berman@ihuxm.UUCP (berman) (03/07/84)
Sam Cramer compares Jackson's gaffe with the anti-semitism of the KKK! Oh how righteous we can be when a leader of the Black Communitity makes a slip! Jackson has been going to synagogues of late, apologizing, asking for forgiveness, pledging never to use insensitive racial references again. While not the most regular of attendees, I just haven't seen any Klansmen doing likewise. Yes the remark was stupid. Yes it was insensitive. Yes it was disappointing. And yes it reflects the tension that has grown in recent years between the Black and Jewish communities in this country. That tension, in itself, is a shame. As Jackson has pointed out, tension between two peoples who have suffered discrimination in American society serves neither. But to see the event as anything else than a media event, a chance for the establishment to jump on movement that was gaining a wide range of support is an error. Jackson's candidacy has long been under attack by the neo-fascist JDL for "anti-semitism." One should look carefully before joining that bandwagon. Andy Berman
esac@ihuxp.UUCP (Bill Adams) (03/07/84)
Maybe Mr. Berman is right and Jackson should be forgiven.
I have problems with the fact that he originally lied about the remark.
I also have problems with the fact that equally insensitive remarks
got others (Earl Butz and James Watts come to mind) lamabasted by the
press while Jackson seems to have come out relatively unscathed.
That's not Jackson fault. It's the double standard of the American Press.
I also wonder if Jackson has now forfeited the right to pontificate
on future verbal stupidities of the Butz-Watts type. Me thinks so.
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