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I remember when Janet Jackson's "Control" album came out. I was just in elementary school, and whenever they played the title track at school dances, me and my friend Carmine Bianco would hit the dancefloor, and when the chorus part of the song approached, we would do this little spin and clap our hands to it. It was gay, I know. But we loved that song.

Last week at the Superbowl halftime show, it was Janet Jackson's wardrobe mishap that threatened corporate America's loss of "control" over what it perceives should be the image of the United States of America: an ultra-conservative dictatorship riding a trojan horse of democracy , equal rights, and freedom of speech.

In many ways, the NFL embodies the right-wing conservatism so coveted by the powers-that-be; a family-friendly spectacle with cheerleading, multi-million dollar endorsements, an entertaining half-time show, and football. So of course, when Janet Jackson's breast was exposed on prime-time television for all the world to see, everyone was scrambling to explain, apologize, and pass the blame over something that was really no big deal to begin with. But what were the REAL issues here?

First of all, forget about all the boring hyperbole about whether or not this was an accident, or how the desensitization of western culture has come a long way from when Elvis Presley first shook his hips in the 50's. This is just obvious rhetoric designed to distract people from the more important things to consider.

One of them being the issue of racism. Janet Jackson, who was supposed to present Luther Vandross with an award at tonight's Grammy's, has "decided" (translated, "been advised") not to attend the event. However, Justin Timberlake is still slated to perform.

Funny, wasn't it JUSTIN who ripped off Janet's clothing?

But Justin Timberlake is currently basking in the glow of being America's sweetheart. A good-looking, white Southener with a Mcdonald's-friendly vibe and inoffensive, conservative viewpoints (sounds like the next American president if you ask me). So he couldn't be the scapegoat that America so badly needed.

Janet Jackson, on the other hand, is the perfect candidate to take the fall for last week's debacle. She's a sexy, black female entertainer whose brother just happens to be Michael Jackson and, as a cardinal rule, being a WOMAN, it's only fitting that she play the role of scapegoat (see the Bible's Adam and Eve story). Keep in mind that despite what popular opinion says, it is very likely that this WAS just an accident, and that when Justin sang, "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song" and ripped off part of Janet's wardrobe, she really was supposed to still be wearing a pink lace bra. Contrast this with MTV's Britney-Madonna "kiss", which occurred between two of America's most celebrated, white female popstars, and which was, in fact, more provocative, and more importantly, INTENTIONAL.

That incident, in which the camera zoomed in on Britney as she stook her tongue down Madonna's nasty throat, didn't get nearly as much, if any, negative press as did Jackson.

The fact that Colin Powell's son, FCC chairman Michael Powell is considereing launching an investigation into the incident is a joke. Putting a black man in charge of the American media regulatory commission (if Malcolm X was still alive he surely would have labelled Powell and his son as "Uncle Tom Negroes") only makes obvious the ways in which the American government has tried to pacify cries of lack of coloured representation in the upper echelons of political institutions through status quo policies.

But I digress.

The outrage of the NFL over Janet's exposed breast is hardly justifiable when you consider the jock-oriented advertisements and commercials they've endosed over the years. As my good friend Dr. Horatio Van Baldwin pointed out, U2's Bono had written a song dealing with AIDS awareness and wanted to sing it at the halftime show, but was rebuffed because the NFL wanted to keep things light-hearted, air-headed, fun and apolitical. This is perfectly understandable from a business point of view. But then don't be shocked when you invite the hottest entertainers of the moment to go onstage and do what they do best.

Just as 9-11 served as a launching pad for more restrictive security measures, this incident may serve the same purpose with regards to censorship. Tonight's Grammy Awards will be shown with tape delay, as will February 29th's Academy Awards. God forbid another exposed bodypart, or even worse, another anti-Bush outburst like Michael Moore's at last year's ceremony. Freedom of expression isn't only being censored, FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS.

Janet Jackson doesn't owe anyone an apology. The only thing she should apologize for is living in a country whose Constitution is based on a contradiction.

"This is the culture you're raising your kids in, don't be surprised when it blows up in your face".
- Marilyn Manson

© 2004 Aaron Bayley