Jacksons

Jesse Jackson’s overwhelming victory in the recent Michigan Democratic primary may well have “blown the minds of party leaders,” as Dan Rather put it on the evening news. But it clearly didn’t do much for their understanding. Party professionals and political pundits continued to use words like “weird” and “wacky” to describe Jackson’s growing support. In fact, Jesse Jackson represents a vintage American phenomenon consistently overlooked and misunderstood by the experts: He is an authentic populist. His appeal is far broader–and different–than can be summed up in labels like “liberal” or “left wing.”

Put simply, as his message has matured this year, Jackson combines protests against what is happening with a positive and hopeful vision of what America can become. “Populism” is a term that has been much bandied about this election season, used to cover everything from Richard Gephardt’s call to “get tough” with trade competitors to Albert Gore’s declaration that he “stands with working men and women.” Populism as a fashionable label means “us against them,” the little guy against the big shots.

But Jesse Jackson’s populism is far from simple-minded complaint. The first Populists were black and white farmers who made an alliance in the 1880s to save rural communities and their ways of life from the stranglehold of banks, railroads and merchants. Like theirs, Jackson’s protest goes to the heart of what America stands as a society. Drawing on the rich black church tradition that has always had the pathetic prophetic capacity to point to the clash between American ideals and realities, Jackson speaks to people’s anxiety that America has begun to abandon crucial, defining values.

Here, his challenge to the violence of drugs and unemployment is reinforced by his campaign itself, a low-budget “people’s alternative” to politics as the marketing of slickly packaged personalities. When Jackson says his victories represent “flesh and blood” winning out over “money and computers,” he connects not only with people who have been economically left behind in the Reagan years. His message also resonates with millions who worry that local communities and ordinary citizens are endangered by a high-tech culture that idolizes the rich and famous.

Further, Jackson, like the first Populists, does not simply protest. He also issues an empowering call for responsibility. In the face of a good deal of initial resistance from some black groups, Jackson this election season has preached that the preeminent issue today is not racism, but economic justice that calls for corporations to be accountable for actions that affect workers and the community welfare. He calls upon black and white youths to take positive action against drugs and teen-age pregnancy. He challenges his audiences to act to overcome racial hostility. Moreover, Jackson emphasizes not only increased personal responsibility but also the need for a renewed sense of collective economic responsibility as well.

The Populists of the 1880s and 1890s envisioned a “cooperative commonwealth” in which private property would be seen as a civic obligation and where citizens would commonly assume responsibility for the foundations of economic life like basic utilities, transportation and communication systems. This tradition continued in the 20th Century, in the arguments of Presidents like Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, that property is a “public trust” beholden to the commonwealth.

Jackson stands clearly in this tradition. His cause for “economic power-sharing” and “reinvestment in America” are given specific meaning in his proposals to repair America’s basic economic infrastructure. Indeed he has been the only candidate to date to talk about what the National Council on Public Works Improvement recently documented in its report to Congress and the President: Our roads and waste facilities and waterways and other essential foundations have been gravely jeopardized in recent years by a spirit of neglect and careless “privatization”.

Thus Jackson’s populism points out a widespread uneasiness about what’s wrong today and offers some concrete and constructive things to do about it. Whatever the outcome of the nominating process, he has broken fresh ground and revitalized an old vibrant tradition. American politics will never be the same.

BOMBSHELL unheard audio of Michael Jackson sharing his deepest “intimate” thoughts on children will be revealed in a new documentary.

In the chilling voice recordings, the music legend can be heard discussing his deep-seated feelings on his infatuation with kids.

During one alarming moment Jackson even admitted that if he could not be close to children he would take his own life, according to the New York Post.

“If you told me right now . . . Michael, you could never see another child…I would kill myself,” he reportedly said.

“Children want to just touch me and hug me.

“Kids end up falling in love with my personality. Sometimes it gets me into trouble.”

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The unsettling recordings alongside a number of never-before-seen tapes have been secured for a four-part Channel 4 series called The Trial.

Set to premiere on February 4, the docuseries details new revelations from the pop icon’s 2005 child molestation trial.

Shedding new light on Jackson’s relationship with child cancer survivor Gavin Arvizo, who later accused him of sexual abuse, unseen footage shows their pair going on picnics alone together.

Gavin accused him of sexual molestation in 2005, saying Jackson showed him pornography and gave him alcohol.

The star – who admitted to sharing his bed with kids – was cleared of all 14 charges, including four counts of molesting a child, four counts of getting a child drunk so that he could molest him, and of secretly conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive at his California ranch, Neverland.

He was also charged with supplying alcohol to the boy, now 15.

The New York Post spoke to an insider who had heard the recordings.

“There is something extremely unusual and eerie about Michael Jackson’s infatuation with children – especially those who are not his own,” they said.

“To hear his voice discuss children in this manner, given he had been accused on molestation, raises many questions about his mental health, mindset and sadly, intentions.

“This is Michael at his most open giving us an insight into how he was in love with children . . . infatuated with wanting to be around them,” they added.

Continuing on, the insider said Jackson saw “nothing wrong with bringing kids to his home and his bed without parental supervision”.

“[He justified] those actions by saying he is a just a friend looking to help,” they said.

“He even went further — expressing how most of the spoiled children fell in love with him.

“These are very uneasy phrases and language to hear from a single man in his 40s.”

The insider said the footage also showed how Jackson cared for Gavin throughout his cancer battle.

“Many doctors felt that his diagnosis was terminal, but Michael never gave up hope,” they said.

“Michael described how he told Gavin he looked like an angel to him. The way that these could have been interpreted are fascinating.”

Executive producer Tom Anstiss said: “The unheard audio tapes of Michael Jackson offer a rare and privileged window into Michael’s psyche and his soul”.

He said The Trial would “deliver a new understanding of who Michael Jackson really was, what he thought and the seismic moments that shaped his life”.

“The tapes are emotionally raw and very real,” he said.

“At points, you can hear Michael is close to tears.”

Jackson’s former public relations advisor appears in the show, revealing that he “absolutely” believed the allegations against the popstar, according to the Telegraph.

“I believe there was a cover-up for so many years,” he said. 

Jackson’s estate still vehemently denies all child molestation accusations against him.

He had three children of his own, Prince, Bigi (formerly Blanket) and Paris.

The trio have described him as “the best father you could ever imagine”, according to People.

Jackson died of an overdose on a prescription anaesthetic four years after the trial concluded.