I loved me some Janet Jackson back in the day, with my favorite line of retort, “Mrs. Jackson if you’re Nasty,” springing from her hit Nasty Boys being my go-to reference for panty-chasers.
So, imagine my surprise and disappointment when I learned Janet was spreading misinformation about Kamala Harris’ heritage and race recently.
Direct quote:
“‘Well, you know what they supposedly said?’” Jackson told the news outlet. “‘She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.’” — VARIETY
Sounds like a certain person’s version of “People are saying…” and I expected better from the musical icon. Yes, people can make mistakes but we are supposed to atone for them, otherwise, how do we learn and stop hurting the people we care about?
An unrepentant abuser is a repeat abuser. Love is not accepting abuse.
Coddling people does not help them grow either—it is not love to enable.
Janet supposedly issued an apology but later claimed the apology was issued by someone who was not allowed to speak on her behalf:
After a confusing turn of events on Sunday, reps for Janet Jackson tell Variety that an unusually worded “apology” for the singer’s ill-informed comments about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ racial background was made by a person who is not the singer’s manager, as he had claimed, and thus was not authorized to speak on her behalf. — VARIETY
Yikes. So, where does she stand on the matter?
Who knows, but it is sad to see yet another idol has feet of clay—speaking of which—
Ben Meiselas spreads Misinfo in latest video
For a progressive, Ben Meiselas seems intent on reforming the image of the Republican party, so intent he is willing to skirt over inconvenient facts. Once a Republican himself, I am starting to wonder what his deal is in this regard. Far too often, in video after video, he tries to paint MAGA as a mutation, but mutations have a source, right—the source of Trumpism is the Republican party.
Full stop.
Saying anything else is tantamount to delusion or full-out falsehood.
A glaring example is found in this video, where in Ben’s fairly decent takedown of DJT and his Hurricane Helene grift, he claims only Trump has ever politicized a storm:
Ben is old enough to have seen and heard the hullabaloo and nastiness that surrounded Hurricane Katrina and, if he has a modicum of social awareness, which we can say he does indeed have, Meiselas is likely abreast of the political and racist aftermath. I urge any of you with first-hand accounts to drop Ben Meiselas’s a line via his Instagram with your stories, because I am here to set the record straight.
Some historical snapshots
From the HISTORY website:
Failures in Government Response
For one thing, many had nowhere to go. At the Superdome in New Orleans, where supplies had been limited to begin with, officials accepted 15,000 more refugees from the storm on Monday before locking the doors. City leaders had no real plan for anyone else. Tens of thousands of people desperate for food, water and shelter broke into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center complex, but they found nothing there but chaos.
Meanwhile, it was nearly impossible to leave New Orleans: Poor people especially, without cars or anyplace else to go, were stuck. For instance, some people tried to walk over the Crescent City Connection bridge to the nearby suburb of Gretna, but police officers with shotguns forced them to turn back. — HISTORY
Political Fallout From Hurricane Katrina
In the wake of the storm's devastating effects, local, state and federal governments were criticized for their slow, inadequate response, as well as for the levee failures around New Orleans. And officials from different branches of government were quick to direct the blame at each other.
"We wanted soldiers, helicopters, food and water," Denise Bottcher, press secretary for then-Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana told the New York Times. "They wanted to negotiate an organizational chart."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin argued that there was no clear designation of who was in charge, telling reporters, “The state and federal government are doing a two-step dance."
President George W. Bush had originally praised his director of FEMA, Michael D. Brown, but as criticism mounted, Brown was forced to resign, as was the New Orleans Police Department Superintendent. Louisiana Governor Blanco declined to seek re-election in 2007 and Mayor Nagin left office in 2010. In 2014 Nagin was convicted of bribery, fraud and money laundering while in office.
The U.S. Congress launched an investigation into government response to the storm and issued a highly critical report in February 2006 entitled, "A Failure of Initiative." HISTORY
There are reams and reams of articles and historical documentation regarding the socio-political drivers that shaped Hurricane Katrina’s failed response and horrific death toll. Don’t allow misinformation to go unchallenged, no matter who utters it.
Ben Meiselas Instagram https://www.instagram.com/meiselasb/
We are entitled to our opinion, not our own facts
—the victims of Hurricane Katrina deserve better.
And finally—
Look, I speak truth to power, even when it is on our side of the aisle. Always have. Always will. We owe it to the people we represent to be straight-up honest, forthright, and correct. I would expect people to do the same if I were ever in a greater position. I also hope to remain open to hearing such critique so I can evolve into a better version of myself on the daily.
To that end, I have never expected people to simply forgive me when I have done wrong. I try to acknowledge and make up for my mistakes—it is the only way to remain a fully functioning human capable of empathy.
Don’t let anyone, even those we may admire or look up to, whitewash history. That is dangerous. Question everything. Hold no cows sacred.
I also do not want to throw the baby out with the bath water. I will still listen to Janet Jackson songs and watch Meidas Touch vids, mostly for Popok, Karen, and Brett, the latter of which deserves more air time, IMHO!
Brett’s work is always even-handed, to the point, empathetic, fully researched, and seems to lack Ben’s agenda. He wasn’t my fave initially, but Brett grew on me.
At the end of the day, I simply want those who decide to lead to lead faithfully, fairly, with facts, and have the humility to recognize when they are in error, as well as the ability to course correct when needed.
Stay optimistic and vote Blue!
Alicia Norman: All right. I am trying to wrap my arms around the logic here.
Janet Jackson thinks that Kamala Harris is Asian, not Black.
First of all, I am neither, but I love both.
So, an Asian lady graduated from Howard University, made the Historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and at University of California HASTINGS-Law was President of the local Black Law Students Association.
Plus, while at Howard, Kamala Harris marched in Washington to protest Apartheid.
So, irrespective of ethnicity . . .
Well, I wonder what Janet Jackson would say about this . . .
Trump/Vance -- the only alternative Janet Jackson has to Kamala Harris -- are racially baiting violence against innocent immigrant Haitians with white-racist-neo-fascist lies to feed bigotry as if these innocents were -- it is too indecent to repeat, but here goes: the LIE that they steal pet cats and dogs from citizens and eat them.
Aside from whether Haitian immigrants meet Ms. Jackson's standards -- whatever they are -- for being "black", since Ms. Jackson chose to repeat the Trump LIE about Kamala Harris, what does she say about the Trump/Vance vicious race-baiting that have resulted in bombs, evacuations, and violence against minorities, namely, Haitian Americans.
Kamala Harris honors the heritage of Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Emmett Till, Martin Luther King, John Lewis, and she fights against the vicious race-baiting from the right.
Clearly, even my meager summary shows that Kamala Harris comfortably embraces and represents the best of Black culture in America.
The alternative is the neo-fascist right.
Those are the only two sides running for the Presidency.
So, if someone turns against Kamala Harris in favor of racists who resemble Joseph Goebbels, I have NO NEED OR DESIRE to listen to her music and send money HER way to enable her.
Maybe Janet Jackson could get together with RFK, Jr. in ruining family heritage with alliances with the white-racist right.
I cut her off. Maybe it is simply the wisdom of Maya Angelou. Maybe Janet Jackson has shown us who she is.
But it is early.
Maybe we misunderstood Janet Jackson.
Maybe she'll apologize and all is well.
I am open minded.
But Janet Jackson doesn't have long to make up her mind.
I am still waiting.
Let's not forget that Hurricane Rita was hot on Katrina's heels and further smashed the region already suffering from the damage caused by Katrina. All in all, an enormous failure of the Bush administration and a sad time in American history.