You probably read something about this already — Rep. Pete King, a New York Republican who represents some of the more conservative parts of Long Island in Congress, had this to say about the hoopla around Michael Jackson’s death:
This low-life Michael Jackson … Let’s knock out the psychobabble. He was a pervert; he was a child molester; he was a pedophile, and to be giving this much attention to him, day in and day … what does this say about our country? We’re too politically correct — no one wants to stand up and say “We don’t need Michael Jackson.”
Prompting this reply from Rep. Bobby Rush, the Democrat who represents Chicago’s heavily African American 1st District in Congress:
How dare Rep. King utter such scandalous and outlandish comments about Michael Jackson, when he has never opened his mouth to criticize his own colleagues who have been were accused of morally reprehensible, criminal or indecent acts…to millions of African Americans children, specifically, his story of being born to a working class family in Gary, Indiana, to becoming one of the world’s biggest stars illustrates the benefits of hard work, discipline, perseverance and self-determination.
So, non-ethnic white blue-collar outer-borough New York City vs. black-majority inner city Chicago — why does this sound familiar?
The first thing I thought of was Norman Lear. All in the Family and Good Times.
Where did the Bunkers live? Well, OK, Queens technically, but Rep. King’s 3rd District constituents in Long Island share some demographic similiarities with the Bunkers — Pete King himself looks and sounds a lot like Carroll O’Connor. James and Florida Evans raised their family in the Cabrini-Green housing project, not far from Rep. Rush’s home district. Michael Jackson’s little sister Janet even starred in the show, later on in its run.
It’s hard to believe that, after thirty-five years, the culture wars still so closely fit the contours Lear mapped out on these shows. It’s very easy to imagine Archie Bunker sitting in that orange chair with a cigar and giving King’s remarks verbatim (“Whadda’ s’is say about ow-a country, Edith?”). Rush’s view of Jackson lifting himself out of poverty through work, family and perseverance also follows the underlying themes that Lear and the show’s other creators were putting across in Good Times. Michael Jackson was first and foremost a cultural hero — just watch this clip of little Michael Evans from the second or third season, and the impact is clear.
Two views of the same subject that have essentially remained unchanged since the mid-1970s.
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