DD- Hate Speech

America’s history is replete with incidences of hate speech that has incited violence against targeted groups or individuals and many times has resulted in the tragic death of these innocent people. Racist views that are openly and legally expressed under our right of ‘freedom of speech’, by Klu Klux Klan or Skinhead members most likely incited the horrific murder of James Byrd, in rural Jasper, Texas, in June1998. Also, through the years, intolerant rhetoric from Anti-Gay groups, most of them religiously motivated, have continued to pump out demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals. This type of intolerant and incessant hate speech fueled the violent episode that occurred October 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming in the similar brutal murder of Matthew Shepard.

In these two cases, the hate speech directed at the targeted group rendered two individuals within those respective groups as less than human in the eyes of the bigots. This allowed for an irrational ‘moral’ stance that seemed to give the perpetrators of the violence a sense of righteousness and permissibility in acting out on this hate, which resulted in the death of Byrd and Shepard.

The murderous results that emerged from incessant hate speech was so obvious that Anti-Hate Crime legislation was born out of these two very prominent nationally publicized cases. However, a victim does not have to die to be a victim of a hate crime that is instigated by intolerant and incessant hateful rants upon a group or individual.

Hate speech is defined as – “A term of speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against someone based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. The term covers written as well as oral communications.“ *

This type of speech creates a warped sense of superiority and a predisposition to judge others different from the “norm” and allows for unbecoming behavior to emerge. Incidents may not involve physical assault, but merely the threat of it or damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults are also part and parcel of these crimes. Insidiously, with the advent of the internet, the cyberspace aspect of these manifestations of hate have become a new age way of displaying violence and hate against others anonymously.

Such speech generally seeks to condemn or dehumanize the individual or group; or express anger, hatred, violence or contempt toward them. Hate speech and instigating a disdain for one particular individual is a bully tactic and can be extremely damaging to the victim. By attributing qualities of their being as anything outside expected societal norms, an emotional disconnect is created and this sets them up as a pariah. This is what the media, especially the tabloid princesses, did in mischaracterizing Michael Jackson as a drug addicted gay pedophile as they set him up to be reviled as a “freak”. Voicing her opinion, based on suppositions, speculations and allegations of “insiders” with various axes to grind against Michael, tabloid reporters like Diane Dimond have continuously spewed untruths about this man and in doing so, have spawned an industry of hate against him.

Due to her incessant manipulation of facts throughout the past 20 and her reluctance to accept the clear evidence and his innocence proven in a court of law, she has perpetuated hate and a vile scorn against him. She basically used her self –anointed status as the “MJ Expert” to create in the minds of the general public, a Michael Jackson that did not exist. By intimating that she could substantiate everything she uttered against him with her usual “my sources from inside the family tell me” she spat out innuendos and falsehoods, and now, even after his death, is relentless.

She used her own deep-rooted, dark psyche and attached any and all types of perceived weirdness onto his persona to create a villain that the world could love to hate. We must question the motivation behind annihilating another person’s character for decades. There has been some speculation that her obsessive, anti-Michael Jackson propaganda is based on a deep-seated racism. We will use Dimond’s own defensive salvo “We can’t confirm that”… however, our source from this video seems to think so.

There are many videos of her opinionating on Michael Jackson and her implications are generally defaming and slanderous. She, however, knows how to hide behind the shield law as proven in the lawsuit that Michael Jackson brought against her and Victor Guiterrez in April 1998. She has stated in the preface of her failed book that she would never reveal her “sources”. What she fails to tell anyone is that her sources are often overzealous individuals in “law enforcement” or disgruntled ex-employees that have been sued by Michael Jackson and most information is bought.

What are the absurd and sometimes dangerous conclusions she so commonly slings out about Michael Jackson that promotes hate of this man?

Apparently, her so-called ‘insiders’ who she touts so much, never confirmed he had vitiligo so he bleached his skin so as not to look African American. His sexual exploits were kept private and he didn’t behave as a disgusting womanizer, therefore he must be gay. He admitted going to rehab for addiction to pain meds, and used various prescription medications to control his other health issues, therefore that makes him a drug addict. He drank wine like millions of people all over the world, but somehow that makes him an alcoholic. He cannot be the biological father of his eldest son and daughter, because biracial children, in her estimation must have dark skin, brown eyes and black curly hair. His father beat him and he had plastic surgery ergo, he has body dysmorphic disorder. He lived reclusively on a 3000 acre park replete with Disneylandesce rides, therefore he’s a child predator and molester of children.

She wove a very dark tapestry of a man who defied societal conventions and in doing so amassed a following of Jackson haters that are so vitriolic they continuously attack his image and defame him and his fans and supporters. Coaxing out the most hideous impulses of the common man to believe the worst about Michael without any kind of substantial proof she successfully dehumanized him in the eyes of the public and this is the definition of hate speech.

Once she created this abnormal view of him it was easy for internet trolls to capitalize on the contempt held by many. They continuously setup heinous Youtube, Facebook and other sites which propagate all of her false allegations. They distort his image and create cartoons depicting him in all kinds of outrageous and vile ways. We hesitate to hyperlink any of these horrific sites as many of them are beyond the pale and would be considered X-rated. Frankly, we are amazed that the owners of Youtube and Facebook would allow such sites prejudice to be circulated as their message perpetuates intense hate and incites emotional verbal exchanges as demonstrated in the comment section on many of these videos and sites.

Dimond’s propaganda against Michael Jackson has created a hate industry directed at a man who by all medical, evidentiary and legal accounting was innocent of any crime. The intense and negative emotions that she has embroiled in the minds of the MJ haters of this world are clearly palpable and would seemingly be unlawful. Unfortunately, under the First Amendment tabloid reporters, newspapers and magazines can say what they like about minority groups, religions and individuals – even false, provocative or hateful things – without legal consequence.

So we will end where we started – Historically, America is replete with incidences of hate speech that create intense emotional contempt toward groups or individuals that can sometimes lead to hate crimes and the death of innocent people. In this case, her unsupported opinion biased reporting has assassinated the character of a very gentle and giving human being. With her hate speech, Dimond used a repetitive verbal assault on his character to annihilate his reputation and murder his true legacy and in doing so created a hate industry focused on demeaning him, his family, and the millions of supporters who love and understand the true nature of this man of grace.

Sources:

*Definition of Hate speech & Hate Crime
http://www.historycentral.com/civics/H.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_crime

James Byrd
http://www.racematters.org/nytarchjb161.htm

Matthew Shepard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

Mary Fishcer, “Was Michael Jackson Framed?” 1994 http://www.mjnewsonline.com/mj.txt

USA Today article regarding the photographic evidence
http://site2.mjeol.com/pdf/important-article/photos-may-contradict-michael-s-accus

Charles Thomas, Huffington Post article, March 2, 2010 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-thomson/michael-jackson-its-time_b_482176.html

Ray Chandlers book – NO second victim because MJ was innocent

2. Why Gloria Allred abandoned the Chandlers’ case

Free Speech in America

To understand the innocence of Michael Jackson – Please read M.O.N.E.Y. The Extortion Attempt of Michael Jackson (1993) Part I & II  :

http://www.mj-777.com/?p=4651

http://www.mj-777.com/?p=4737

Matthew Shepard’s Mother speaks about missing her son for  15 yrs -http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judy-shepard/15-years-without-matt_b_4086226.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003