Comments on: Jack Johnson and the modern ‘White Slavery’ panic

By: In the News (#834) – The Honest Courtesan

In the News (#834) – The Honest Courtesan — Wed, 02 May 2018 13:24:29 +0000

[…] Jack Johnson and the modern ‘White Slavery’ panic […]

By: In the News (#834) | The Honest Courtesan

In the News (#834) | The Honest Courtesan — Wed, 02 May 2018 10:02:17 +0000

[…] The hypocrisy of politicians sometimes defies belief: […]

By: spawn777

spawn777 — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 09:10:26 +0000

Absolutely. And, in retrospect, it also still can send a conciliatory message to the people of today, so I take your point and back off a bit from the tone of my post.

By: Voice For Reason

Voice For Reason — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 08:35:31 +0000

I see your point, but I would counter by saying that even the worst of us are owed due process by right, and that none of us should be persecuted by our own government in the way Johnson was.

By: spawn777

spawn777 — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 08:02:32 +0000

I love the story of Jack Johnson. He was one of those rare stories about racism where he just did what he wanted, damn the consequences. That said, in case you read Obama’s refusal to grant a pardon in the story as being a negative thing, it is important to remember that Jack Johnson was not a good man. He was the victim of racism, but his list of vices and sins is very long and his pardon woudln’t have done anything real, and Obama tended to focus on non-violent folks who had been over-sentenced. Jack Johnson was the victim of racial injustice, but he also lived a life that didn’t necessarily deserve any special breaks. Jackie Robinson he was not. Nor was he Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson. He wasn’t Jim Brown. He was no Joe Louis, or Mohammed Ali, or Foreman or Frazier. Shoot, even Mike Tyson has probably engendered more goodwill.