The clock hits 7:50 a.m:
*click* 21 people were killed and 40 people were injured at E2 early this morning…
Huh? Wazzat? I bolt upright in bed. Had EDB finally gone over the edge?
As I listened it turned out there had been a stampede at a South Side nightclub today that resulted in the deaths of 21 people. There was a fight between two girls on the second floor and the bouncers quickly moved in and started using pepper spray on everyone. In an attempt to find fresh air, the 1,500 patrons of the club stormed down a single, narrow stairwell that led to the only exit out of the building. The news was still being sorted out as I listened, but one thing was quickly relayed to the listener:
The Reverend Jesse Jackson arrived at the scene and declared, "We are asking area ministers to go to hospitals. My people are overwhelmed with the suddenness of this. At a time like this, you have to lean on your faith."
Bullshit Jesse. Fucking bullshit. The only thing you lean on are the television cameras.
You see, the only reason that nightclub was still open was because of Jesse. Back in July the E2 club was supposed to be shut down because of the numerous fights that took place in and around the club and because of several fire code violations. There was only one tiny stairwell leading out of the place and many of the doors were usually locked. If there was a fire, there would be a stampede and people could get crushed to death...
In swoops Jesse Jackson to the rescue!
The E2 nightclub was a black-owned business run by one of Jesse's childhood friends! How dare the city try to shut it down! This fire code violation must be the result of a secret campaign to take down black businessmen! Thus began a legal fight to keep the club open, with Jesse leading the charge protecting the little businessman from the big bad city inspectors.
Now, seven months later, almost the exact thing that the city wanted to prevent has happened. And who was front and center on the TV cameras offering prayer and help to the families? Jesse Fucking Jackson
Talk about damage control.
I really should be used to this by now, Jesse’s use of the media and empty calls of racism to further his own personal agenda. I guess it’s just that racism most definitely still exists in Chicago and instead of trying to help solve actual problems that are occuring, Jesse only wants to make more money for himself and his family. His Chicken Little cries of racism only serve to trivialize real problems that still go on.
One of Jesse’s nicknames here is the “King of Beers.” A few years ago, Anheuser-Busch was having problems in the city. African-American employees complained that they were being denied promotions and were threatening to call in Jackson and Operation PUSH if Busch didn't satisfy their demands. Jackson began rumbling about how there were no black-owned beer distributors in Chicago and started to preach a heavy anti-alcohol message to his congregations. He had led a major boycott of Anheuser-Busch in 1982, and the beer company didn’t want a repeat of that. So they sent a $10,000 contribution to Jackson's Citizenship Education Fund in 1997, and campaign cash to Jesse Jackson Jr. in his run for the House of Representatives.
But Jesse only turned up the heat, decrying the complete absence of minority ownership. So Busch sold the highly lucrative River North distributorship to two young black men, Yusef Jackson and Johnathan Jackson, for about $7 million, about one third of the price it should have cost. The Jackson brothers were in their 20s and had no experience in marketing or management, let alone running a huge beer distribution firm. But I guess the fact that they were Jesse’s sons was the only experience required. What was Jesse’s (who remember up until now had talked about how evil alcohol was for the black community) response?
If George W. Bush can be president, why can't Yusef and Jonathan have a distributorship?
Yeah, that makes sense.
Get your pudgy mug off my TV you hypocritical race baiting whore.