I just thought people should know exactly who this Peter King character is who goes around calling Michael Jackson the most offensive names while his family and fans are still in grieving. Didn't his mother ever teach him to respect the dead? Anyway PKKK is not dead (yet) and you know the old saying about people who live in glass houses. So I'm grabbing a fistful of rocks and throwing them with all my might. Damn that tinkling noise sounds like music to my ears.
If Michael was here this is what he would be doing to PKKK's ride.
Uh-oh. Better get Maaco.
If you haven't seen PKKKs amateurish racial rant, you can find it here. I'm not going to embed it because I don't want to have that kind of trash on my blog. But I did watch it after it garnered so much attention. You would think that a sitting congressman would display a little more civility in public. But PKKK has never had a penchant for manners in the past, so why should we expect him to start now? It all comes down to upbringing - at least that's what my dear departed grandmother always used to say.
But really there's no excuse for ignorance; least of all from a public official; least of all with regards to someone who has just recently departed from this world; least of all with respect to someone who brought so much joy into this world.
And it is about respect. Respect for the world's greatest entertainer. Respect for all the African-Americans who share this country with White bigots like PKKK. But should we expect anything different from someone like this? Yes, we should. It's about time that America abandoned its racist past. Yes, we elected a Black president. But some wounds just seem to take longer to heal than others.
But what was most disturbing was not the statements of a lone member of the House of Representatives. No, what was most disturbing was the warm reception that this thinly veiled racist diatribe evoked from so many Americans online and in the media.
And then, as if to top it off, Nancy Pelosi - the Democratic Speaker of the House - who claims to be a liberal and who claims to be worthy of the support of Blacks and Latinos and other minorities when it comes election time, stands up before the assembled press of America and declares that she will not allow a non-binding resolution honoring Michael Jackson to come to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. Why? Because, a group of Republicans led by PKKK were objecting to it and might take the opportunity to make a political issue out of it. Well then, bring it on. Let them raise a raucous. Let them utter their venomous speeches on the congressional floor. Let all of America hear what it is that they most object to about this resolution.
Let's not sweep this under the rug. Let's get this out in the open. Let all the Rush Limbaugh acolytes pronounce in front of a national audience, all the vile, putrid, hate-filled speech that they have been muttering in private amongst themselves. If that's what they want.
But Nancy Pelosi instead cowered before them. Let me tell you something. If you don't stand up to a bully, then he will continue to persecute you forever. And that is exactly what this PKKK is. A big bully. A brute. Sure, he acts tough. But if you confront him, you will see that he will go running for cover. He's all talk. That's all. If he wants to play rough, then let's play rough.
So here you go tough guy. Remember this? This is you in an interview with Politico expressing your anti-Muslim views that we have "too many mosques in this country".
And then you continue to put your foot deeper in your mouth by saying "we [the Police] should be looking at them [Muslims] more carefully". Right. Because they might be terrorists lurking among them, right? Of course that might be considered discriminatory, right? But we all know Muslims are terrorists - who are we kidding? Right? We shouldn't be looking at Irish people like you, right? Irish people aren't terrorists, right?
So if all that is true - and it must be because you say it is - then why is it that in 1984, when President Reagan made a trip to Nassau County to watch a Special Olympics event, that the Secret Service (you know, the guys that protect the President) had you on their Terrorist Threat List? Gee, I wonder. Could it be because you were closely associated with a group of people that on multiple occasions planted bombs that resulted in death and destruction of property? A group called the IRA? You know, the Irish Republican Army. You remember that, don't you? Those were good times, huh? Hanging out with your masked friends in an Irish bar in Northern Ireland. Downing a few Guinness and bragging about how you and your mates were going to get even with those evil Protestants and Brits. I think we even have a few choice quotes. Remember this?
Since the late 1970s, a Long Island congressman, Peter King, has been aligned with one of the most violent terrorist groups in recent European history, defying critics in his own Republican Party and elsewhere, and yet managing to prosper.Aye, lad. Those were the days. You didn't think we'd forget - did ya laddie? Seems a bit embarrassing now - don't you think? What with the "war on terrorism" and all that. Hey, but now we get to blow up Muslims in the Middle East. That's almost as much fun as blowing up Brits in London. And the great part is, it's all legal and patriotic now! We've got the President and the military all firmly on board. And there's PKKK leading the charge.
[...]
Once a vocal and frequent House champion for the IRA's political wing, Sinn Fein, and its leader, Gerry Adams, the 60-year-old, Queens-born Mr. King has said nothing about either on the House floor in years. The politician once called the IRA "the legitimate voice of occupied Ireland," he was banned from the BBC by British censors for his pro-IRA views, and he refused to denounce the IRA when one of its mortar bombs killed nine Northern Irish police officers. But Mr. King is now one of America's most outspoken foes of terrorism.
[...]
It was in the late 1970s that Mr. King first got involved in the Irish issue, but it struck some as an unlikely choice. His family hailed from Limerick and Galway, but apart from a great-uncle who was in the IRA in the 1920s, the Sunnyside native had no roots in revolutionary politics.
[...]
He forged links with leaders of the IRA and Sinn Fein in Ireland, and in America he hooked up with Irish Northern Aid, known as Noraid, a New York based group that the American, British, and Irish governments often accused of funneling guns and money to the IRA. At a time when the IRA's murder of Lord Mountbatten and its fierce bombing campaign in Britain and Ireland persuaded most American politicians to shun IRA-support groups, Mr. King displayed no such inhibitions. He spoke regularly at Noraid protests and became close to the group's publicity director, the Bronx lawyer Martin Galvin, a figure reviled by the British.
Mr. King's support for the IRA was unequivocal. In 1982, for instance, he told a pro-IRA rally in Nassau County: "We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry."
By the mid-1980s, the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic were openly hostile to Mr. King. On one occasion, a judge threw him out of a Belfast courtroom during the murder trial of IRA men because, in the judge's view, "he was an obvious collaborator with the IRA." When he attended other trials, the police singled him out for thorough body searches.
During his visits to Ireland, Mr. King would often stay with well-known leaders of the IRA, and he socialized in IRA drinking haunts. At one of such clubs, the Felons, membership was limited to IRA veterans who had served time in jail. Mr. King would almost certainly have been red-flagged by British intelligence as a result, but the experience gave him plenty of material for the three novels he subsequently wrote featuring the IRA.
Six weeks after September 11, 2001, he told WABC radio that the military should use tactical nuclear weapons in Afghanistan if it was believed that Islamic terrorists would deploy chemical weapons on American soil. Last year, he inflamed American Muslim groups when he said that 85% of mosques in this country have extremist leaders and that Muslims in this country were reluctant to help law enforcement.Man! You are one blood-thirsty dude. Nuclear weapons - yeah! It must feel good. It's a big step up from pipe bombs. Tell me, did you go around blowing stuff up when you were a kid? When you heard about the Federal Building that got blown up in Oklahoma, were you thinking - "Gee, I wish I'd 've been there to see that! Shazam! Boom! Pow! Awesome dude!"
That must be one special congressional district you come from, to elect a congressman like you. Because, man - let me tell you something - you are something special. In fact your a work of art. I mean when they made you, they threw away the mold. Thank goodness.
So let's just take a look at your extra special congressional district, courtesy of your congressional webpage. Why lookie here! You posted the demographics of your district. You know, I've gone to many a congressional website and I can't remember a single congressperson (besides you) that posted the demographics of their district up on their website. So let's have a look at it, since you're so proud of this fact and want to share it with the world.
Total Population: 580,337Why yes, that is special - 90% white, only 2% black. What kind of gerrymandering did the State politicians in New York have to do to get those kind of numbers? And I'm guessing most of those White folks are Irish - else why would they vote for you?
White - 90%
Hispanic - 4%
Black - 2%
Asian/Pacific Islander - 3%
Other - 1%
But look at this - now who says your a racist mother f-f-f - ooops! I see your showing a little love for a Brother. It says here you sponsored a congressional resolution to honor Black heavyweight champ Jack Johnson. Now what was that you said about Congress wasting it's time passing useless resolutions in favor of Black celebrities? Well, never mind. At least your honoring an African-American, and being a racist White dude, that's awful big of you. But you do know this cat's been dead for over 60 years. So you're honoring him now? Alright, "well better late then never", that's what my sweet grandmother used to say. Maybe in another 60 years you'll sponsor a resolution honoring Michael Jackson. Is there a reason we have to wait that long? Why not just do it now, when the people that know and love him and care about him are still around to enjoy that moment. Why steal this moment from all of them - all of us?
It'll be a great day in America when you and all your generation are dead and gone from this land. I only hope you have not passed on your hatred to your children and grandchildren. That was what Michael Jackson and so many like him tried to accomplish.
Michael... Are you there? Are you listening? Do you remember the day in 1984 that President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan honored you at the White House?
RONALD REAGAN:Did you ever think that the day would come after you died that a congressman from New York would speak out in such hate filled speech against you. What about you Ronny? And Nancy? We all make mistakes. We all have our faults. Lets not judge a man by the color of skin, but by the character of his soul. We all have our faults, we have all made mistakes. Now that you have passed on to another life, in a higher place. Now that you are free of this earthly body. Now that you are free. WE, who love you, honor you. Mikaeel, R.I.P.
I know why you're here and with good reason. To see one of the most talented, most popular and most exciting superstars in the music world today - MICHAEL JACKSON.
Michael, welcome to the White House. I hope you'll forgive me, but we have quite a few young folks in the White House who all wanted me to give you the same message. They said to tell Michael, "Please give some TLC to the PYTs".
(Michael, bends over laughing. Trying to keep a dignified look on his face as he breaks out into a big smile.)
I know that sounds a little "off the wall", but you know what I mean.
(Michael cracks up again, bending over in laughter.)
And Michael I have another message from your fans in the Washington, D.C. area. They said, "we want you back". So when you begin your greatly awaited cross-country tour, will you please be sure to stop off here in the nation's capital.
(President Reagan reading from plaque.)
"To MICHAEL JACKSON with appreciation for the outstanding example you have set for the youth of America and the World."
MICHAEL JACKSON:
I'm very, very honored. Thank you very much Mr. President and Mrs. Reagan.
I leave you now with these words that Michael Jackson spoke at an NAACP awards ceremony in 1994.
"The Truth will be my Salvation"
------
UPDATE - July 17, 2009
[I added a few links to the article. I also want to let my readers know about the custom of passing congressional resolutions in honor of America's greatest entertainer.]
Did you know that Congress declared May 13, 2008 Frank Sinatra Day? Or that Congress passed a resolution honoring Elvis Presley? Ostensibly that resolution honored Presley's former home as a National Historic Landmark, but just take a look at some of the text of the resolution and tell me that it isn't really designed to honor the King of Rock 'n Roll.
Whereas Graceland--So if the King of Rock 'n Roll can be honored by Congress, then why not the King of Pop? If "ol' blue eyes" can be honored, why not "the gloved one"? Neither Presley nor Sinatra were without their faults. Elvis was known for his drug abuse, and Frank for his close association with Mafia figures. Neither could be considered saintly figures when it comes to their sex lives. In fact Elvis would be considered a child molester by today's standards.
(1) served as the home and private retreat of Elvis Aaron Presley from 1957 through 1977; and
(2) is intimately connected to the musical and cultural heritage of Elvis Aaron Presley;
Whereas Elvis Presley is--
(1) universally recognized as the `King of Rock and Roll';
(2) known to generations by only his first name; and
(3) widely agreed to be one of the most famous and influential American cultural icons of the 20th century;
[...]
Whereas Elvis Presley continues to maintain a preeminent position on numerous Top Artist Achievements lists, including--
(1) `Most Chart Hits';
(2) `Most Top 10 Hits';
(3) `Most Top 40 Hits';
(4) `Most Weeks at the number 1 Position';
(5) `Most Consecutive number 1 Hits';
(6) `Most Consecutive Top 10 Hits'; and
(7) `Most Gold and Platinum Hits';
Elvis and Priscilla met in 1959 at a party in Bad Nauheim, Germany during his stay in the army.[55] She was 14 at the time, while he was 24. They quickly began a romantic relationship and were frequently together until Elvis left Germany in 1960.Isn't it a time to put an end to the racist hypocrisy of the Michael Jackson critics? He was honored in a White House ceremony by Ronald Reagan in 1984. He was honored in another White House ceremony by President George H. W. Bush in 1990 who presented him with a special "Artist of the Decade" award. And yet the best the first African-American President of the United States, Barack Obama, could muster up was a message of condolences sent through his press secretary Robert Gibbs.
"I talked to [the president] about it this morning. He said to me that obviously Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer and a music icon," Gibbs said, according to Newsweek. "I think everybody remembers hearing his songs, watching him moonwalk on television during Motown's 25th anniversary. But the president also said [Jackson] had aspects of his life that were sad and tragic. And his condolences went out to the Jackson family and to the fans that mourned his loss."Obama could have taken the moment to officially honor the fabled entertainer. Instead his statement gave unneeded credence to the tabloid accounts of Michael's life. Obama didn't need an Act of Congress to honor a great American. He failed the country through his lack of leadership on this issue. And he especially failed the African-American community. Instead he let the racists like Peter King have their day.
Perhaps President Obama should take some time out from his busy schedule to listen anew to the lyrics of "We are the World", written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie in 1985. This hit single raised $63 million for famine relief in Africa. Maybe one day he will pass by Malia's room in the White House and will hear these words echoing through those hallowed halls...
We can't go on pretending day by dayMichael was way ahead of you Barack. He not only talked about change - he dedicated his life to making a difference.
That someone somewhere will soon make a change.
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