A Cheapening
By Mitch Berg
Jesse Jackson on the Wisconsin union protests, with emphasis added:
Civil Rights activist Jesse Jackson led protesters Friday at the Capitol in civil rights-era chants and called the protest over Gov. Scott Walker’s union cuts “a real Martin Luther King moment.”
Black people who’d been kept as slaves and/or second class citizens for 400 years vs. people who are treated as better than regular citizens, who earn more than their private sector counterparts, per capita.
People whose rights and humanity had been systematically stripped from them for a dozen generations vs. people whose rights and humanity the system put above private sector workers for fifty years.
People who had dogs and water canons sicced on them for demanding their rights vs. people who’ve gotten an adoring media tongue bath for demanding to be kept
People whose color was used to make them less than human vs. people whose union cards made them more important than democracy itself, to the Wisconsin Senate Democrat caucus.
Yep. Just like Martin Luther King.
I’ve seen a few liberals on Twitter chuckling that the Madison protests are “like the Tea Party”.
No. These protests are like King George III protesting against his subjects.
February 18th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Graduation rate for African-Americans in Milwaukee Public Schools….34%. But no protests over that. But gosh darnit, make the teachers pay 5% towards their pension and there is hell to pay.
February 18th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Oh, I don’t know Mitch. Like MLK’s South, the Democrats are denying people their voting rights. In the old days, Democrats like Bull Conner used poll taxes & tests as well as mob intimidation to deny blacks their vote. Today’s Democrats use friendly Federal judges and mobs to deny people their votes. The Reverend just doesn’t realize that he is on the wrong side of history this time.
February 18th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Sweet Gaia, I hope none of those poor, mistreated government union workers are homosexual. That could turn this into another Selma!
Attica!
Attica!
Attica!
February 18th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
That scumbag poverty pimp is supporting the people that send 52% of black kids out to the streets to live the life of semi-literate failure.
James Earl Ray got the wrong man.
February 18th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
Any truth to the rumor that prior to leaving Chicago home base, the Rev said he was “headed to Cheeseheadtown” then had to quickly recant and ask for atonement before the Lombardi statue (and now trophy) in Green Bay?
February 18th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Swiftee, your comment was uncalled for.
JJ is a jerk, a fraud and a shameless opportunist but referring to an assassination is going several steps to far.
February 18th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Jackson was not equating the degree of their oppression, he was pointing to the use of non-violent protest to stop injustice.
Martin Luther King was a leader of the non-violent movement not just a spokemen for oppressed African-Americans.
When he was killed, King was in Memphis to help lead an illegal strike by public workers.
February 18th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
Rick, good point. I am not sure what the Black garbage men of Memphis were earning in 1968, but I would guess it was only a fraction of the $86,000 in pay and benefits that the average Wisc public school teacher earns.
And I re-ask my question…..where are the rallies to demand action for the 66% of African-Americans who don’t graduate from school in Milwaukee?
February 18th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Public employees in Wisconsin are suffering “injustice”? Damn, what color is the sky in your world, Rick?
February 18th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Chuck, no one is protesting over pay or benefits. They are protesting over the right to have a union which Walker is talking away. Memphis sanitation workers were poor because it was illegal for them to form a union. Walker wants to return WI workers to the same situation.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
They are protesting over the right to have a union which Walker is talking away.
Bullshit. They are protesting having to pay into their health care and pension plans the same way private sector employees do.
Quit lying. No one believes you.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Chuck Says: “Graduation rate for African-Americans in Milwaukee Public Schools….34%.”
That just might top Mpls.
I’d trust Don King LONG before I’d trust Jesse Jackson!! The circus has come to Madison now that Jackson is there.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Kermit:
30,000 just droped everything on the spur of the moment to protest health care and pension co-pays. Right.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
RickDFL said:
“30,000 just droped[sic] everything”
I guess they thought they didn’t have much to “drop”.
“protest health care and pension co-pays”
Because those things don’t cost money, right RickDFL?
February 18th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Troy:
Have you ever had a co-pay on healthcare go up? Did you protest? Did 29,999 other people join you?
30,000 people do not show up to protest everytime something costs money.
Even by your lower than low standards, that is just stupid.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Rick, 30,000 people, (many bused in by Organizing for America) to protest government workers paying less for their benefits than private sector taxpayers do. You know those folks? The ones who pay for the public employee’s extremely generous benefits?
Bullshit yet again.
February 18th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Kouba’s Second Corollary to Godwin’s Law: Any side that enlists Jesse Jackson automatically loses.
February 18th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Rick- “They are protesting over the right to have a union and Walker is taking that away.” Please show us where there’s a “right” to have a union.
February 18th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Have you ever had a co-pay on healthcare go up? Did you protest? Did 29,999 other people join you?
This is about the stupidest thing RickDFL has ever written.
I did have my co-pay raised. The company I work increased the employee contribution from 5% to 10% of the monthly premium. I told them I did not like it.
If my protest had consisted of calling in sick while I camped outside work with a protest sign, or tried to sabotage the business as the Dem legislators are doing in Wisc I would have been fired so fast it would make your head spin.
Jesus Christ you are a moron Rick.
February 18th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
jimf:
“Please show us where there’s a “right” to have a union.”
The short and obvious answer for Wisconsin State Employees is here:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0111.pdf
The longer answer is probably not suitable for a blog comment section.
February 18th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
James Earl Ray got the wrong man.
Whoa-ho-ho, welcome to Mitchketeerville! Where Jesse Jackson is deserving of assassination (I think you meant “James Earl Ray shouldn’t have stopped at just one”, didn’t you Swiftee? wink wink), Iraq war opponents are “pro-rape” and WWTC is a “professional radio station.”
February 18th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Terry:
You are proving my point. There would not be 30,000 people and all the hub-bub over a simple matter of increased co-pays. The future of the middle class is at stake.
February 18th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
The future of the middle class being beggared by pampered, privileged government “workers” is what is at stake. I will not work until I am 70 so these prima donma’s can retire at 55, RickDFL.
You know as much about how real working people live as Louis the XVI. I’ll put my working class credentials up against yours anytime, pal.
February 18th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
Head for the hills! TIMMY”S RACISM ALARM WENT OFF! KLANG KLANG KLANG!
I don’t think that Timmy has ever met a real racist in his life.
February 18th, 2011 at 7:49 pm
The obtuse keep MISSING THE POINT. This protest is about making public employees pay into their benefits commensurate with the private sector workers who pay for their benefits. They don’t want to “pay their fair share” What a shock.
Only an idiot or a Marxist would think this is unfair.
February 18th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
File this under “You can’t make this stuff up”. Some liberal churches in Wisc and Illinois have offered to hid the Democrat legislators, to keep them from going to Madison so no quorum will exist.
Some of the churces are ELCA. Welllll last year, the ELCA eliminated the pensions for ALL of their Augsburg Publishing employees. Told them “yeah, we’re short of cash so you guys are all screwed. Sorry”. And now the same organization is condemning Walker for having the gov’t employees make minor contributions to their retirement fund.
February 18th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
The last thing in the world people like RickDFL want to see is the working people of this country calling the shots.
February 18th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
Some of the churces are ELCA.
The ELCA went over to the Dark Side years ago. That’s why I have left it. And I am not the only one.
February 18th, 2011 at 11:55 pm
Gov. Walker removing collective bargaining should be the first of two steps. The second step? A constitutional amendment banning all public sector unions in the state, forever.
Their revenue is forcibly extracted from government employees (whose salaries and compensation was generated at gunpoint – NEVER EVER FORGET THAT), and then they turn around and support politicians who enact laws to raise more revenue (generated at gunpoint). It’s fucking criminal.
February 19th, 2011 at 7:32 am
Oh, Oh, RatioRinkyDinkRick splashes his idiocy all over the keyboard yet again.
30,000 people do not show up to protest everytime something costs money.
Terri +1
“You can’t fix stupid”
February 20th, 2011 at 9:19 am
30,000 just droped everything on the spur of the moment to protest health care and pension co-pays
Why so obtuse, Rick?
30,000 plush-bottom yoohoos dropped everything to protest “an assault” on the status-quo of the Union/State relationship.
It was over the elimination of collective bargaining on things other than pay for non-police/fire government workers, and making government union workers pay 1/2 of their retirement fund (which is better than most of us in the private sector get) and 1/8 of their healthcare costs (which is waaaay better than any of us in the private sector get anymore).
Please get your facts straight, and stop being obtuse when you don’t.
February 20th, 2011 at 10:10 am
RickDFL said:
“Have you ever had a co-pay on healthcare go up? Did you protest? Did 29,999 other people join you?”
Feeble distraction. Pretend there is no difference between “go up” and “go up enough to protest” somewhere else.
“30,000 people do not show up to protest everytime something costs money”
Right, they protest when it could cost them _enough_ money. Why is this hard for you to understand?
“Even by your lower than low standards, that is just stupid.”
People always sound stupid with your words in their mouth, RickDFL. I think it’s you.
These people are protesting to protect the fine feathers in their beds.