A Judas in the Jackson Camp?
Some say the nanny’s uncanny
Day 259, Week 37, Article 36
It has been said that great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; and small mind discuss people. Risking being accused of having a mini-mind I shall resist casting aspersions on anyone’s character here. Nonetheless, Michael Joseph Jackson and his family have been bitterly disappointed when longtime trusted insiders and transient security guards sold false, misleading, or exaggerated stories to the plethora of supermarket tabloids in the universe. And a few years ago, seemingly due to extenuating circumstances, even one of Michael’s own siblings publicly slapped the face of the Gloved One. More recently, Grace Rwaramba, the nanny for Michael’s children, has come under scrutiny as the latest in a parade of Judases.
Biblical Backstabbers: Judas Iscariot is infamous for having betrayed Jesus. Yes, this one-time faithful apostle “turned traitor.” (Luke 6:16; Matt 10:4; John 6:66-71) But there’s another lesser-known traitor mentioned in the Bible. The Bible encyclopedia Insight on the Scriptures reveal the following about a former trusted counselor of King David: “As David’s personal adviser, Ahithophel’s sagacious counsel was esteemed as if it were the direct word of Jehovah. (2Sa 16:23) Later this once-close companion treacherously turned traitor and joined David’s son Absalom in a coup against the king.” Michael Jackson, too, would later have problems with trusted ones turning traitor. But can this Black male be blackmailed even after his death?
Stun-Gun “Fun”?: A shocking situation supposedly developed at the Jackson estate in Encino, California, that leaked out to a television tabloid show and reportedly to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). The rumor was Michael’s youngest son Blanket was tasered by his cousin with a stun-gun. X17 Online quotes Randy Jackson, Michael’s youngest brother, as addressing the gossip thusly: “The story is false. I spoke to my children who were present at the time. The stun gun arrived 2-3 weeks ago and was retrieved immediately by security at our family home. The children never played with it and Blanket was nowhere near the vicinity. Since our security handled the situation appropriately and the children were safe there was nothing for the Department of Child Protective Services to confiscate. The lies are outrageous and horrific. Enough is enough.”
The website also reports that Katherine Jackson’s attorney Adam Streisand wrote: “Two weeks ago, Jermaine Jackson’s 13-year-old son, Jafar, who lives with his mother Alejandra at the home of Mrs. Katherine Jackson, received a package with a taser he ordered online. Jafar opened the package alone in his bathroom and tested it on a piece of paper. Mrs. Jackson and security heard the sound coming from the second floor of the house. Immediately, security went upstairs and confiscated the taser. Mrs. Jackson took control over it and then had it removed from the house. There was no other incident. Blanket Jackson never saw or hear[d] the taser. Neither did Paris Jackson. Prince saw the taser in the possession of security. There is no second taser.” But how did certain outside parties catch wind of the electrifying story?
The Face of “Dissed” Grace?: As I told Time magazine, the Grace Rwaramba I knew and studied the Bible with when she visited my home was an upstanding person. Some charge that Grace changed. They claim that after Michael terminated her for the fifth time, a very distraught Grace flew to Europe. While there, she gave an exclusive interview to the source that financed her trip. In the recorded interview, she is alleged to have said damning things about the Jacksons. X17 Online continues: “Our Jackson family source tells us that ‘Grace is trying to get custody of Michael’s kids while trying to paint Katherine as an unfit guardian. She’s throwing it in Katherine’s face! The children absolutely despise Grace.'” Not surprisingly, sources aver, the family suspects her of having leaked the “bogus” stun-gun story.
Is It a Sin to Spin?: To be fair, Grace’s side hasn’t surfaced, and misleading partial truths can be both disconcerting and damaging. For example, recently I co-authored an article in African American Religious Cultures (2009) on Jehovah’s Witnesses. Regrettably, I was not given the opportunity to review the final draft with its several wrong conclusions, thereby leaving readers with unsettling misimpressions. Happily, this was not the case with the article I wrote, “Michael Jackson Motivated,” for the scholarly Journal of Pan African Studies. (March, 2010) So what’s next in the continuing drama of the Michael Jackson saga? Stay tuned!
