I learned of Michael Jackson’s tragic death while in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. I was shocked and deeply saddened like many of the Dominicans and people around the world. I felt compelled to call family members and close friends to discuss this tragedy. It was the void and emptiness I felt that caused me to toss and turn and lose sleep the night of his death. Like many, I have been thoroughly engaged in the coverage of this tragedy.
On CNN, I saw President Obama’s written statement offering his condolences to the Jackson Family. The president was, as always, gracious in his warmth in his statement to the family. Nevertheless, I felt that his written statement was an insufficient way of expressing sorrow for this American icon. I stated to my host in the Dominican (a college classmate) that President Obama should have made a brief televised statement about the death of Jackson. My friend’s response was: 1)Obama probably had more important things to do like deal with the Iranian or North Korean crises 2)Obama probably made a political calculation that because of allegations of child abuse it would not be wise of him to make a deliberate televised statement about the death of Michael Jackson.
Inherently, I knew that president was trying to be “presidential” by not publicly lionizing Jackson. I think this was the wrong calculation. What person has embraced more of a humanitarian spirit in the world than Michael Jackson? What person has brought more joy to the world through their music and entertainment than Michael Jackson? What person reflects the president’s humanistic agenda more than Michael Jackson? President Obama should have risen above political calculation to acknowledge Jackson’s overwhelmingly positive impact on this nation and the world.
The president used various aspects of popular culture to ascend to the White House. Indeed, his success relied on his unique appeal to the pop culture generation. In this sense, the president should have appealed to this generation by purposefully acknowledging this tragedy using the same pop culture mediums that got him elected. Moreover, he should have acknowledged how Jackson invariably inspired him. He should have acknowledged how Jackson was his predecessor in many ways. Four decades before there was Obama-mania there was Michael Jackson-mania. As an African American, Obama should have discussed how Jackson enabled him to walk a little taller.
The recent BET Awards captured how almost 100 percent of African Americans feel about the “King of Pop.” Although we have joked about Jackson’s transformed physical appearance and eccentric ways over the years, he has brought immeasurable joy and pride to us. He has enabled us to speak, act, and perform more creatively and boldly. More importantly, he showed us how to be a powerful voice of peace and unity. In many ways, his life and legacy is on par with Martin Luther King Jr.
The convergence of all of the scrutiny, ridicule, and callousness took an incalculable toll on him. Ridicule of Jackson was almost always without empathy. We criticized Mike for his eccentricities but nobody knows what it is like to be the most popular entertainer/person in the world for 80 percent of their life.
Many Americans’ negative perceptions of Jackson revolved around the unsubstantiated reports of child abuse regarding two children. These allegations were not made by the alleged victims but made by two manipulative parents with ulterior motives. In these cases, Jackson’s life embodied the most tragic of ironies. A person who was the most kind-hearted and sensitive towards children was accused of abusing them. In true American fashion, many people focused on the negative and overlooked the tens of thousands of children that he assisted financially, the thousands of children he visited in hospitals and orphanages throughout the world, the thousands of children he brought joy to when he invited them to his amusement park at the Neverland Ranch, and the hundreds of millions of children that he inspired just by being Michael Jackson.
Americans let the media shame them into not embracing the pure goodness of Jackson. The media compelled many Americans to be embarrassed about being Michael Jackson fans. I think even the president was affected by this phenomenon.
Nevertheless, whether we admit it or not, if we believe in optimizing our potential by commitment, discipline, and hard work, if we believe in the potential of every man, woman, and child in every corner of the world, if we believe in giving what we have been given, if we believe that “We are the world,” if we believe that the world should be made a better place, then we are all Michael Jackson fans.
Renford Reese, Ph.D., is a professor in the political science department and director of the Colorful Flags program at Cal Poly Pomona. He is the author of American Bravado (2008), Prison Race (2006), and the widely discussed American Paradox: Young Black Men (2004). He is also the author of the Starbucks “The Way I See It” cup quote #294. See his work at: http://www.RenfordReese.com
Michael Jackson, Obama, & Political Calculation
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Guest Columnist: Renford Reese, Ph.D.
I learned of Michael Jackson’s tragic death while in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. I was shocked and deeply saddened like many of the Dominicans and people around the world. I felt compelled to call family members and close friends to discuss this tragedy. It was the void and emptiness I felt that caused me to toss and turn and lose sleep the night of his death. Like many, I have been thoroughly engaged in the coverage of this tragedy.
On CNN, I saw President Obama’s written statement offering his condolences to the Jackson Family. The president was, as always, gracious in his warmth in his statement to the family. Nevertheless, I felt that his written statement was an insufficient way of expressing sorrow for this American icon. I stated to my host in the Dominican (a college classmate) that President Obama should have made a brief televised statement about the death of Jackson. My friend’s response was: 1)Obama probably had more important things to do like deal with the Iranian or North Korean crises 2)Obama probably made a political calculation that because of allegations of child abuse it would not be wise of him to make a deliberate televised statement about the death of Michael Jackson.
Inherently, I knew that president was trying to be “presidential” by not publicly lionizing Jackson. I think this was the wrong calculation. What person has embraced more of a humanitarian spirit in the world than Michael Jackson? What person has brought more joy to the world through their music and entertainment than Michael Jackson? What person reflects the president’s humanistic agenda more than Michael Jackson? President Obama should have risen above political calculation to acknowledge Jackson’s overwhelmingly positive impact on this nation and the world.
The president used various aspects of popular culture to ascend to the White House. Indeed, his success relied on his unique appeal to the pop culture generation. In this sense, the president should have appealed to this generation by purposefully acknowledging this tragedy using the same pop culture mediums that got him elected. Moreover, he should have acknowledged how Jackson invariably inspired him. He should have acknowledged how Jackson was his predecessor in many ways. Four decades before there was Obama-mania there was Michael Jackson-mania. As an African American, Obama should have discussed how Jackson enabled him to walk a little taller.
The recent BET Awards captured how almost 100 percent of African Americans feel about the “King of Pop.” Although we have joked about Jackson’s transformed physical appearance and eccentric ways over the years, he has brought immeasurable joy and pride to us. He has enabled us to speak, act, and perform more creatively and boldly. More importantly, he showed us how to be a powerful voice of peace and unity. In many ways, his life and legacy is on par with Martin Luther King Jr.
The convergence of all of the scrutiny, ridicule, and callousness took an incalculable toll on him. Ridicule of Jackson was almost always without empathy. We criticized Mike for his eccentricities but nobody knows what it is like to be the most popular entertainer/person in the world for 80 percent of their life.
Many Americans’ negative perceptions of Jackson revolved around the unsubstantiated reports of child abuse regarding two children. These allegations were not made by the alleged victims but made by two manipulative parents with ulterior motives. In these cases, Jackson’s life embodied the most tragic of ironies. A person who was the most kind-hearted and sensitive towards children was accused of abusing them. In true American fashion, many people focused on the negative and overlooked the tens of thousands of children that he assisted financially, the thousands of children he visited in hospitals and orphanages throughout the world, the thousands of children he brought joy to when he invited them to his amusement park at the Neverland Ranch, and the hundreds of millions of children that he inspired just by being Michael Jackson.
Americans let the media shame them into not embracing the pure goodness of Jackson. The media compelled many Americans to be embarrassed about being Michael Jackson fans. I think even the president was affected by this phenomenon.
Nevertheless, whether we admit it or not, if we believe in optimizing our potential by commitment, discipline, and hard work, if we believe in the potential of every man, woman, and child in every corner of the world, if we believe in giving what we have been given, if we believe that “We are the world,” if we believe that the world should be made a better place, then we are all Michael Jackson fans.
Renford Reese, Ph.D., is a professor in the political science department and director of the Colorful Flags program at Cal Poly Pomona. He is the author of American Bravado (2008), Prison Race (2006), and the widely discussed American Paradox: Young Black Men (2004). He is also the author of the Starbucks “The Way I See It” cup quote #294. See his work at: http://www.RenfordReese.com
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