RIPPING THE HOOD OFF SANTA BARBARA

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton

Be afraid. Be very afraid. While mainstream television and media outlets do their best to prove that all the hoods live “in da hood” with names like Jamaal, Khalil, and Pooky, I submit to you that there are plenty of white hoods in Santa Barbara. These hoods, however, don’t throw gang signs, roll deep in Escalades, or have a mouth full of gold teeth. On the contrary, the hoods of Santa B wear suits and may not flash a mouth full of gold but a mouth full of crooked rotting yellow teeth like one certain district attorney. They wear suits and use code words like “family values” and “morality” to marginalize groups who are not like them.

So when one of the alleged Hoods of Santa B Tom Sneddon and his willing co-conspirators tramped to Neverland and trashed it beyond recognition, part of me really was not all that surprised. Raiding the property of black men you might be jealous of is a long standing tradition in American history for some racists. Heck, just ask any survivors of Rosewood or the Black Tulsa Riots of the early 1920s.

A Short History Lesson



What was left of Black Tulsa after the 1921 riots.

Tulsa, Oklahoma saw its worst outbreak of racially motivated violence in 1921 after a white female elevator operator accused a black man of grabbing her and forcing her to flee for safety. I doubt if the veracity of her claims were even checked out by the white police there. Of course, it did not matter; it gave them another reason to attack the black community and they did just that, destroying thirty-five blocks known as Black Tulsa and arresting and detaining over 6,000 blacks---even those who were not a part of mobs bent on protecting the black man from white lynch mobs. Though initial reports listed the death toll at 36, recent investigations by the Tulsa Race Riot Commission tally the number up to 300.

The racist sympathizers from North County Santa Barbara would defend the actions of their white brethren in the name of “law and order.” Excuse me but real law and order does not entail burning up the homes and businesses of innocence folks simply because you are jealous that you do not have what they have. Of course, considering that the 1920s was also the time in which the K.K.K. experienced a resurgence and rebirth in the United States, what happened in Tulsa was not an aberration. In fact, perhaps the worst raping of a black community came just two years later in Rosewood, Florida.



Rosewood devastation. It took nearly eight decades before anyone felt safe enough to even discuss it.

A white woman from a nearby town had falsely accused a black stranger of assaulting and beating her. Out of sheer racial hatred and jealousy, a mob of white men from the neighboring town of Sumner stormed the wealthy black town of Rosewood, slaughtering many of the residents there and driving away survivors. Do you think they gave a flip about the white woman feigning to be attacked by some "no-good n*ggers"? Please. All these white men wanted was the opportunity to destroy and rip away from black folks what they themselves did not have.

The Same Old Song

Sound familiar? Never mind that California is a hotbed for Klan activity. Just visit Orange County. They are not alone, however. The same ideology is espoused in parts of Santa Barbara, only it is dressed up with wide grins, hearty handshakes, and veiled threats. So when Sneddon and his disciples descended upon Neverland, I read more into it than just Sneddon going after Jackson in order to protect the innocent children of the community from a pariah. After all, if Sneddon really wanted to protect kids from sex abusers, then he would have prosecuted his own police detective, right? No, Jackson represents something else that the good racist folks of Santa Barbara and Santa Maria cannot tolerate: a rich, powerful, black man who does not have to bow his knee and cry “Yes, Massa Boss/No, Massa Boss” to survive.

A rich, independent black man is too much for a community whose Republican Party supported the likes of David Duke, the Fred Astaire of racial baiting, whose emotionally charged rhetoric glides across the poisoned minds of people looking for any reason to dispose of problematic and "not-so-quiet n*ggers" who don’t tow the line. Why else would black men have to sue in order to become a member of the local Elks Club? How else could, as one anonymous source alleges, local churches in Santa Barbara thrive as centers for white supremacist ideology? How else could Jackson have been barred from buying property in the “Hope Ranch” area of Santa Barbara simply because of the color of his skin? “Sad, huh?” a source comments. “They wouldn’t let the King of Pop move in." Others have alleged that racism is a sport for the police force. Shocking. Not.

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it and what we are witnessing in Santa Barbara is a horrific repetition of a racist meta-narrative that has hummed in the background of American history since her inception. In order to understand what is happening to Jackson, we must understand the culture which produces the likes of Sneddon, Mag Nicola, Jim Thomas, North County neo-cons, and the like. Furthermore, we must do more than simply talk about what the problems are; we must be willing to expose the breaches so that healing and restoration can take place. As one author/minister has said, “You cannot conquer what you will not confront.” As long as the hoods stay on the heads of Santa Barbara, those who live there are as guilty as the bigots who lord over them. More Michael Jacksons and countless others will continue to be targeted by a vengeful, racist, political machine bent on devouring all of its foes. Remember, citizens of Santa Barbara: if you refuse to take out your own trash, someone else will do it for you. And it won’t be pretty.

Think on that.

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WHEN JUSTICE COMES CALLING

"If we…do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world. If we do not now dare everything, the fulfillment of that prophecy, re-created from the Bible in song by a slave, is upon us: God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!"

- James Baldwin

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. One thing I learned from the prophets in my family: when you hear a word from God, you heed a word from God without delay. The same thing applies to everyday life. When the signs are screaming at you, you might need to stop, reverse your course, and consider your ways before proceeding any further. This is heresay, however, in the city of Santa Barbara, where lying government and law enforcement officials lick the wounds of its hurting citizens with the express intent to bully. God deliver my heart from bitterness so that I can speak what needs to be said!

Let me tell you, o crooked officials, something about you and your city. You are being put on notice that the world will be watching you. All the shady dirt you have done and have allowed to go down behind the veils of secrecy are about to be unceremoniously ripped away. Do you think that you, Sneddon and Franklin (the Heckel and Jeckel of the local judicial system) can buck the authority of the Most High? You will pay with your careers when it is all said and done. So consumed with irrational hatred for one man are you, Sneddon, that you honestly believe that God will honor your moral and spiritual hypocrisy by allowing you to railroad an innocent man. You are blind. You are deceived, sir. Unless you reverse your wicked and perverse course, the very hand of God will destroy your works of iniquity. He is poised to expose You! He is near to the broken hearted and the humble, not the corrupt.

We live in a country that thought it could mime enough scriptures to appease a righteous God into cosigning on enslaving my people. He gave America time to repent and they did Not. Guess what happened: the Civil War in which hundreds of thousands of lives - many of them white - were lost. The Civil War could have been avoided if heartless, greedy, mindless leaders had humbled themselves and considered their ways. They refused and paid a price so heavy that the loss of life in their war has not been matched since. My hero David Walker, a free Black man who was murdered for telling the truth God showed him about our nation’s hypocrisy regarding slavery said it best:

"But the Americans, having introduced slavery among them, their hearts seared, as with an hot iron, and God has nearly given them up to believe a lie in preference to the truth! And I am awfully afraid that pride, prejudice, avarice and blood, will, before long prove the final ruin of this happy republic, or land of liberty!"

That ruin can easily be applied to your city and man-made kingdom, both of which are founded on injustice, oppression, racism, bigotry, and a neo-conservative rhetoric hooded in white sheets of shame. To bloody hell with the lot of it!

Only bullies - not ethical prosecutors sold out to truth, integrity, and honor - would harass harmless folks to support a collapsing case. Only bullies would issue press releases and statements bankrupt of legal merit and logic in order to convince the world that they have a case. Only bullies would harass innocent citizens into doing their dirty work for them whenever they need to railroad someone whose land they wish to steal. Only spineless, sniveling, conniving bullies would falsely arrest the very people they have molested and abused, all in an effort to suppress truth and to get their political, social, and economic way.

The Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office and much of the law enforcement have, over the last several weeks, been intent on disseminating nothing but outlandish and defamatory filings and blurbs to an equally bankrupt media (disgusting!) all too eager to devour anything negative about Michael Jackson. They have violated the gag order by using an alleged adulterous relationship to poison the airwaves. They do all of this under the guise of justice. Do you want justice, Mr. Sneddon and Mr. Franklin? Santa Barbara? I promise you, justice not only has her shoes on but she’s grabbing her coat because she is about to pay an extended visit to your city and to your crooked, godless, heartless, greedy, bigoted, narrow-minded, and corrupt leadership.

And when Justice comes calling on your government, you will not be able to falsely arrest her, maliciously prosecute her, or blackmail her with planted evidence. You will no longer be able to twist the arm of the legal system for your own political gain. Nor will you be able to pick on online fan clubs or citizens groups who have more brains than you do. Instead, the hand of God is going to lift your city off its haughty foundation and shake it until every ungodly thing that can be loosed IS loosed.

You will go to your houses of worship, your whitewashed tombs of hypocrisy and pray to your “god.” But that god, which is really an amalgam of money, sex, and power, will neither hear you nor deliver you from the judgment to come. The very gallows you built destroy Michael Jackson and the countless other lesser known victims of your misguided wrath will destroy you, o crooked ones!

Trust me on this one: you have been weighed and found wanting. You who swore an oath to uphold the rights of your constituents; to protect your citizens and community from harm; you will learn what justice is all about in yet a little while. The funny thing is that you who have plotted for years to destroy Jackson are blinded to your own impending doom. And do not accuse the author of this “love tap” of threatening you. Please! God will have His way in Santa Barbara. He is about to shake everything that can be shaken. He is going to expose each of you, one by one. Will you see it? Before the storm hits, the clouds form. Will you recognize the coming storm?

To the citizens of Santa Barbara and Santa Maria: how much longer will you tolerate such aimless and corrupt leadership? To say nothing about evil is to endorse it. Just because you are safe does not mean you will always be safe. It would behoove you to consider your own role in allowing the madness that emanates from the District Attorney’s Office and from the law enforcement to corrode your sense of integrity and fairness. Have you sacrificed integrity for profits? You too will pay. Your fields will shrivel, your crops will rot, and the oil you long to drill for will dry up. Justice will weigh you too and see what is in you and should Justice find in you what it finds in your leaders, you will suffer the same fate as those you follow.

O crooked and corrupt ones, you are intent on trying Mr. Jackson but it will be you who are tried and judged. Consider yourselves warned.

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WHO'S BAD

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop who has dominated pop music for the last three decades, is a pedophile; a raging, conniving, predator who devours the innocence of children like a ravenous wolf devours his prey. At least, this is what the media would have you believe - minus the parallel grammatical structure of such a comment. I have always thought that if one wanted to know where a culture is headed, one only needs to look at the way that culture both perceives and treats its children. One hour of television or one minute on Google tells me that American culture is having troubling prizing the innocence and promise of its youth. Yet, it is Michael Jackson and not the culture itself that will likely go on trial within the next year. In the minds of some, this is exactly what should happen since, "experts" tell us, there are clear signs of Mr. Jackson's pedophilic tendencies right before our very eyes. So what is the proof that the King of Pop is really the King of Pedophiles?

First, the experts point to the sleepovers. Now, I personally do not think this would be much of an issue if Michael Jackson were a 45 year-old single woman. The sexism and gender stereotypes are obvious. Despite Mr. Jackson's own claims that he only gives kids his bed while he sleeps on the floor, Mr. Jackson is often portrayed as a man wooing children into his bed to fulfill his sexual desires. While I would suggest having visiting children sleep in the guest room to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, I know kids. When they love someone, they want to attach themselves to that person, even share that person's bed. I know I did when I was a kid. Whenever I spent the weekend with my grandparents, I would fight to sleep with my aunt Lisa because she was my favorite aunt and we would talk all night about silly stuff little girls talk about. Even when I would babysit one of my late aunt's kids, I always slept with her because they could only afford one bed. I never sensed anything sexual about it. Besides, my aunt cracked some of her best jokes while we were all piled in that bed.

A second sign that Mr. Jackson may be a pedophile is his amusement park. When news of Martin Bashir's controversial documentary Living With Michael Jackson exploded in February 2003, I was angry with Mr. Jackson for what I had heard was potentially inappropriate and "disturbing" behavior involving children. God, please deliver me from the sin of presumption. Then I actually watched the special. Afterward, I asked the Lord to forgive me for judging Mr. Jackson because the only "disturbing" thing I sensed deep in my heart about the special was Bashir's attempt to demonize bumper cars, mannequins, and cotton candy. I sensed about as much sexual tension on that special as I do from a rotted tree stump.

Frankly, my biggest regret was that I could not live at Neverland and ride the bumper cars. Mr. Jackson's love for the Three Stooges, roller coasters, and water balloon fights clearly underscore pedophilic tendencies. He is a clear and present danger to society and youth. Not.

The Real Problem

What is the real problem here? Could it be that American culture, currently drowning in a cesspool of narcissism and pornography, has conditioned itself to see sex in absolutely everything and everyone -including children? I do not have a problem with Michael Jackson.

I have issues with a culture where priests and pastors use the name and word of the Living God to lure innocent and trusting children into their web of demonic and misguided lust while archbishops protect them and not the victims. And please do not accuse me of being some God-hating, post-Christian deconstructionist. I am a born-again Christian whose stomach churns with disgust as the name of Jesus is vilified and scandalized among the hurting because of the sins of some in leadership. You will be judged accordingly if you don't repent, folks.

I have problems with a culture where parents willingly pimp their little ones to the highest and sickest bidders. What kind of society are we swimming in if kids cannot even be safe in their own households? I was disgusted and dumbfounded a couple of years ago when a child sex ring was broken up by the FBI and I learned that the masterminds behind this international trading of children and child pornography were not some stranger on the street, but the victims' own parents! Where the hell are the Gloria Allreds and the Carole Liebermans (who allegedly inject their faces with Botox just in time for a cheap photo opportunity)? They can always be found when Mr. Jackson so much as moves his furniture around! So why are they not as concerned about these kids as they are about the children of male celebrities they do not like?

I have a problem with self-proclaimed journalists like Diane Sneddon - excuse me - Dimond, who insists that Mr. Jackson "fits" the profile of a pedophile. I suppose it makes no difference to them that a number of specialist in the field of child sex crimes have stated on numerous occasions that there is no particular "profile" of a pedophile. For a group who prizes itself on research, these journalists come off as lazy, mean-spirited hypocrites who turn a blind eye to the sexual peccadilloes of their peers while they spew deceptive information about others they disdain. How else can I explain their obsession with Mr. Jackson's amusement park, toys, and supposed twenty year-old stinky drawers while little children are being objectified all around them everyday?

I do not have a problem with Michael Jackson. I do have a problem with perhaps the most blatant and yet most acceptable forum for the objectification of children: pageants. That is correct, ladies and gentlemen. There is nothing more disturbing to me than watching little girls no more than three or four years old being dressed and made up to look voluptuous grown women. Equally disturbing is the seductive and sensuous choreography these girls are taught - often by misguided and greedy parents - in order to get the judges' attention.

Somebody help me understand how this industry is not called out for what it is promoting, but Mr. Jackson cannot have a room dedicated to collector's dolls? Please. I do not care how many scholarships such pageants offer to these kids. Kid pageants like the ones that produced Jon Benet Ramsey, not Neverland, are a pedophile's candy store. Now, report that!

Michael Jackson may be eccentric, but I do not believe for one minute that he is a pedophile. Please do not tell me about his "pattern of abuse." Brothers and sisters, you do not establish a pattern of abuse with two reportedly bogus allegations born in the hearts and minds of allegedly greedy and deceitful parents (Evan Chandler and Janet Ventura). Neither is any such pattern forged every ten years. There is, however, another pattern that the media refuses to consider: the thousands of kids, many of whom are now adults, who defend Mr. Jackson as a gentle soul who genuinely loves and protects children. Investigate that pattern, media types!

Indeed, I am more afraid of corporate farmers and agricultural business conglomerates that break the spirits and backs of toddlers by having them pick produce under conditions not fit for animals. Think about that the next time you eat an orange or drink a glass of grape juice.

I am more afraid of politicians, pastors, and other so-called "safe" people who, in order to feed their insatiable and insidious desire for sexual gratification, download pictures of children in various stages of undress. Some even molest children because the images are no longer enough to feed their ravenous passions.

I am more afraid of law enforcement officials and government leaders who arrest and prosecute suspected pedophiles in the name of justice and common decency while they themselves molest, rape, and sexualize the very youth they claim to protect. That is not justice; that is hypocrisy, and it will be checked for sure. Let him or her who has ears to hear what I am saying hear it.

In sum, I am not shocked that American culture sees something sexual in Mr. Jackson's love for children. If all you did was sit in front of a television or computer and masturbate while viewing images of children, you would see something in the wind blowing. Dirty minds, not a "dirty" Jackson, are the problem here. Free Michael Jackson from these false charges! While you are at it, free an oversexed American culture too.

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A CONSPIRACY OF SHAME

There is an old saying that what goes around comes around. May it still be so. More than a handful of people with common sense already recognized the nonsensicality of the child molestation allegations against Michael Jackson. But last week, the case took yet another ridiculous turn when Jackson was indicted not only on charges of molestation but also on conspiracy to abduct a child as well as extortion. Just when you thought the injustice system in Santa Barbara could not get any more ridiculous, they continue to surprise and exceed me.

Not.

The charges against Mr. Jackson are the fruits of a scheme born in the womb of a racist, sexist, political machine devoid of conscience, morality, or integrity. In effect, this machine has the entire city -whether they choose to acknowledge it or not - firmly caught between its teeth, particularly those who intentionally strike out against the powers that be (from hereafter referred to as the PTB). Hence, it should be no surprise that Mr. Jackson has found himself on the wrong side of the fence since he is a black man who happens to be the richest person in the are, a black man who married two white women, and finally a registered democrat. In essence, Mr. Jackson sticks out like a sore thumb to the PTB.

Not surprisingly, this entire case is the ultimate sham of shams, a tedious exercise in prosecutorial smoke and mirrors set up to fool people into believing that Mr. Jackson is guilty of any of the charges. Further, the "case" is nothing more than an elaborate house of trick cards constructed and situated to exact revenge on the Gloved One for daring to be his own man and not bowing to the self-proclaimed potentates of Satanic Barbara (not a misspelling). Yet, this drama has unfolded at almost breakneck speed compared to other cases of alleged misdeeds involving children like R&B superstar R. Kelly, who has yet to be tried on child pornography charges stemming from an arrest over two years ago.

So who are the architects who are keeping this "project" going?

TOM SNEDDON: The Grand Wizard of Deceit, he is not only driven but consumed by rage, determined to pummel Mr. Jackson into the ground. How else does one explain circulating photos of a naked Jackson to certain people, as FOX News talking head Geraldo Rivera charged earlier this year, and making light of them? How else does one explain tearing up Neverland under the guise of looking for "evidence" to arrest when he had already obtained both a search warrant for Neverland as well as an arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson? How else does one explain the press conference in which a giddy Sneddon cracked jokes about a case supposedly involving the sexual abuse of a minor?

Make no mistake, for years the powerful Santa Barbara DA has networked with a number of business and political elites, allegedly forging a labrynth of connections used for no other purpose than to strong arm or blackmail anyone into doing his dirty work. The system has worked so far and Sneddon has been instrumental in implementing what one unnamed source called his Three 'Rs' Agenda successfully: REDNECK, RACISM, and REVENGE. However, some are already predicting that Sneddon has gone too far in the case and may be driving off the edge of a cliff. If so, Sneddon will find himself bound and gagged by a tape that is not easily erased or explained away. What consumes him will in fact destroy him.

JIM THOMAS: Every Grand Wizard needs a flunky and Sneddon certainly has a good one in the former Satanic Barbaric sheriff. Thomas is essentially the good DA's prostitute, hopelessly tethered to the man who allegedly has enough dirt on Thomas to force him to be Sneddon's mouthpiece to a bankrupt and sound-bite hungry media. How else could one explain Thomas attempting to explain away the suspicious activities of a prosecutor who meets with the mother of his star witness accuser in an abandoned parking lot? Or what about Sneddon sliding his card underneath the mother's door before any allegations were even made by the family. Even more ridiculous, let's not forget Thomas' most famous mantra: "There are other victims." Gratefully, Thomas will follow the way of his prideful pimp, falling from grace into a morass of muck and mess crafted by their own hands. Follow at your own peril, Jim.

BIG BUSINESS: There are way too many varied commercial interests to name specific groups but know this: Santa Barbara is land poor. Jackson, on the other hand, owns over 2,700 acres of land in Santa Ynez. Toss in political and racial concerns as well a kickbacks from business owners clamoring for land, influence, and prestige and you have a hot mess for Jackson. But what is done in the done will come to light. Believe that!

Voices of Protest?

With Mr. Jackson being the perhaps the most recognized person on the face of the earth, and with such an obvious hatchet job of a case becoming more insidious by the day, one question has been burning in my mind: Where the hell is the NAACP?

Historically known as a progressive, proactive civil rights group that coupled keen investigation with intential strategy and activity, the NAACP has gone missing so far as the Jackson case is concerned. This same group, of course, had no problems accusing Mr. Jackson of not hiring enough African-Americans during the 1980s. Of course, Michaelmania was in full swing and any attention - positive or negative - involving him was bound to garner attention for all involved. Perhaps instead of clamoring for photo ops with white Fortune 500 magnates, the NAACP should rediscover its rich history of protesting injustice and fighting for the rights of the oppressed regardless of the color of their skin.

The NAACP is dropping the ball, missing an opportunity to rip the sheets off of a corrupt and racist local government that longs to destroy any whose decent intentions oppose their own agendas. Furthermore, the NAACP should be ashamed of its lack of voice on this matter. It is high time they stop using the legacy of its storied past as means for personal gain. One word to the NAACP: show up or shut up.

Another voice of protest missing from this is that of veteran black writers and political/cultural commentators. I should say a rational voice here because a number of those who have commented have obviously spent more time questioning Mr. Jackson's blackness than questioning the merits of the case against him. Others mimic the voices of their racist white counterparts in attacking Jackson. Larry Elder, who strains to sound like a fair-minded Negro his white friends can tolerate, accused Mr. Jackson of playing the race card in alleging that Sneddon's arrest and ransacking of Neverland had an element of racism involved.

Deliver siddity Black folk from blind ignorance. Had Felder taken his Black behind (yes, Larry, you're STILL Black) to Santa Barbara and actually began to talk with people in the know there, he would have learned that Jackson's claims were not an abberation but rather a common occurence for people of color there. Memo to Felder and like-minded Negroes like him: stop sitting on your behind and using the media's latest "exclusive" stories to judge the case. Instead of reflecting on how much you think Mr. Jackson's appearance has changed over the years, discuss how little has changed in this country regarding racism. For Elder to defend Sneddon is almost tantamount to selling another brother into slavery.

How I long for the day when Black media outlets (BET) will wake the hell up and start discussing issues like Mr. Jackson's case. For too long, we have allowed ourselves to be co-opted into a mistrelsy, shaking our behinds to anything that had a "tight beat." Well, I have no issue with tight beats but while some of you are "up in da club gettin tipsy" the King of Pop is being prepared for a public lynching. And don't think for a minute that this has nothing to do with you. If Michael Jackson, who has more money than you and more lawyers than you, can be railroaded by a racist, vindictive prosecutor, tell me what in the hell makes you believe that you are safe? Remember, Mr. Jackson was on top of the world exactly twenty years ago. Now load that on your MP3 and play it!

It is time for people who care about civil rights to say something. This is no longer an isolated incident. It is time to rage against a machine that creates the harrowing and sickening scenarios like the one fomenting in Santa Barbara. Particularly, it is time for Santa Barbara residents who have languished silently for years under the hand of chicanerous leaders to come forward and tell the truth. Remember Jasper, Texas? That was the city where a Black man was dragged to his death in the streets by white men trying to fulfill some sick fantasy of killing a Black man. That city could have exploded in racial unrest and yet, the citizens - Black, White, Latino -refused to allow a few numbskulls to control their city's destiny. They banded together and called for justice and got it! Let that be a lesson and an encouragement to you, Santa Barbara. Indeed, there are brave souls, lovers of humanity, of God, and of peace who long for a city they can be proud of. In addition, these same persons are no doubt in absolute fear for their safety and even lives should they come forward and expose the real Santa Barbara to the world. But know this: if Santa Barbara remains silent and partakes of this conspiracy of shame, both its reputation and its city will go down in flames. Let him who has an ear hear.

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WHEN DUNGEONS SHAKE

Michael Jackson is a threat. To everybody. Except children, of course. Otherwise, he would not be going the way traveled before him by James Baldwin, Paul Robeson, and even Josephine Baker - African Americans who found a resting place for their heads overseas in Europe. I wonder now if Mr. Jackson, once he is cleared of these trumped up charges of child molestation, will not, for the sake of his own dignity and sanity, do the same.

I couldn’t blame him.

If my estate was pillaged and ransacked by a bitter, white, hate-filled man who, without apology, without probable cause, and without common sense, I’d consider another address. Sneddon’s rampage evokes the image of the senseless rage of some white overseer who is bent on exacting some sick measure of joy out of torturing the psyche of his boss’s slave. Sneddon stepped onto - no I take that back: he and his mob stormed the gates of Neverland like U.S. commando forces thundered through the city of Tikrit to capture Saddam Hussein. Helicopters swarmed over Jackson’s abode like vultures suddenly whipped into a sickening frenzy over the stench of dead carcasses.

The latest scandal Jackson is faced with is like nothing he’s faced before. In addition to staring down a twenty years prison sentence, Jackson is facing another prison of sorts: an avalanche of scurrilous press saturated with lies and innuendo. Is this the onslaught payback for years of Jackson refusing to toady to the whims of a media clamoring for every morsel of information about every detail of his life? Is Jackson that big of a threat to them, to their “right-to-know” mentality? For all practical purposes, the media has cast off all restraint, stripping themselves of ethics, integrity and common decency, writhing in a defiled bed of slander, libel, and outright character assassination. Money indeed makes liars and whores out of many.

Michael Jackson is also a threat to white society . He is the one who simply would not stay in his “place”. For centuries, it has always been acceptable for blacks to entertain but never to own and control their own services. Even black minstrels who found work after the Civil War were controlled by white managers who profited more than they did. Sound familiar? But Jackson has never played the part of anybody’s minstrel. He made it clear that there was more to him than simply performing. His business acumen helped earn him co-ownership of the Beatles catalog as well as songs of Elvis Presley. Do not think for a minute that this move set well with some white folks in the music industry. Unlike some of the young black artists who wear their bling bling around their necks or in their mouths, Jackson actually OWNS something substantive and formidable. And folks have been trying to wrench it from him ever since. For some whites, Michael Jackson will never be anything more than a n*gger, albeit a rich one, but still a n*gger. Du Bois’ words, though spoken a century before, still ring true today concerning the problems of the color line in America.

White folks aren’t the only ones who are threatened by Jackson. Some in the black community are just as peeved by Jackson. Yeah, I said it! Some of my people confuse and befuddle me. On one hand, these sold-out “proud-to-be-black-y’all-and-that’s-a-fact- y’all” people like to brag about how important it is for us to be different, to be edgy, and to defy the box (or coffin) mainstream society tries to place us in. This mentality is trumpeted about in the hip hop community and marks the language, the apparel, and the music.

On the other hand, however, the moment a black artist breaks outside “the box”, he or she is branded a sellout. Some of us forgot to include the fact that the black community is as guilty of boxing its people in as white society is. “Look at him! He ain’t black enough. He bleached his skin!” Is blackness based merely on appearance? And what is it to be black, o critical ones? If nothing else, Jackson is guilty of attempting to move beyond the boundaries set by society period. However, it at least appears that many blacks are attempting to look at both Jackson and this case against him with some measure of objectivity and even support if they so feel moved. This is not a call to blind followership rooted in racial solidarity but rather a move toward the common sense and dignity of not judging a thing or a person by its cover. We all, irrespective of our social location, want that much.

But even the racial element in the Jackson drama is trumped by the cultural issues surrounding masculinity and sexuality. While Jackson is maligned for being a man who openly admits and demonstrates his affection for and sensitivity to children, “respected” members of parishes, churches, law enforcement, etc continue to victimize children sexually themselves. While the media continues to speculate about Jackson’s sexuality because of his appearance, his voice, and his unwillingness to be anything but a gentleman when it comes to discussing his personal relationships with women, football players and politicians, traditional pictures of assumed masculinity, continue to come out of the closet.

Even more troubling to me is the underlying assumption that it is somehow abnormal for a “real” man to show affection for children. I’m sorry but I honestly believe this lie is one of the biggest hindrances to authentic masculinity in society today. How many adults are now griping that their fathers were never there for them emotionally, never showed them any kind of affection? Rest assured, Jackson is anything but weak. How many tough guys could survive the ish he’s been through? Some would have committed suicide. Other would no doubt drink themselves into oblivion. Yet Jackson is poised to fight Sneddon, to fight the media, and most importantly, to fight the charges that he is a child molester. Michael Jackson is as much a man as I’ve ever seen, period.

In closing, there is no doubt in my mind or heart that Jackson will be cleared. How long this sham of a process will take, however, is anyone’s guess. But when it is finished, Jackson will be a man freed from the constraints of other people’s ideological fetters and liberated from the ghost of a shocking allegation. Some of course, will always believe that Jackson is guilty simply because they are too lazy to think. But rest assured, someday and that right soon, Jackson’s very soul will resound with the words of one poet, “My dungeon shook, and my chains fell off.”

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CORRUPTION HAS ITS PRICE

In the Beginning…

Somebody slap me. Can we all agree that pedophilia is sick and that all who perpetrate such heinous acts against children should be thrown under a prison? Many people feel this way. So when Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas W. Sneddon arrested and charged pop icon Michael Jackson with child molestation (including seven counts of performing a lewd act on a minor), he and many in the law enforcement community around his haunts championed this as a push for justice. After all, Sneddon had missed his chance to prosecute Jackson when the star was accused in 1993 of molesting a then thirteen year old boy by the boy’s father Evan Chandler. Sneddon’s opportunity of a showdown with Jackson appeared to be a lost opportunity. Until now.

Sneddon, who for years claimed that he was not thinking about Jackson nearly as much as insiders claimed, had far more to say around the time in which the Martin Bashir controversy exploded in early February 2003. Though Sneddon swore left and right that merely sleeping in the same bed as children was not a crime, a light clearly went off in his head by Valentine’s Day 2003, when he told Court TV reporter and Jackson obsessee Diane Dimond that all he needed was one new child to accuse Jackson of abuse and that would "jeopardize the civil settlements from the cases." Finally in November 2003, Sneddon finally had his man and Jackson was charged under the California Penal Code 288(a), which states: Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act, including any of the acts constituting other crimes provided for in Part 1, upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years. (Information Courtesy LegalInfo.ca)

Before the Beginning…

Normally, one would applaud the tenacious pursuit of predators who slip through the cracks only to molest more children and devastate innocent lives. However, there was another curious case in which Sneddon had another opportunity to deliver justice. In July of 2002, one of Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s “finest,” David Bruce Danielson, was arrested on “suspicion of child molestation.” Never mind that Danielson, a forensic investigator, was drunk when he touched the girl. He claimed that he thought he had slid into bed with his wife. Just a simple mistake. The then 14 year old girl did not see the situation the same way and told her story to Sneddon. The girl, from all accounts available, was credible and straightforward in telling her story. More interesting, Danielson even admitted that he had fondled the girl to “several people.” And Sneddon, known for his tenacious pursuit of wrongdoers in his county, responded by dropping the charges against Danielson.

Huh? If one compares that case to the current “trial of the century” debacle brewing around Jackson’s case, it’s clear that two plus two equal eight. So much for investigation. Compare the following:

DANIELSON
- Accused of molesting 14 year old girl

- No record exists of the child having a history of lying

- Arrested on suspicion of child molestation

- Girl provides interview immediately about the events

- Investigated for nearly a month

- Danielson admits to several people that he did fondle the girl and blamed it on his drunkenness.

- Sneddon drops charges for lack of intent on Danielson’s part as well as lack of “required evidence” to nail Danielson.

JACKSON
- Accused of molesting 13 year old boy

- The boy has a long and storied history of scamming and grifting along with his mother and two siblings. They have also lied under oath and in sworn affidavits.

- Arrested on suspicion of child molestation

- Accusor AND his family initially deny any wrongdoing on Jackson’s part

- Investigated 3 times, including once by the Santa Barbara Police Department. No proof of molestation.

- Jackson denies any wrongdoing when media whores such as Gloria Allred call for him to be investigated. The accuser and his family publicly support Jackson.

- Based solely on the accusation of the accuser, Jackson is arrested after a 10 month investigation.

Comparing these two cases seems almost laughable but of course, this is no laughing matter when a potential victim of child molestation is ignored. Not once was Jackson interviewed, interrogated, or even subpoenaed for DNA evidence. Instead, the good District Attorney made up a timeline, married it with shady information from a shady accuser and family and got two warrants the night before he arrested Jackson. The November 18, 2003 raid was nothing but a show and reason to exact vengeance upon Jackson for slipping through those crooked fingers in 1993.

Jackson critics, of course, counter that Jackson already has a history of child abuse based on a similar accusation in 1993. Of course, thanks to a former employee of one of the original lawyers in that case, the allegation has been exposed for the lie it was. Geraldine Hughes, the former legal secretary for Barry Rothman, the first attorney to represent the 1993 accuser, recently released a book outlining how that scam was executed. Backed by piles of legal documents, Hughes lays out the scam point by point, clearly illustrating the diabolical plot to squeeze money out of Jackson. Even more sickening is the downright wickedness of Evan Chandler, the boy’s father, and his disregard for his own son in the wake of a lie he [Evan Chandler] concocted out of - you guessed it - revenge. Unfortunately, neither Sneddon nor the media are interested in listening to anything that even remotely resembles the truth, let alone anything that would exonerate Jackson. Geraldine Hughes has been all but ignored.

The Here And Now

Aided and abetted by a willing media ready to do Sneddon’s bidding and spread anything negative about him, Michael Jackson stands at the most critical crossroad of his 45 year life. No longer will people vote to determine whether or not he wins another award. Instead, dozens of men and women will be called upon to decide whether Jackson will not only be tried on the aforementioned charges but also whether one of the most storied performers in the history of entertainer spends the next twenty years of his life behind bars.

The media, also known as Sneddon’s little helpers in my book, simply have no regard for truth and integrity. Diane Dimond, who according to unnamed sources (see how it feels Diane?), has been a lover of Sneddon for years, is only too willing and eager to interject herself into the case, providing information from her sources - all from the prosecutor’s camp, of course - that prove Jackson’s guilt. There is no proof, however, that such a relationship ever existed. Dimond herself made reference to the rumor herself in an interview earlier this year.(By the way, because of my commitment to journalistic ethics as well as to the constitutional provision of free press, I cannot name my sources concerning the rumor of a sexual relationship between Sneddon and Dimond. However, my sources are VERY reliable and close to the case).

Adding to media misbehavior is the racism surrounding this case, which is as clear as the nose on my face. Danielson, of course, could have been let off the hook for any number of reasons. It didn’t hurt that he was white, though. In addition, Sneddon’s antics and offhand comments about not liking “that kind of music” [referring to Jackson’s] led a number of observers to question whether the District Attorney was partly inspired by a racist agenda to get Jackson. One thing is clear to me: what we are witnessing, dear hearts, is the lynching of another black male entertainer whose financial and industry influence and power far exceed the “stay-in-your-place-n*gga” expectations of small town politics and corruption. For sure, Jackson was and is a big fish in Santa Barbara who did not and will not toady to Sneddon or his corrupt reputation for strong arming his opponents into submission. Danielson got off because Sneddon did not want to prosecute his white buddy and as a result, a young girl is left dealing with the anger of being ignored by a prosecutor who now claims that he is out to protect children. Liar.

Even now, Sneddon is parading his “witnesses” before a gullible and biased grand jury that apparently is not asking too many questions so as not to interrupt Boss Sneddon’s program of exacting revenge against Jackson. Jackson’s fans have been accused of being blind and even stupid for not seeing the superstar for who and what he really is. However, it is Sneddon and his supporters who are blind. Though the media is determined to unearth every dirty, dark secret they have heard Jackson is hiding, when all is said and done, it will be Sneddon and some of his “special friends” whose secrets will be explode on to the front pages of every major newspaper. They will both shock and sicken those with a smidgen of conscience and call them to recognize the farce this never ending reality sick-com of a case against Jackson.

Jackson, though I have no doubt he will be cleared, will have already paid a heavy price in terms of his own peace of mind. The accuser and his grifting family will hopefully earn themselves some much needed rest -behind bars where scam artists belongs. More importantly, this family will have lost another opportunity to turn their own lives around and “go straight” for a change. I pray that no one else falls for their scams. Too many people are paying the price right now, no more than Jackson, who has to look at his own children and wonder, just wonder, if a horrific lie from the pit of hell will cost him the opportunity to see his sons grow into strong men and to walk a beautiful and equally dazzling daughter down the aisle. Corruption does indeed have a heavy price.