were killed, or is there something about the clientele that makes that not worth focusing on?

    Geez enough already.
     
    #13 Another Brother, Feb 21, 2003
  14. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    What in the hell does this have to do with Affirmative Action. The fact that you will choose to take a tradgedy about some people trying to have fun and getting squashed to death to debate Affirmative Action, shows you have more issues with race than you are willing to admit.
     
    #14 pgabriel, Feb 21, 2003
  15. Timing

    Timing Member

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    If you weren't so compromised by your blind ideology (internment was not such an off the wall idea, errr... yeah) you would notice how frequently right wingers even on this board use the term "race card" to attack race related problems. It's just your nifty little way to marginalize what you don't want to acknowledge or effectively address. As for my illustration, it certainly shows the difference between no spin and complete supidity on the part of O'Reilly. Anyone who watches this show knows that O'Reilly spends much more time bashing Jesse Jackson and Ludacris than doing features concerning poverty in minority communities, or helping to battle crime in minority communities, or just addressing anything that helps minority communities unless it's some sham attempt to promote his "Christian values". Considering O'Reilly's target audience is pissed off white men there's little doubt why he spends such time on Jesse Jackson and Ludacris Dahmer (none on shoplifter Ozzy) while comparatively much less time on actual issues concerning minorities.
     
    #15 Timing, Feb 21, 2003
  16. Achebe

    Achebe Member

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    I love it when Timing gets his groove on... that swagger... vintage Jordan. Every point by Timing and pgabriel alike makes me think of the net snapping...

    ummm... maybe I should go outside. I'm starting to confuse my forums.
     
    #16 Achebe, Feb 21, 2003
  17. giddyup

    giddyup Member

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    Now tell me who was it (and equally importantly which party was it) that created the internment camps? Yeah, I thought so. Did you remember that. Not ever atrocity is Republican in its roots. It's just so easy to use hindsight. There were elements of truth to what Howard Coble said; he lived through those times. You didn't.

    The blindness may be yours.... Criticism of the "race card" arises when race is unnecessarily or inappropriately introduced to an issue of one sort or another. That's not an attack on race-related problems.

    You still haven't answered my challenge to justify your accusation toward O'Reilly. Off on a tangenet about Ludicas or some such garbage.
     
    #17 giddyup, Feb 21, 2003
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