For quite awhile now, Pearl "Jr" (not her real name, but it doesn't matter.) has been pushing her "ebook/movie" and how Michael Jackson faked his death. And, of course, that's not true and is ridiculous and all that... but what I kept getting stuck on was why Pearl was doing this.
Why would a seemingly respectable journalist throw away her credibility by using Michael's death and a grieving group of fans just to make a quick buck? She's made a mockery of herself in her profession, profited off of peoples grief... why?
Pearl knows Michael is dead. She was at the hospital on June 25th. She wrote the foreword for a book of letters saying good bye to him.. she knows. And yet, she suddenly decided to do a 180 and prey on those in his fan base who were in despair and unwilling to come to terms with the fact that he was really dead. WHY? Things like "cash" have been suspected... that she took the only road that a struggling journalist hadn't taken before just to make some money... but that never seemed right to me. And why did she do things like launch these insane stories about Karen Faye and seem so focused on hating her? She had no reason to hate her (other than that she was telling a different story - like, the truth.), let alone to make up absolutely horrible accusations and stories about her. It just didn't make sense. She didn't get cash for her Karen lies, did she? (Although, to be fair, she did include some idiotic story in her ebook which she charged for... but you know what I mean.)
There still seemed to be something missing, but because I hadn't the faintest idea what it could be, I just shrugged it off and went with "crazy" like everyone else did.
But, then the other day, I came across this blog that Pearl had written. And some thoughts entered my head. These are thoughts that ANYONE who has bought her product, talked to her, worried about anything she said, or cares about Michael, should have the opportunity to read. This isn't me attacking Pearl. This is serious.
Since I've read the blog, I've started to think that perhaps there is more to it than money.
The link to the blog is as follows: (If it is no longer up, let me know. I have screen caps in case she decides to take it down.)
http://pearljr.livejournal.com/330.html
The title of the entry is "Integration Equals Another Racism!"
To summarize, it is, in my opinion, an INCREDIBLY racist rant about the horrors of Black men being with White women. Now, I understand that this is the way some Black women (and probably Black men) feel. It is no different (as long as it's not taken to a different level like it was by Pearl) than people wanting their children to marry someone in their own race or religion... it's just the way some people feel. And for some reason, some people also seem to feel that racism does not apply if it is directed at white people. FYI? That's not true. A blog supporting Black women? Fantastic. I'll read it AND share it. But a blog such as this one that puts down White women by saying how awful it is for a Black man to be with them? That's not okay. Imagine the reaction if a white woman posted a blog about how horrible it was for white men to be with Black women. That would be disturbing. This was no less disturbing. It was incredibly racist, period send. And, yes, I'm a white woman calling a black woman racist. And if that offends any one of you, I'm sorry. But white people can be discriminated against too. They can be hurt too. And they are not immune from racism or suppression, in several cultures.
Now, please let me be clear:the African American community has CERTAINLY suffered from discrimination from White society along with other minorities. I do not and never would dispute that fact. But this... this was clearly much more personal.
But, really, you'll need to read the blog yourself to understand the ranting I just did. And probably the rest of this blog.
So, we have Pearl writing racist articles... but that's not the only point. Let's take a look at some of the stuff that REALLY caught my eye:
In her words;
"Due to the alarming trend of too many Black men abandoning their racial responsibilities in regards to being the provider and the protector of the Black race family, I have vowed to NOT purchase any products by any Black man that is currently spending my money on making sure his non-Black wife/woman lives comfortably. Heck, White men do a good enough job that White women don’t NEED our men to do what their men are most capable of doing. "
Black men have racial responsibilities to marry Black women? Wow. But, okay, let's look a little closer at the second part... Pearl has vowed to NOT purchase any products by any Black man that is currently married or dating a White woman. Hm.
She then went on to say:
"As I pondered about telling the truth about a few high profile powerful Black men, I realized that I pay their bills and they don’t pay mine. I am no longer supporting them either by watching them on TV or in movies, buying their records, supporting any products they promote, or contributing anything to someone who doesn’t care about my feelings or my plight as a Black woman, which inevitably includes their own Black daughters."
Then she gives some examples:
"~ Tiger “Cablasian” Woods married a White nanny. Now, we all know if a Black female nanny was just as beautiful as that White woman, he would have never given her a chance. A sistah would need to have a couple of MBA’s, Ph.d’s, MD’s and a trust fund to even be considered. My bad! Nothing would probably help because his words tell me he HATES his Blackness.
~ Kobe Bryant had a myriad of Black girls crying when in an interview he yelled, “you see this ring you can’t have me”, and then was caught on some secret trip to Colorado cheating on his Latino-set for life-wife with a White girl hostess that worked in a hotel lobby who now lives in a mansion, drives a luxury car, and has all the diamonds Kobe’s money can buy because he couldn’t resist the temptation of a 19 year old White girl.
Furthermore, I heard Charles Barkley bragging about him and his White wife hanging with Tiger and his White wife, and Tony Parker with his non-Black girlfriend, Eva Longoria, at a golf course having a wonderful time pretending racism doesn’t exist because they are interracially loving. But in reality their cult to dismiss Black women is the newest form of racism. Do you think these non-Black women want any sistahs around reminding Black men that we need them and their resources because we are dying without them? Hell No! Further influencing these men to pretend Black women and Black race issues are irrelevant in their lives by telling them that race doesn’t matter and they are so glad that racism is over."
Now, let's ignore the obvious ridiculousness in what she's saying as a whole and focus on how this relates to the subject at hand.
Whatever you feel about Lisa Marie and Debbie, hear me out. Pearl has just made her opinion of Black men who date White women (AND of those white women) very clear. They are "not meeting their responsibilities", they are "racist", they are "part of a cult to dismiss Black women.".
Michael Jackson was married twice. Both times? To WHITE WOMEN.
Pearl does not like Black men who are with White women and she does not like the White women that are with the Black men.
Suddenly, I have more questions. Is creating (or at the very least promoting and making it a FAR bigger thing than it was) the death hoax a way of reaping some sort of revenge or getting some of "her" money back from Michael?
Pearl is using a dead Black man (who's only public romantic relationships were with White women.), disrespecting him on the worst levels possible by acting as if he's still alive, heartlessly running around leaving "clues", not caring about the grief that the world was and still is feeling. Pearl is making money off of this "theory". She acts as though she was a fan of his, likely to connect with the fans, but this article written well before Michael died, clearly shows that that's unlikely.
And let's look at Karen Faye for just a second. Take away your own thoughts about how Karen's this or that, about how Karen's my friend... and look at the FACTS. Karen used to be married to a very successful Black man herself. Karen is a White women. (Not that she wasn't successful on her own, but evidently that doesn't matter.) Pearl knows that Karen was married to this man. And Pearl despises Karen for reasons no one can make sense of, anytime someone's asked she just lies about something else.
Of course, Karen also worked for and had a close friendship with one of the most amazing Black men on the planet. The same man who Pearl would look at as "a Black man who chose White women".
And, again. Pearl despises Karen for reasons still unknown.... no one had a clue. Now, I'm not so sure. Maybe we do have a clue.
So wait a second. Is anyone else pausing? This woman essentially said that Black men who are with White women are doing something wrong - look at it any way you want to, but she's included Michael in that. He is a Black man that was married to (and had BABIES with) white women. (Note, I am not here to debate anyones paternity. Don't even start on that shit, so help me. Whatever your opinion, it's irrelevant and highly disrespectful to both Michael and his children to discuss it.).
Are we really to believe that Pearl's beliefs and convictions are not connected to her disrespectful behavior in Michael's death? That there is no connection?
Now, I'm going to go out on a limb for a second and get personal. I am a white woman. And I am hurt and offended by this blog she wrote. To say that a Black man is doing something wrong by dating a White woman or marrying one? I find it BEYOND racist and offensive. And incredibly degrading and unfair to any Black man. Do you think Pearl would have an issue with a Black woman dating a successful White man? Somehow I doubt it. People are people and despite Pearl's opinion, love has EVERYTHING to do with it. Everyone is entitled to choose what they want, but how DARE she say that EITHER a Black man OR a White woman is doing something WRONG if they fall in love. And let me tell you, if you don't think this applies to Michael too (in her head), I beg of you to read it again.
I know many Black men with wonderful Black women by their side - and many with wonderful women by their side that aren't Black. Just as I know many Black women who have wonderful Black men with them and Black women with wonderful men that are not Black who stand with them. And what all of these couples have in common is LOVE. Who tells people what race they should love? Who says it's not okay to love someone of a different race? What kind of person? Sure reminds me of white supremacists. Race purification? Is this different from saying that white people with blonde hair and blue eyes should only be with white people with blonde hair and blue eyes? Why is this any more acceptable than that? Why is this point of view okay on any level? This kind of thinking is dangerous and based on fear and anger.
And not only is this an attack on Michael in the sense that he is the exact person who she is referring to in her blog, butt is also exactly the opposite of all of the things that he stood for. I think he'd be horrified by this. Michael spoke so openly from the bottom of his heart about his love for all races, for all religions.... for all PEOPLE.
So.... she takes a famous Black man who goes against the things that she apparently believes... one who strongly and loudly believed in the exact opposite of her agenda and uses his death and his grieving fans to make a quick buck by saying that he FAKED his DEATH?
The way I see this, after reading that blog, is this is a direct, vindictive, vengeful, disrespectful attack on Michael, on his family and on his fans by a woman who obviously had a problem with the way he chose to live and love. Once again I ask.... on what possible level is this okay?
Clearly, it isn't.
