* I’ve received a small handful of texts the past few days wondering why Maze Jackson seemed to be so obsessed about me on social media. I haven’t read everything he’s written, but from what I’ve seen he cites few if any facts and relies mainly on name-calling and vitriol to make whatever case it is he thinks he’s making, mostly in defense of House Speaker Chris Welch. Frankly, I don’t really care what he says.
But yesterday he announced on his Facebook page that he would take a look at how the “veiled racism in the comments section can be lethal,” in reference to our comments section here.
That’s quite rich coming from a guy who has a history of not even bothering to use a veil.
* To be clear, I’m always open and willing to listen to people with legitimate concerns about comments here. I do try to keep up whenever I can, but that’s not always possible and sometimes I just scan through looking for the worst ones, so some bad stuff undoubtedly gets by me. We should all do better, including myself. But taking advice from someone who said stuff like what we’re about to see and who allowed loads of blatantly antisemitic callers to go unchallenged just doesn’t interest me in the least.
These attacks have been targeted at Jews in general, as well as several Jewish individuals and a major Jewish civic organization, all of them active in working for more affordable housing in the city. On April 13 of this year, Mr. Jackson referred on his show to an unnamed “Jewish organization,” which he alleges “controls” the affordable housing activists who are part of the Chicago Housing Initiative (CHI). CHI is a broad coalition of community organizations and agencies working to expand the supply of affordable housing units across the city. CHI is not “run” by a Jewish organization, although the venerable Jewish Council on Urban Affairs is an active and committed participant.
This is a classic dog whistle, calling forth the time-worn trope that Jews control social institutions behind the scenes. Mr. Jackson lends credence to the conspiracy theory in which Jews manipulate these advocacy organizations in order to undermine the Black community. His shows’ call-in segments include vicious, irrational rants filled with accusations against Jews, none of which he squelches, challenges, disputes or even interrupts. Mr. Jackson provides a public platform for virulent anti-semites. And it is dangerous.
What has prompted Jackson’s attack on Jews in the affordable housing movement? Apparently a recent report by the Better Government Association laying out the relationship between property developer Onni Group and Mr. Jackson himself, so infuriating Jackson to cause him to lash out.
That letter helped derail Kari Steele’s 2022 primary campaign for county assessor, even though Jackson offered up an apology for some of what he said, but not all. Steele and Jackson are married.
* You won’t ever see anything on this blog like this…
2:11:17 Guest caller: “Germany attacked the Jews because they were controlling the financial ends of the country and the country was in a bad state and Hitler came through and identified the Jews as the source of their demise. That was it. It had nothing to do with their race, it was the ideology that put Germany in the state they were in.
02:12:01 “The real thing is that there is an effort out there to control us completely, down to the fact that they can tell us [what to think] and we can accept it. It goes back to the critical race theory. Why don’t they want to hear that? If they’re fighting critical race theory, how much more are the misguided Jews fighting to control their image now? 02:13:26 Jackson: “Hey man, it’s funny, because I sort of feel that way.”
As you know, there is a long and painful history of tension cultivated between African American and Latino communities in Chicago. Following in the legacy of the Harold Washington era, we have worked hard to build solidarity between our communities, which face so many common challenges. That is why Mr. Jackson’s consistent sowing of animosity against the Latino community is so deeply troubling.
Furthermore, our immigrant community and particularly the undocumented population came under attack in recent years under Donald Trump and ICE. Now more than ever, we need leaders of all racial and ethnic backgrounds to stand together to defend undocumented immigrants against the threat of violent attacks and oppression.
Our struggles are inherently bound together. But instead, amid this crisis, Mr. Jackson has offered his show as a platform from which to lob attacks on the vulnerable Latino immigrant population. […]
“They [Latinos] are hijacking our birthright by using the people of color analogy,” said Mr. Jackson . Later [1:07], Mr. Jackson says he “went to the Black gym at the Blackest church in Chicago, and it’s all Latino. They playing basketball right on Jackson.” […]
In another episode, this time from summer 2021, Mr. Jackson stated: “We gotta get these people in control, they’re destroying our city: Latinos! I think Latinos have taken the premise of ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ and when I say ‘beat them,’ you can’t beat the white boys so [you] join them in beating and villainizing the Black people.”
* Some more from Jackson, with links that take you directly to the quotes…
“We have been participating in this process slowly over a 10-year process, over a 15-20 year process, that we have strategically put ourselves out of business in the thought that we were collaborating for our good, so our power has been leveraged to uproot us, and then after we have been uprooted, then what happens? Then you replace us with Latinos who, what they think? ‘Latino first.’”
“[There] are rules or like the Black code. Like bro, right now we [are] in a state of war. For instance, can’t be no Black people standing at the front of no Latino press conferences.”
“Quite frankly, the road to Black leadership is going to have to travel through the Latino community. Think about that. The road to Black leadership is going to have to travel through the Latino community. We watched the glacier melt. It’s here, y’all.”
Lots more here. Some of the other quotes in that letter were cherry-picked, but most seem accurate.
* Jackson’s radio show used to begin with a song that included the lyrics “[Chicago Mayor Lori] Lightfoot seems more lesbian than Black.” I’ve set the video to start at that line…
Given recent discussions about anti-semitic language used on Mr. Jackson’s show, we feel compelled to raise our own concerns about a long history of homophobic and anti-Trans rhetoric used by Mr. Jackson. Mr. Jackson has stoked fear that trans people are leading an attack to delegitimize cisgender identity, claimed that LGBTQ+ people seek to “indoctrinate” children, and used the term “gay” as a pejorative.
I cannot fathom why Speaker Welch keeps that man in his inner circle.
And now I’m going back to ignoring him.
* Please take a deep breath or two before commenting. Thanks.
