# Where's Jesse?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-jesse/158056>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [February 28, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-jesse/158056 "2003-02-28T03:25:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-jesse/158056/1 "2003-02-28T03:25:15Z")

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Here in Chicago, as most of you know by now, there was a nightclub tragedy in which 21 young people died in a horrible crush of people in a mass exodus from the dance floor after being carelessly exposed to OC irritant spray.

Jesse Jackson spoke out against everyone involved, from the police and fire departments, to the city, to the security guards and their employers, yet failed to speak one word against his buddy, the club owner who violated a court order to keep the club portion closed.

The majority of the dead in Chicago were African-American.

The Rhode Island disaster killed 97 people, through careless use of combustible materials and poor, if any suppression.

Jesse hasn’t uttered an f’ing word about this. Where was he in this tragedy? Why?

Further…Does anyone think, as I do, that Jesse is little more than a shakedown artist, fleecing innocent people and companies out of their rights and monies? Or is this guy on the level?

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-jesse/158056/2 "2003-02-28T08:38:47Z")

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Jackson has a constituency of some black and some liberal whites. He may as well cater (pander) to that constituency as much as possible. Twenty-one casualties who are mostly black has more impact than 91 casualties who are mostly white.

What’s your point?

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-jesse/158056/3 "2003-02-28T15:34:48Z")

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1. The Chicago nightclub was on his old Rainbow Coalition’s stomping ground (they moved from Chicago to D.C. in 1989), whereas The Station–wasn’t.

2. His son, Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., is an Illinois representative from the 2nd Congressional District, which is in Chicago, which seat he has held since 1994 and which he continues to hold by a landslide 85% to 94% every time he comes up for reelection.

So, Jesse’s got some strong family and professional ties to the Windy City, which he doesn’t, to Warwick.

So he made a public statement about Chicago, and not one about Warwick. And I might point out that this–

> [@](#):
>
> yet failed to speak one word against his buddy

–might sound to someone who wasn’t already so obviously biased against him more like “loyalty” than whatever-it-is you’re insinuating.

And then there’s this.

> **[Club stampede prompts safety call](https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2003/02/26/Club-stampede-prompts-safety-call/97611046282671/)**
>
> State Sen. Barack Obama joined a trade association representing Chicago bar and nightclub owners Wednesday in proposing tough new laws to improve nightclub safe

> [@](#):
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> The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a family friend of nightclub owner Dwain Kyles, said Cook County Chief Circuit Judge Tim Evans should appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the deaths.
> 
> “We do need a credible investigation, and a special prosecutor would have the power to rise above these circumstances and make that happen,” said Jackson.
> 
> Kyles faces criminal contempt charges for allowing the club to operate despite a Housing Court order issued in July closing the second floor because of building code violations.

So there he is, calling for a special prosecutor to look into criminal charges against his “family friend”. How much more do you need–a public statement saying, “My good friend Dwain is the scum of the earth and I hope they put him away for a kajillion years”?

And…

Exactly which innocent people and companies has Jesse Senior “fleeced out of their rights and monies”, and in what way has he done this?

I’m no particular fan of his, but I don’t like to see stuff like this slung around quite so randomly in Great Debates. If you want to debate, let’s debate, otherwise take it to the Pit and rant to your heart’s content.

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**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-jesse/158056/4 "2003-02-28T19:33:21Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by buttonjockey308 \*  
> **The Rhode Island disaster killed 97 people, through careless use of combustible materials and poor, if any suppression.**

If you’re saying the West Warwick Fire Departement was somehow responsible for any deaths, well [you’re wrong.](http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?id=5962&sectionId=46)