Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Zack Blumberg
Emily Considine
Emma Chang
Joel Danilewitz
Emily Huhman

Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Magdalena Mihaylova
Max Mittleman
Timothy Spurlin

Miles Stephenson
Finn Storer
Nicholas Tomaino
Joel Weiner
Erin White 

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Managing Editor

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MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA 
AND JOEL DANILEWITZ
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board. 
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

E

very semester, after my last 
final exam, I have a ritual: 
tidy up my living space and 
pack my bags for a trip home while 
Michael Jackson’s 1979 Off the Wall 
album plays in the background. I 
like to pull up the album’s YouTube 
playlist so that its music videos 
display on my laptop screen. The 
opening track, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You 
Get Enough,” is the perfect end-
of-term song. “Lovely, is the feelin’ 
now,” belts Jackson, as his tuxedoed 
figure dances superimposed over a 
series of abstract shapes and colors. 
This song was Jackson’s leap into 
independence as an adult recording 
artist — he penned its lyrics and 
composed its driving groove himself, 
and the single was released just after 
his 21st birthday. The tune creates an 
aura of exuberance — it feels good to 
listen to.
Off the Wall has a shimmering 
airiness that masks the power with 
which it propelled Jackson’s career 
forward. Over the next decade, 
Jackson would moonwalk, zombie-
dance and “hee-hee” his way into 
a superstardom that seemed to 
transcend reality. The album also 
masked a concerning development: 
the descent of a deeply troubled 
mind whose owner would come to 
destroy the personal lives of young 
boys and their families.
In January 2019, HBO released 
“Leaving Neverland,” a two-part 
documentary covering the stories of 
two men who made startling claims 
about sexual abuse they suffered 
at the hands of Jackson as children 
in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 
Their allegations were the biggest 
brought against Jackson since his 
child molestation lawsuits in 1993 
and 2003, neither of which he faced 
charges for. Their depictions of 
abuse and the way Jackson used 
his celebrity to manipulate families 
make one’s stomach turn. Unlike 
previous cases against Jackson, 
the details in this documentary 
are 
cohesive, 
compelling 
and 
hard to ignore. Its release created 
shockwaves that threatened to 
finally defame the King of Pop’s 
legacy and banish his body of work 
into oblivion.

These 
threats, 
however, 
are 
illusory. Michael Jackson cannot 
be erased from society. His cultural 
mark is too deep. Since his death 
in 2009, Thriller (1982) has sold 
millions of copies, and despite the 
initial backlash against Jackson, 
online streaming traffic for his music 
increased following the release of 
“Leaving Neverland”. In the past 
month alone, I have heard his songs 
played at Maizie’s in the League and 
Computer Showcase at the Shapiro 
Undergraduate Library. Michael 
Jackson isn’t going anywhere.
How, then, do we deal with the 
legacy of someone whose work is so 
invaluable but whose deeds are so 
unforgivable?
Legacies are built on what 
we know – concrete facts and 
memorable events. Impressive feats 
associated with Michael Jackson 
as 
a 
professional 
entertainer 
are innumerable. He won an 
unprecedented eight awards at the 
1984 Grammys and broke MTV 
racial barriers with Thriller, one 
of the best-selling albums of all 
time. In 1993, he became the first 
major musical star to headline the 
Super Bowl Halftime Show. His live 
performances of “Billie Jean” were 
clinics in solo excellence: a man with 
a microphone and an empty stage, 
working song and dance magic.
Jackson’s public life as an artist 
was captivating. His precocious 
talent and demanding father forced 
him into the recording industry as 
a young child, depriving him of a 
normal childhood. He was aware 
of his immeasurable gifts as an 
entertainer and worked tirelessly 
at perfecting his craft. He had 
ambition and lofty professional 
expectations for himself. From his 
mind came timeless musical hits 
and groundbreaking music video 
concepts. In his prime, he was one 
of the most famous and beloved 
figures in the world, taking stages 
globally with charm, authority and 
electrifying energy. This is the side of 
Jackson the public knew and adored.
Yet behind every spin, every glide, 
every “cha-mone,” was a man who 
seemed to be facing internal turmoil. 
The most obvious manifestation was 

written on his very face – Jackson was 
never satisfied with his appearance 
and 
consequently 
destroyed 
it 
with dozens of misguided plastic 
surgeries, looking like a different 
person every decade. His behaviors 
became more eccentric and unusual 
as his career arc descended in 
the late ’90s and early 2000s. He 
identified with Peter Pan and shared 
his bed with young boys even after 
his first child molestation lawsuit, 
calling his practice “the most loving 
thing to do.” He was, in short, a very 
sick man.
Because of the stark contrast 
between Jackson’s famous stage 
persona and the reclusive, troubled 
human behind it, the public has never 
had a strong grasp of who Michael 
Jackson truly is. His personality, 
lifestyle and the numerous child 
abuse allegations against him are all 
subjects of mystery. It is challenging 
to attribute aspects of Jackson’s 
backstage life to a physical person 
because we don’t feel we know who 
that person is. As a consequence, 
what is forever associated with 
Jackson are things we do feel we 
understand – his music, videos and 
live performances. This, ultimately, 
is what keeps Jackson immortal. 
His artistry was phenomenal and 
therefore will withstand the test of 
time.
If we will not erase Jackson from 
our culture, then it is important for 
us to make sure that nobody with 
power like Jackson’s is able to use it to 
cause the kind of harm that he did in 
the future. Jackson’s legacy is saved 
from further harm partly because 
he is deceased – he cannot be put 
in jail and suffer the reputational 
injury that comes with a sentencing. 
The #MeToo movement has been 
instrumental in bringing awareness 
to and increasing reporting of 
sexual misconduct. Its trajectory 
should continue so that everybody 
is held accountable for their actions 
regardless of status. This will help 
ensure that moving forward, those 
who use their power for harm are 
not idolized by future generations.

Michael Jackson’s complicated legacy

MARISA WRIGHT | COLUMN

On impeachment: It was all this, or a woman

DIPRA DEBNATH | COLUMN

L

isten, I really don’t want to 
relitigate the 2016 election. 
It was heart-wrenching, 
frightening 
and 
all-around 
anxiety-inducing. The most vivid 
memory I have from the day after 
the election is walking into school 
and collapsing into the arms of 
friends, all of us weeping and 
disillusioned. But it is important to 
examine the outcome of the 2016 
election through the lens of what 
we know now. 
On Tuesday Sep. 24, House 
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced 
a formal impeachment inquiry 
into President Donald Trump. 
Pelosi, 
who 
has 
previously 
expressed hesitation on the topic 
of impeachment, cited a recent 
whistleblower account of Trump 
asking 
Ukrainian 
President 
Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate 
former Vice President Joe Biden as 
a “favor” for U.S. defense support. 
In 
the 
announcement, 
Pelosi 
stressed Trump must be held 
accountable for soliciting foreign 
governments to investigate his 
political opponents in an attempt 
to gain an advantage in the 2020 
election. 
Though 
impeachment 
investigations are ramping up, 
this is certainly not the first 
controversy of Trump’s presidency, 
nor is it the first potentially 
impeachable 
investigation 
into 
his administration. There was a 
Department of Justice investigation 
by special counsel Robert Mueller 
into whether Trump and his 
campaign conspired with the 
Russian government in the 2016 
election. In this investigation, the 
former FBI director and his team 
indicted, convicted or received 
guilty pleas from 34 individuals 
and three companies involving top 
Trump advisers, Russian actors 
and hackers associated with the 
Kremlin, which can be found in 
the full report. There are also 
several 
ongoing 
congressional 
investigations of Trump, including 
obstruction of justice and his tax 
returns. 
Of 
course, 
the 
Trump 
administration is also involved 
in 
almost-daily 
scandals 
that 
are not explicitly illegal. A non-
comprehensive 
list 
includes 

separating children from their 
parents at the border, calling 
majority-people of color countries 
“shitholes,” nominating a man 
credibly accused of sexual assault 
to the Supreme Court, being 
credibly accused of sexual assault 
himself, attempting to ban Muslims 
from entering the U.S., calling 
white supremacists “very fine 
people” and denying the existence 
of climate change.
It was all this and more, or a 
woman. 
And not just any woman. If not 
the most, she was one of the most 
qualified people to run for president 
ever. She was a Yale-trained lawyer, 
first lady of the United States, U.S. 
senator and secretary of state. 
Yes, she was connected with 
controversy throughout her public 
life. And yes, she was slightly more 
moderate than my own personal 
politics. But running against a 
man so unqualified and immoral, 
she undoubtedly should have been 
president of the United States.
While 
Trump 
and 
his 
Republican 
supporters 
may 
believe Democrats are frothing 
with delight at the thought of 
impeaching Trump, it does not feel 
good to be reminded of what could 
have been. Sure, I’m comforted 
by the fact that our efforts in the 
2018 midterms will not be all for 
nothing, but I’m certainly not 
thrilled at the fact that we have to 
go to such extreme lengths to stop 
Trump from committing crimes 
and trying to use foreign assistance 
to win the next election. Really 
though, it feels terrible that had we 
elected her we may have extended 
health insurance to millions more 
Americans, passed laws to stop gun 
violence and began appropriately 
responding to the crisis of climate 
change among several other issues. 
As much as we all have the right 
to be angry on her behalf and on 
behalf of every single person who 
has been hurt by Trump’s policies, 
there is no justice for 2016. There 
is only redemption in 2020, but 
impeaching Trump for his crimes 
will ensure he goes down in history 
with a scarlett asterisk next to his 
name, forever indicative of his 
illegitimacy. 
While 
I 
am 
content 
with 

watching 
this 
administration 
explode in its own incompetence 
and 
criminality, 
it 
is 
worth 
considering how our failure in 2016 
has the potential to fail us again in 
2020. And to be clear, coming back 
from as low as we’ve gone will take 
an incredible amount of individual 
and collective self-reflection. With 
2020 in full swing as the Democratic 
caucuses and primaries are mere 
months away, the impeachment 
inquiry serves as a stark reminder 
of the consequences of 2016 and 
our inability to stop Trump’s 
ascendancy.
Right now, the leading contender 
for the Democratic nomination, Joe 
Biden, campaigns heavily on his 
electability — that he has a unique 
ability to beat Trump in the general 
election because he can appeal 
to the white working class and 
moderate independent voters, two 
essential demographic groups to 
Trump’s win in 2016. One can think 
he is the best person for the job, 
but one should choose him for that 
reason and not some biased notion 
of electability, which often favors 
the most privileged among us and 
marginalizes candidates who don’t 
look like 44 of the 45 total former 
U.S. presidents.
To make an electability argument, 
we have to rely on our instincts about 
what a president looks like, sounds 
like and feels like — who inspires 
us, who we can relate to, who we 
can imagine as the most powerful 
leader in the world. But our instincts 
failed in 2016. We were wrong; all 
of us, despite who we voted for, are 
implicated in the election of Donald 
Trump. Some of us — specifically, 
about 43 percent of the country — 
may not want to admit it, but we’ll 
all look back at this grave error in 
history with consternation and 
shame, just as we do with Andrew 
Jackson and Andrew Johnson and 
Richard Nixon. The only question 
left is whether we will continue to 
vote with the same impulses that 
gave us an impeachable president 
in the first place — fear, bigotry and 
nationalism — or we will redeem 
ourselves by voting with courage and 
aspiration.

Marisa Wright can be reached at 

marisadw@umich.edu.

Dipra Debnath can be reached at 

dipra@umich.edu.

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FROM THE DAILY

Trudeau and progressive white 
hypocrisy

O

n Sep. 18, photos surfaced of Canadian Prime Minister Justin 
Trudeau wearing brownface, followed by the news of two 
more instances in blackface. Trudeau, the Leader of the 
Liberal Party, immediately apologized for his past actions, stating he 
did not consider them racist at the time but should have known better. 

These photographs come 
at a crucial point for Trudeau 
and the Liberal Party of 
Canada, as they are currently 
less than one month away 
from Parliamentary elections. 
Considering Trudeau has 
portrayed himself and his 
Parliament as a beacon of 
progressive 
politics, 
these 
harmful 
acts 
exhibit 
a 
profound level of hypocrisy. 
This is not limited to past 
offenses but shows itself in 
many of his behaviors and 
policies during his time as 
prime minister. Though he 
has championed himself as 
enlightened, 
the 
privileges 
he holds as a wealthy, white 
man 
make 
him 
blind 
to 
the truly damaging effects 
of 
his 
transgressions. 
If 
re-elected this fall, Trudeau 
has 
a 
responsibility 
to 
support policies and focus 
on 
communities 
he 
has 
previously 
neglected. 
In 
order to uphold his own and 
his country’s reputation as 
progressive leaders, he must 
demonstrate his commitment 
to equality through actions, 
not just through words.
To 
many, 
revelations 
about Trudeau’s racist past 
have 
shaken 
an 
idealized 
view of the prime minister. 
However, these are not the 
only instances in which he has 
contradicted his purported 
ideals. He has long held a 
contentious 
relationship 
with 
Canada’s 
indigenous 
persons, demonstrated by his 
approval of the controversial 
Trans 
Mountain 
pipeline 
expansion 
that 
threatens 
native lands. Trudeau has 
also 
been 
criticized 
for 
sarcastic comments he made 
toward an indigenous activist 
advocating 
for 
mercury 
poisoning 
compensation. 
Beyond his poor track record 
with Canada’s First Nations 
population, Trudeau has faced 
accusations of violating ethics 
laws by trying to pressure 
his former justice minister 
and Attorney General Jody 
Wilson-Raybould 
to 
drop 
charges against a company 

based in Quebec. As Canada’s 
first 
Indigenous 
Justice 
Minister, Wilson-Raybould’s 
resignation was viewed as a 
setback in the reconciliation 
process by many Indigenous 
leaders. 
The 
damages 
of 
Trudeau’s ignorance are not 
limited to Canada; during 
an official visit to India in 
February 2018, Trudeau and 
his family drew criticism for 
overdoing 
their 
traditional 
attire, 
entering 
“costume 
territory” and appropriating 
Indian culture. These offenses 
while in office indicate his 
past 
racist 
behaviors 
are 
part of a larger pattern of his 
privilege and ignorance.
World leaders must be held 
to the ideals they promote, 
and Trudeau is no exception. 
It’s true that Trudeau has 
taken some actions reflective 
of his liberal ideals while in 
office. Upon entering office in 
2015, he named Canada’s first 
gender-balanced cabinet. He 
has been a vocal advocate for 
refugees, though amid recent 
pressures 
from 
Canada’s 
right wing, he has supported 
a far less welcoming policy 
regarding asylum seekers at 
the U.S.-Canada border. Under 
his leadership, his parliament 
has made a concerted effort 
to fix the environmental laws 
implemented by the previous 
Conservative administration. 
However, in order to continue 
promoting 
himself 
as 
a 
forward-looking frontrunner, 
he must adhere to these ideals 
consistently in his policies 
and his personal life. A mere 
image of progressiveness is not 
enough; this progressiveness 
must be reflected in Trudeau’s 
actions. Like any leader, he 
has a duty to stick to his 
promises.
As students at an elite 
university, 
we 
are 
being 
primed to become leaders 
in our respective fields. For 
many, this includes politics 
and business. Trudeau’s racist 
wrongdoings 
demonstrate 
that we have a responsibility 
to 
thoroughly 
educate 
ourselves on other cultures 

and 
communities. 
It 
is 
imperative to acknowledge 
how our privilege and actions 
impact others. Otherwise, we 
are contributing further harm 
to our environment as well as 
depriving ourselves of a well-
rounded education. As future 
members of the workforce, 
we 
must 
understand 
the 
histories of harm and violence 
inflicted upon other cultures. 
This includes understanding 
why blackface still causes 
damage. Progress cannot be 
made when we don’t do the 
necessary work of confronting 
our biases and the impact of 
our privilege. 
However, 
broadening 
cultural 
understanding 
and appreciation does not 
mean adopting cultures as 
our own. Even when well-
intentioned, 
the 
racist 
fashions 
of 
appropriation 
further violate communities. 
Cultural appropriation erases 
histories, distorts diversity 
and promotes stereotypes. It 
is the very mistake Trudeau 
made when he intentionally 
chose to wear brownface and 
blackface. However, this does 
not mean Trudeau should 
be 
immediately 
dismissed. 
Instead, 
his 
actions 
can 
serve 
as 
a 
reminder 
for 
self-reflection 
and 
change. 
Especially as students, we 
should 
embrace 
expanding 
diversity 
and 
inclusivity, 
not in fear of being caught 
but because of our inherent 
eagerness to learn. 
It is clearly disheartening 
when a beloved politician’s 
racist past is revealed. Justin 
Trudeau has been commonly 
viewed as a champion of 
progressivism, but with each 
racist act our trust in him 
continues to falter. Trudeau 
faces a long road of re-earning 
respect and trust, especially 
from Canadians. Yet, it is 
important we do not demonize 
Trudeau, 
but 
rather 
take 
time to reflect and educate 
ourselves. We cannot change 
Trudeau’s past, but we can 
learn from him and strive for 
improvement.

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