The late Michael Jackson’s father says in an interview that he saved his iconic son and the other children from gangs with his strict parenting.
The interview is part of an upcoming film on Michael to be produced by Katherine Jackson and Howard Mann, says TMZ.
Joe Jackson refutes the accusations that he abused his children, especially the sensitive Michael, but admits he was forced to be stern to keep his brood in line.
“I had to be like that because when raising him, in those days, so many gangs [were] out there getting into trouble, going to jail. Most of them are dead now,“ Joe says. “He didn’t have to worry about that.”
Even after all these years, Joe continues to get upset when someone asks him if he regrets the way he raised Michael and the rest of the children.
“No! They tried to make a big issue when I spanked Michael or some of the kids, ya know? Just like they didn’t spank their kids when they did wrong. The media twists everything,” he says.
Joe Jackson is arguably the most hated and vilified father figure in America. The media has turned him into a monstrosity – a grotesque mutation of who he really is and was — because of the stories of being an extremely heavy-handed and merciless disciplinarian.
Despite protestations to his parental style, the spankings worked unquestionably. None of his children succumbed to the temptations of the brutal streets of Gary, Ind. None of his sons were got caught up in the gang life. None of his daughters became teenage mothers. Most accounts paint the children, particularly the boys, as being extremely respectful and deferential to their elders. Isn’t that what you want from kids?
Okay, so Joe Jackson may have run his home like a military drill sergeant and he was about as affectionate as a cold-water crocodile. But here is something to be said for physical discipline. And you can’t argue with the results. Joe produced three Hall of Fame-caliber musical acts: The Jackson Five and Michael Jackson each have been inducted and sister Janet will soon be. To boot, peep out the state of our youngsters today who lack discipline, structure and/or a father figure. They control our streets like foreign armies. They have all vestiges of humanity drained from their bloodstreams by the time they’re teenagers.
And, lastly, with all the talk of black men skirting their parental responsibilities, Joe was there for virtually every second of his nine children’s lives. It’s time to start viewing Joe with a more objective lens. – terry shropshire
