It seems that over the past week, there have been a lot of Jesees in the news. First of all, there is news that Jesee Ventura may run against Al Franken and Norm Coleman for the Senate seat in Minnesota. Franken v Coleman should be, ummmm, entertaining, if nothing else.
But, it’s the other 2 Jesses that I find more interesting over this past week. I am, of course, talking about Jesee Jackson and Jesee Helms. They are two parts to a much bigger story, the struggle for civil rights and race relations in this country. Many consider each to be heroic, while others demonize them for their sins and struggles. Reality is usually more complex than either side of the story.
I really don’t know a lot about Jesee Helms. Most of what I know comes from satire. My earliest awareness of him comes from MAD magazine. I don’t remember what the article was, but I just remember in the background was a picture of Helms, holding a piece of paper that said, “Helms essay contest: 500 words on the Benefits of Bigotry.” In another MAD article, this one a bunch of “caps” for various products, had Helms’ face as a cap for a can of compressed air. And then, there was a Letterman Top 10 list, top 10 ways you know your senator is stupid. Number 1, “you live in North Carolina.”
Reading up on Helms over the last week doesn’t paint a very flattering picture of him. While many lauded him as a pioneer of modern conservatism, what you find is a guy who constantly fought against civil rights, even the most basic ones, and used race baiting as a campaign strategy.
Yet, I also read something written by an African American woman, who, as a child, visited Helm’s office on a school trip. She said he was very nice, put his arm around her, and was quite encouraging.
Make no mistake–that doesn’t change the fact that Helm’s political record on such issues is deplorable. But, it makes me wonder about the man. What was going through his mind when he was visiting with that girl, Was he a good guy with messed up political views? Was he putting on a show for the girl? I wonder the same thing about him that I wonder about Fred Phelps. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, he is the “godhatesfags.com” guy (if you haven’t visited that link, don’t). Anyway, I read that at one time, he was the top civil rights attorney in Kansas. And now even the most homophobic people think he’s insane. And while I don’t put Helms in the same category as Phelps, I have to wonder about both: what happened?
Jesee Jackson, on the other hand, has spent time both being what’s right and what’s wrong in the civil rights movement. I wasn’t really aware of Jackson until the 1988 Presidential election. In the time since then, I’ve mostly seen a man trying to hang on to his fame and importance, and to struggle mightily to do so. He has had some moments, though, particularly his negotiation for the release of hostages on several occasions.
But, I found this column last night. The writer talks about the early Jesee Jackson, and what he meant to the civil rights movement. I’m not going to comment on it much other than to say it was fascinating. In particular, she talks about seeing this appearance on Sesame Street, and what it meant to her as a child growing up as an immigrant from Haiti.
As she points out, some of Jackson’s increasing irrelevance has been his own doing. I think that one of Jackson’s biggest struggles is that he’s had trouble adapting what it means to be a civil rights leader over the years as the racial dynamics have changed. At the same time, some of it is everyone’s fault. We too easily dismiss what we don’t want to hear. Regardless of how or why though, it’s tragic, because he is clearly a man of great talent and we still have a lot of work left to be done on race relations.
Which brings us to the reason that Jackson was in the news this week–comments made regarding Barack Obama. Personally, I think we should cut him some slack on this. We’ve all used hyperbole in expressing our frustration with someone.
But, I think this column really addresses the underlying issue on Jackson’s comment. In particular, he talks about how the civil rights movement began as a group fighting from the outside. One of the struggles Jackson has faced, to his detriment, has been continuing to fight it like that. Now, there is a good chance that it’s going to be fought from the very top. Anyway, read the article, it makes a lot more sense than I will.
Filed under: election, politics | Tagged: barack obama, jesee helms, jesee jackson
Just can’t help but wonder how Jackson would’ve reacted if Imus said the exact same thing.
No doubt he would have thrown a fit. And, rightfully so. But, it’s that inconsistency that’s cost him his credibility over the years.
The Secret Service should investigate Jackson’s comments about O’Bama as a threat against a public official and presidential candidate.
Federal law makes it a crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison to threaten the President,a presidential candidate and members of the presidential; family.
If anyone of us did so,we would be held liable under the law. Jesse Jackson needs to be responsible under the same penalties.
This is to confirm that we are actively investigating Mr. Jackson’s commnets. Once the investigation is completed,we will forward the report to the Justice Department for possible prosecition