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Brazil Version "They Don't Really Care About Us" By Michael Jackson; Directed by Spike Lee 

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Brazil Version "They Don't Really Care About Us" By Michael Jackson; Directed by Spike Lee 

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There is more poverty and social issues in other countries. Brazil through it all are joyful, but still live in fear of what may happen.

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Michael Jackson - They Don't Care About Us

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Jail version"They Don't Really Care About Us" By Michael Jackson; Directed by Spike Lee 

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Jail version"They Don't Really Care About Us" By Michael Jackson; Directed by Spike Lee 

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Human rights are being abused all around us. No matter your skin color or religion, right is right and wrong is wrong . We are all angry, lets come together to speak out.

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Rodney King in this article is doing an interview on the verdict on his police brutality case. Police (four cops) involved all received a not guilty verdict. He made a public statement to end the riots that went on in LA in result of what had happen to him.

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He is found dead in his swimming pool in Rialto. The tape of his 1991 beating and upheaval that followed in 1992 opened the door to widespread police reform.

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Black man being beat, instead of being read his rights and handcuffed. In the song Michael says "beat me, hate me; you will never break me" and later on in the song says "I am a Vitim of police brutality, no I'm tired of being the victim of hate"

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When a judge makes a call it is final. People are wrongfully accused on the judges belief , race or feelings. There are crooked judges just as well as cops all around us. Although there are some that do their job correctly. They have the verdict of power in their hands. In the song Michael says "In the suite, on the news, everybody dog food; Black man, blackmail; throw the brother in jail".

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Our government runs our country. A lot of our problems in our country comes from what our government allows or supports. The song states "Tell me what has become of my rights; Am I invisible because you ignore me? You proclamation promised me free liberty" and "I cant believe this is the land from which I came you know I really hate to say it The government don't want to see".  They run our country"All I wanna say is that THEY don't really care about US!"

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This was a deep and personal line stated by Michael. This was not just about the personal problem people had with Michael for changing his skin this was a global problem on people focusing on skin color.

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"Most honorable and honest president" at the time, he was in office . Michael states human rights wouldn't be abused if he was in office.

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"African American embodiment of a very spirit of the American civil rights movement". Michael also states things would  be different if Dr. King was still alive.

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 I want peace & equality; I am not a racist 

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 I want peace & equality; I am not a racist 

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Michael received a lot of criticism for his lyrics to this song. People around the world, some people agreed with him and some thought he was being a racist or throwing "slurs". Michael released a statement to the public days after album was released stating " The idea that these lyrics could be deemed objectionable is extremely hurtful to me, and misleading. The song in fact is about the pain of prejudice and hate and is a way to draw attention to social and political problems. I am the voice of the accused and the attacked. I am the voice of everyone. I am the skinhead. I am the Jew, I am the black man, I am the white man. I am not the one who was attacking. It is about the injustices to young people and how the system can wrongfully accuse them. I am angry and outraged that I could be so misinterpreted".

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Майкл Джексон.ру

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This article from Dangerous Zone fanzine, 2001, tells the story behind Michael Jackson song "They Don't Care About Us," and the music videos for it. It also offers an analysis of the meaning of the song and the videos, and their importance in Michael's career.
And yet another scandal. "They Don't Care About Us" even managed to break the controversy record previously set by "Black or White" - because this time there were two scandals at the same time. First, the US Jewish community was disturbed by the lyrics because it allegedly contained anti-Semitic words (the lyrics to this song is being discussed to this day). Then the Brazilian government did exactly what the good old Communist governors in the USSR used to do - "we maintain that everything is fine in our state, and whoever doesn't think so will be silenced." And even Pele, a nice man, a great football player and a national hero, supported this point of view. Perhaps, the most irritating thing for everybody was that Michael Jackson, who had been indifferent to politics up to that point, suddenly released a song that manifested his views very directly: "You know I really do hate to say it, the government don't wanna see..."

While we are waiting to see what Michael Jackson will tell the world in his upcoming Invincible album, let's recall one of his boldest works that suddenly displayed a clear and simple public stance of the "most apolitical" performer on the planet.

The Facts

June, 1995: Soon after the release of the HIStory album, a scandal flares up about words "jew me" and "kike me" used in "They Don't Care About Us." Michael is forced to apologize for using these words. According to CNN, the controversial fragments of the lyrics will be rewritten to sound like "do me" and "strike me." Later these words are masked by sound effects, and History is reissued with a new version of "They Don't Care About Us." The original version of the album is a collector's item today.

February, 1996: Scenes for one of the two "They Don't Care About Us" short films (known as "the prison version") have already been filmed in a real prison in Queens, New York. Michael Jackson is planning to go to Brazil to shoot the second version of the short film. Meanwhile, the Brazilian authorities intend to prohibit the filming - some of the government members expressed their dislike towards the project as, in their opinion, it would show Brazil in an unfavorable light; yet others approved of the idea hoping that a Michael Jackson video would draw the world's attention to the Brazilian poverty, and the region might even get some help. Brazilian officials are mostly concerned that the video will show impoverished districts of the city - Brazil is hoping to win the right to host the Olympic Games, and a demonstration of the Rio slums may affect their chances of hosting the Olympics in 2004. Residents of Rio de Janeiro favela are, nevertheless, very happy that the world will finally get to see their living conditions.

February 6: A day after the Brazilian judge gave permission to film the video for 20 days, he suddenly changes his mind and reduces the filming period to 5 days only.

February 11: Michael arrives in Rio. A day earlier, Spike Lee already started shooting in the central district of Bahia. The favela is shot in Rio; Michael's dance with the Olodum band (a worldwide known Brazilian drum band consisting of approximately 200 members) and the scene where a young woman breaks through the cordon to hug Michael are shot in the historical part of another Brazilian city, Salvador. The territory where the filming takes place is protected by 1500 policemen. Michael dances for six hours straight (just two months after he collapsed during a rehearsal in New York on December 6, 1995). In the beginning of the video, a girl speaks in Portuguese, "Eles nao ligam pra gente," which means "they don't care about us."

March 23: Global (except for the USA) premiere of the Brazilian version of "They Don't Care About Us" short film. On MTV Europe, the video is broadcasted at 1 pm in program "First Look."

April 16: "They Don't Care About Us" debuts at No. 5 in the European chart. It also debuts at No. 9 in Sweden and at No. 4 in England (the fourth single off the History album to make a debut in the Top 5 in Great Britain).

April 22: "They Don't Care About Us" short film is banned from broadcasting on MTV USA and VH-1. It was shown by MTV USA only once, with a notice of withdrawal from further rotation. The decision is caused not by the footage, but by the lyrics of the song.

June, 1996: "They Don't Care About Us" short film is staying at No. 1 in the Top 20 on European MTV for several weeks. French musical channel MCM plays both versions of the short film without restrictions. (MCM also plays "Scream" short film without sound or video cuts, unlike MTV.) The prison version is prohibited on several music channels due to scenes of violence contained in the short film.

The fall of 1996: One of Brazilian football teams uses "They Don't Care About Us" as its anthem and performs a ritual dance, copying Michael's movements from the video, before each game to scare and demoralize the opponents.

September, 1997: MTV Europe starts showing the prison version of "They Don't Care About Us" short film, but only after midnight.

The Director

Both versions of "They Don't Care About Us" short film were directed by the same director, Spike Lee. The atmosphere of both videos clearly bears the influence of the two extraordinary people and great talents - Jackson and Lee; you can feel the pivot of energy created by this powerful duet. Spike Lee is a famous movie director. His movies "Jungle Fever," "Get on the Bus" (Michael lent song "On The Line" for this one) depict problems of racial and social relationships - for instance, they tells what happens when a black man falls in love with a white woman and how their milieu reacts to this. These are powerful and sincere movies, and Spike Lee is an outstanding director whose achievements in films have been acknowledged and appreciated. So it is really interesting to hear his impressions from working with Michael Jackson.

"I've met Michael a couple of times. He got an award in New York City a couple of years ago from the United Negro College Fund as the Performer of the Year. Michael came to my house in Brooklyn, we sat and talked for four hours about the arts, movies we like, musicians - just the stuff we admired... And I mentioned to Michael that, on his History CD, there was a song I would really love to do a music video for, this great ballad Stranger in Moscow. And Michael said, 'You do music videos?' 'Yeah, Michael, I do lots of music videos.' So I gave him the reel with the stuff I'd done, and he said, 'Great!' Then the next time he called me back he said, 'I want you to do Stranger in Moscow, but let's do They Don't Care About Us first.'"

"The original concept was not meant to be two videos, the prison stuff was going to be combined with the stuff we shot in Brazil. The marching orders Michael gave to me were that he wanted it to be hard-driven, he wanted the spark, an edge to it. He wanted to see a lot of archival footage in it that would chronicle man's inhumanity to his fellow bothers and sisters. And using that as a starting point, we came up with this idea of Michael being one of many convicts in this prison."

"Everything he's involved in, he wants it to be the very best it ever was. That's a great attitude, and it's also a great responsibility. And in everything he does, he told me, 'Spike, I want this to be the best' - he doesn't call it a music video - 'I want this to be the best short film ever!' I said, 'Okay, Mike!'" (laughing)

(On the video set) "Mike said he was gonna try to drive the crowd into a frenzy, and he did. And these two ladies jumped out from the crowd - security was lacking on one side, so these ladies jumped out, grabbed him, he fell to the ground! (laughing) I picked him up... and I asked the cameraman later, 'Did you shoot it?' and he said, 'Yeah, and I've got you too.' That was very funny. We did not plan this, that was not rehearsed, they just broke through, and it was exciting....
...Michael has a plane waiting, he has to be in New York with his crew tomorrow, so we're gonna try to get as many shots as we can before Mike has to jet."

"Here in this Brazilian video, you can see the love Brazilian people have for Michael. It's out there. Shooting 'They Don't Care About Us' with Michael Jackson in Brazil was one of the highlights of my career, and I'm including the feature films. I just had a great, great, great time. I think it was historical what we did. It was awesome."

Opinions

Spike Lee (about problems with getting a permission to film in Brazil): "Michael loves Brazil and the Brazilians and he doesn't need to go half way around the world to show that shanty towns exist in Rio. This is ridiculous and pathetic. We're not trying to topple the Brazilian government. In the eyes of the world, complicating Michael Jackson's visa is making Brazil appear a ridiculous country - as if it were a banana republic."

Bob Jones (about video ban due to the lyrics): "Michael is not a racist, as evidenced by his many endeavours on behalf of people of all religions."

Michael Jackson (on accusations of anti-Semitism): "It's not anti-Semitic. Because, I'm not a racist person. I could never be a racist. I love all races of people - from Arabs, to Jewish people, like I said before, to blacks. But when I say, "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me, kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me," I'm talking about myself as the victim, you know. My accountants and lawyers are Jewish. My best friends are Jewish - David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Stephen Spielberg, Mike Milkin. These are friends of mine. They're all Jewish. So how does that make sense? I was raised in a Jewish community."

Considerations

Never before has Michael Jackson spoken about the political aspect of social problems; sometimes he was asked in an interview what he thought of politics, but he always responded sincerely that it was all Greek to him.

Since Michael became a superstar, the USA has changed three presidents, and Michael met each of them - Reagan, who was the first to invite him to the White House, Bush-senior and Bill Clinton at whose inauguration Michael performed and whom he apparently liked the most. But all this had nothing to do with politics - just with Michael's inexhaustible curiosity and desire to see everything with his own eyes. And is there a politician who doesn't seem charming during a half-an-hour conversation at the official reception? Michael probably had neither time, nor desire to try to understand their character or work any deeper.

The Americans don't need to understand it deeply anyway, as they don't depend on the personality of the current resident of the White House as much as we do. So an average man may allow himself not to think about these things. And for a very long time, Michael seemed to worry only about those problems that depended upon our common consciousness and awareness, such as people's attitude towards nature and their surroundings (many of Michael's songs are about this - "Heal The World", "Man In The Mirror", "Jam", "Keep The Faith"). These are our problems, the solution to them is in our hands, and no government can help us solve them or prevent us from doing it. But there were other problems too...

Those "other" problems stormed into Michael's life unceremoniously and suddenly. After finding himself a victim of a fabricated accusation, he must have come to a realization that the seemingly inviolable laws did not always work. Presumption of innocence, a sacred principle, turned out to be an empty word. An average man thinks that money and fame solve any problem, but Michael found out they didn't help him either.

Trying to get out of this nightmare, Michael probably kept wondering how a common humble man would feel facing the government and judicial system - a humble man who couldn't afford to hire the best lawyer, for whom no celebrities would speak, and who didn't have thousands of loyal fans. And even if it's true that everybody's equal before the law, a humble man is clearly powerless and vulnerable. And having experienced this notion of "equality of rights," or, to put it better, "equality of no rights," Michael spoke his mind in a song on behalf of a humble man.

The song is a first-person narration, and in its refrain, the superstar relates to problems of common people. "They don't really care about us" means "you and me." Someone else could have written "they don't really care about people," but not Michael. For him, this notion of us is absolutely natural, almost sacred. Rumor has it that Michael Jackson is isolated from the society - sometimes this observation even used to justify his behavior. This may partly be true, but not when we talk about the empathy and ability to relate. Michael Jackson considers himself a common citizen and is not afraid to speak like one. And isn't it true? Doesn't the major part of Michael's problems lie in the narrow-minded prejudice and everyday racism of the society?

If we analyze the very essence of the negative attitude towards Michael Jackson expressed by many people, we will sure find double-dyed extreme uncouth racism in all its ugliness. "Don't you black or white me" is a deeply personal line, but it's not a problem of people's attitude towards Michael specifically, it's a global problem. And that's just one line in that song.

Michael didn't know what to do with this - being a law-abiding citizen who never conflicted with authorities, he had nothing to offer; for him, it was just one of those conditions that "makes you wanna scream." Here I will quote Olga Petrova from Krasnoyarsk who made a very astute observation:

"At first, I thought that there was something unfinished about the TDCAU short film, something missing. Now I realize that it is the very thing that was never intended to be there - the energy of aggression, destruction, a call to arms. (This may sound unpleasant, but in our everyday lives and in our souls, we more often see manifestations of the aggressive energy fuelling accusations, and not the energy of resistance empowering self-control and fortitude against repressions.) There is no spite and no spirit of revenge in this song - no accusation, only a protest and an indignation. You could say that this song is about civil disobedience."

The content and energy of the song stay within boundaries so prudent that it's nearly impossible to find any aggressive notes in it. "All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us" - one can hardly address this matter with a more reserved and delicate line.

In a way, during that period, the Michael had a personal need for public statements, such as "beat me, hate me, you can never break me," as much as he saw a social need for them. The song sounded then and still sounds today like a manifest of spiritual endurance and disobedience against the deliberately lying accusers. If we approach the song in this way, seeing it as both personal and social, it's easy to see why Michael released two different short films for the song - the prison version with a powerful documentary drama and the flamboyant Brazilian version.

In the Brazilian version of the short film, policemen who look stern and indifferent to the festive whirlwind of colors and rhythms are probably the only thing that reminds us of the social meaning of the song (otherwise you might think city dwellers celebrate something) - the lively joy and free self-expression of people is under vigilant control, and you can never be sure that this freedom won't be suppressed.

But the prison version is completely dedicated to the social theme. The short film uses imagery that is harsh to the point of being uncomfortable to watch. (Michael used documentary footage of the student rebellion on the Tiananmen Square in China, of brutal police beatings of African Americans in Los Angeles, as well as footage from the Vietnam war.)

The ghosts of the beaten people are haunting Michael even in his solitary cell: these are not just television images, there are real life pictures - a horrible reality of human humiliation and suffering that surrounds us everywhere, breaking into our everyday life, our minds, depriving us of peace, leaving us no place to hide. The short film revives the images of Roosevelt and Martin Luther King who, according to Michael, "would not let this be." (It could be argued that this line is supposed to expresses the opinion of an average man - a white man for whom Roosevelt is the most honorable and honest president, and a black man for whom Martin Luther King is the embodiment of the very spirit of the American civil rights movement.)

The tension in the video is palpable, and yet we observe an amazing scene: it is not a revolt, a mutiny or an escape, but a totally peaceful riot not suppressed by the prison guards. It looks like Michael "lightens" the message of his leadership on purpose. He expresses his angry protest too explicitly, with demonstrative insolence - sweeping tableware off the tables and hitting a guard's baton right in front of his face. Notice that Michael is the only prisoner who moves freely around the prison's dining room, creating an impression of a somewhat light-headed mischief, irresponsible for the consequences of this daring game. It is simply a demonstration of protest against the disregard for human rights and laws by the authorities.

Michael is trying to convince people to fight for their rights, raising the spirit of protest against oppression and humiliation - but, of course, prison riots never end at slamming fists against the table or dancing on top of it, and Michael knows this very well. The real life problem is that a call to fight "for freedom and independence" can easily erase the line between the good and the evil, between a disobedience and an attack... And the spirit of protest easily mutates into the spirit of revenge, inflicting violence on those who oppressed our dignity and freedom.

The last scene of the video shows - in Michael's own unique way - his confusion about what he should do with his leadership in these circumstances. While his scream is still lingering in the air, Michael, already free, is running up the stairs, glancing back - running away from the prison, the riots, his own scream and himself... Leaving an unspoken question, "I don't know what lies ahead... Where will this spirit of struggle lead me, where will it further manifest?"

One more conclusion deserves to be highlighted: Olga noted very astutely "how naturally and confidently Michael expresses the pain and anger as a messenger of the Nature (in 'Earth Song'), and how unsure he is of his role when speaking about the pain and anger of humans (in 'They Don't Care About Us')." It's harder to stand up for people - primarily because people (unlike the Nature) are oftentimes the ones to blame for their own troubles and misfortunes.

The question of whether the use of the "controversial lyrics" in "They Don't Care About Us" was appropriate is still open. Right now Jennifer Lopez has to deal with her own share of trouble because of using the word "nigger" in one of her songs; I guess these matters are not as simple they seem to us. To us, this may look like a silly superstition, but I talked about this to a girl from the USA once, and she told me that "the context for bad words doesn't matter - the very fact that a superstar is using them can set a bad example." It sounds quite strange, considering the range of obscene words per minute of an average Hollywood blockbuster... But perhaps, this is a matter of mentality that has to simply be accepted.

As for the Brazilian controversy, the story is ridiculously plain. Michael sang that the government didn't care about people, and the Brazilian government illustrated this perfectly. The Brazilian authorities worried about their money and reputation of the country - clearly not understanding that they only undermined it more by trying to create obstacles for Michael Jackson, - but they didn't care about the population of the Rio slums. (Authorities in developing countries often have this difficulty - the lack of flexibility of thinking.) But those half-naked tanned boys and girls, children and adults (and we, too) understood once again that there was one person in the world who would always care for us.
Article by Anastasia Kisilenko, 2001.
The article was published in Dangerous Zone fanzine, Issue 13-14.

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Civil Disobedience: "They Don't Care About Us" - Michael Jackson.ru

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The article tells the story behind Michael Jackson song "They Don't Care About Us," and the music videos for it. It also offers an analysis of the meaning of the song and the videos, and their importance in Michael's career.

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This is an interesting song by Michael Jackson entitled 'They Don't Care About Us'. I remember hearing it years ago and realising that Michael Jackson was political. I remember thinking at the time 'I didn't know that'. I might just pause and think what does political mean? It means he challenged power, it doesn't mean he was seeking to take power as a threat to those in power, but his threat would have been his enormous influence on young people. Even the word 'threat' is really unquestioned thinking from those who feel fear of losing power. The whole power construct is built on fear. It is interesting to explore.

Tonight has been interesting I found out he has sung the same song in two video clips. One was sited in a prison and the other video was produced in Brazil, South America. In the Brazilian film clip I found the peace symbol on his t-shirt interesting, in the end it was torn. The interesting question is who are 'they'? The central theme appears to be oppression and the architects of it. He makes reference to Roosevelt and Martin Luther King in the song as respected figures who would not allow oppression/discrimination. In an interview he said that he was speaking of his own experience.

My feeling is 'do we really care about us'? What sort of world would we like to create? Something to consider. In truth no group can control the world without its permission and submission. Where there is a desire for control there is definitely fear of no control. Those who seek control are deeply fearful of the masses as the real illusion is that control is power. I see it as an old order that is losing traction and indeed, power. The use of fear as control can be perceived as power but in reality it is not as powerful as love. Why is love strong? It links us to our true nature it is a creative force that is expansive and builds unity. Fear or negativity is a destructive force and eventually implodes. Gandhi made that clear that empires always fall. In a fear based reality people don't trust each other and the enemy comes from within not outside. Yet projection sees it outside as hatred is vented. In a love based reality there is plenty of room for understanding, compassion and unity, people see themselves in each other e.g mother, father, brother, sister etc. So the forces that breakdown don't get a foothold in this type of society. It is an outcome of a world that is in duality (love and fear). We oscillate between these emotions all the time but may experience them as jealousy, envy, irritation, hatred, fear on the one hand and compassion, kindness, caring and love on the other. Each of us are at choice as to which we select. If you keep selecting love under all conditions, we see a massive shift in the world. If people keep exposing themselves to fear then they shut themselves down and feed their own oppression. That is why I said earlier 'do we really care about us'? We all create the times we move through consciously or unconsciously.

First here is the song that caused a great deal of controversy and conspiracy theory. It is followed by some comments about the meaning of the song from a few perspectives.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=16062

The song generated controversy for Jackson when he was accused of penning anti-Semitic lyrics. Upset at the media scrutiny it generated, Jackson issued multiple apologies, insisting that he wasn't intending to get at any member of the Jewish community and re-recorded the track. In the US, radio stations were reluctant to play the controversial composition and it only reached #30. In Europe it was more successful, reaching the top ten of most countries. Two music videos were filmed, both directed by Spike Lee. One featured a handcuffed Jackson in prison, interspersed with real footage of police attacking African Americans and other human rights abuses. The second video showed Jackson dancing with his fans in Brazil.

Here is another overview of the video from another perspective.

They Don't Care About Us

They Don't Care About Us is the fourth single from Michael Jackson's album "HIStory" (released on April 1, 1996) and the most controversial piece Jackson ever composed. Musically, They Don't Care About Us is an aggressive Hip-Hop product which focuses over the illness of our society. From masonic media's point of view, this song is anti-semite, racist and anti-social. Michael Jackson stated that he didn't mean this at all, by the time when he wrote this song and I truly believe him. It's not his nature being discriminatory anyway but of course the people who tried to destroy him caught this opportunity to sink him deeper. Michael Jackson was too proud. Michael Jackson knew very well his rights and he claimed them. Michael Jackson had a mouth to speak and he used it, and he drew the evil things that happen in this world. Michael Jackson never accepted to be a slave. And, worst, he had the power, given by his huge popularity, to influence others. Michael Jackson had become undesirable for those tricky elitists.

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

"When Michael Jackson decided to shoot his new music video in a favela of Rio de Janeiro ... he used the favela people as extras in a visual super-spectacle ... All the while there is a vaguely political appeal in there ... The interesting aspect of Michael Jackson's strategy is the efficiency with which it gives visibility to poverty and social problems in countries like Brazil without resorting to traditional political discourse. The problematic aspect is that it does not entail a real intervention in that poverty." (Lúcia Nagib, "The New Brazilian Cinema")

In 2009, Billboard described the area as "now a model for social development" and stated that Jackson's influence was partially responsible for this improvement. For the first time in his career, Jackson made a second music video for a single. This second version was filmed in a prison with cell mates; In the video Jackson is seen handcuffed. It also contains real footage of police attacking African Americans, the Ku Klux Klan, genocide, execution, and other human rights abuses.

"The New York Times" claimed anti-semitism on June 15, just days before the album's release. The publication highlighted the lyrics, "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me" and labeled them "slurs". Jackson responded directly to the publication, stating:

"The idea that these lyrics could be deemed objectionable is extremely hurtful to me, and misleading. The song in fact is about the pain of prejudice and hate and is a way to draw attention to social and political problems. I am the voice of the accused and the attacked. I am the voice of everyone. I am the skinhead, I am the Jew, I am the black man, I am the white man. I am not the one who was attacking. It is about the injustices to young people and how the system can wrongfully accuse them. I am angry and outraged that I could be so misinterpreted."

People who love Michael Jackson understand his anger and support him. The others, understand him but continue to accuse him. Finally, everything boils down to the simple, hard truth which is already known by many:

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

When questioned further about the lyrics on the ABC News program Prime Time Live, Jackson stated, "It's not anti-Semitic because I'm not a racist person ... I could never be a racist. I love all races." The singer also noted that some of his closest employees and friends were Jewish. That same day, Jackson received support from his manager and record label, who described the lyrics as "brilliant", that they were about opposition to prejudice and taken out of context. The following day, two leading members of the Jewish community stated that Jackson's attempt to make a song critical of discrimination had backfired. They expressed the opinion that the lyrics used were unsuitable for a teenage audience that might not understand the song's context, adding that the song was too ambiguous for some listeners to understand. They accepted that Jackson meant well and suggested that the entertainer write an explanation in the album booklet.

On June 23, Michael Jackson decided, despite the cost incurred, he would return to the studio and alter the offending wording on future copies of the album; "Jew me" and "Kike me" would be substituted with "do me" and "strike me". He reiterated his acceptance that the song was offensive to some.

Let's talk a little about the word "kike". It was born on Ellis Island when Jewish immigrants who were illiterate (or could not use Latin alphabet letters), when asked to sign the entry-forms with the customary X, refused, because they associated an X with the cross of Christianity, and instead made a circle. The Yiddish word for "circle" is kikel (pronounced KY-kul), and for "little circle", kikeleh (pronounced ky-kul-uh). Before long the immigration inspectors were calling anyone who signed with an O instead of an X a kikel or kikeleh or kikee or, finally and succinctly, kike.

According to Leo Rosten, Jewish American merchants continued to sign with an O instead of an X for several decades, spreading the nickname kike wherever they went as a result. At that time kike was more of an affectionate term, used by Jews to describe other Jews, and only developed into an ethnic slur later on. Others use "kike" with the meaning of "Christ killer".

The lyrical controversy surrounding They Don't Care About Us brought partial commercial disappointment in the US; radio stations were reluctant to play the song. It peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, falling short of the record breaking success of the two previous singles "Scream/Childhood" and "You Are Not Alone", yet the song peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. Still, the song found particular success in Europe, peaking within the top ten in all states. European highlights came in Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Sweden, in these countries the song became a top five hit and stayed in their respective charts for a minimum of 21 weeks. The song reached the top of the charts for three weeks in Germany and stayed a full 30 weeks in the survey. It is the longest consecutive chart run of a Michael Jackson song in the German charts.

The real reason They Don't Care About Us was not a success in US is that this song was too dangerous for the Masonic Elite, because Michael Jackson sings about discrimination, abuse, injustice and breach of human rights. And I don't believe he didn't expect to be banned, especially because he used Masonic symbols in the music video, such as "the eye" which can be seen on the wall beside him when he sings "Will me, thrill me - you can never kill me" - and this is, doubtless, a warning from Michael to "them".

The whole song is a subliminal message, from its short, concise lines to the rhythm and the crowd of passionate drummers - all of these transforms They Don't Care About Us into a complex and complete calling to justice.

With the album "History", Michael Jackson, the one who used to sing about flowers, innocence and "Heal The World", transformed into someone determined, concerned about social issues and intovsomeone who tries to open our eyes about the evil who's leading us from the shadow.

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

And he has his reasons for this. He's been wrong, misunderstood, humiliated, morally tortured - by the media, by politicians and by all his haters who tried consequently to destroy his proud, his honor, even his life. But he had to resist, with any price; he had to survive all these so, after that, he could raise up and speak:

Tell me what has become of my rights
Am I invisible because you ignore me?
Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of shame
They're throwing me in a class with a bad name
I can't believe this is the land from which I came
You know I do really hate to say it
The government don't wanna see
But if Roosevelt was livin'
He wouldn't let this be, no, no

Producing the first video proved to be a difficult task for Jackson. State authorities unsuccessfully tried to ban the singer filming in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador (Pelorinho). Officials feared images of poverty might affect tourism and accused Jackson of exploiting the poor. Ronaldo Cezar Coelho, the state secretary for Industry, Commerce and Tourism demanded editing rights over the finished product, stating, "I don't see why we should have to facilitate films that will contribute nothing to all our efforts to rehabilitate Rio's image". Some were concerned that scenes of poverty and human rights abuses would affect their chances of hosting the Olympics in 2004. Others supported Jackson's wish to highlight the problems of the region, arguing that the government were embarrassed by their own failings.

A judge banned all filming but this ruling was overturned by an injunction. Although officials were angry, the residents were not. Thousands pushed through security and one fan managed to hug the singer, both of them falling to the street. The woman was escorted away and Jackson continued to sing and dance for the director. 1,500 policemen and 50 residents acting as security guards effectively sealed off the Dona Marta shanty town. It was alleged that Jackson's production team had negotiated with drug dealers in order to gain permission to film in one of the city's shantytowns.

The music video was directed by Spike Lee. Asked why he chose Lee to direct the video, Jackson responded, "They Don't Care About Us has an edge, and Spike Lee had approached me. It's a public awareness song and that's what he is all about. It's a protest kind of song... and I think he was perfect for it". Jackson also collaborated with 200 members of the cultural group Olodum, "who swayed to the heavy beat of Salvador's 'samba-reggae' music". The media interest surrounding the music video exposed Olodum to 140 countries around the world. It brought them worldwide fame and increased their credibility in Brazil. At the beginning of the video, a brazilian boy says "Michael, eles não ligam pra gente" which means "Michael, they don't care about us."

Some things in life they just don't wanna see
But if Martin Luther was livin'
He wouldn't let this be, no, no

Michael neither liked to "let this be". He wasn't that kind of man who turned his back and watch out his own business, saying "that's it". He knew he could change something and he knew how to do it. With They Don't Care About Us he changed the Dona Marta people's fate and promoted the Olodum drummers.

For the first time in his career, Michael Jackson made a second music video for a single. This second version was filmed in a prison with cell mates; In the video Jackson is seen handcuffed. It also contains real footage of police attacking African Americans, the Ku Klux Klan, genocide, execution, and other human rights abuses.

All genocides in history were precisely planned by some sick minds. AIDS, Ebola, all different kind of flues and every epidemics that rose in the last century, were experimentally created and disseminated into the world by the same psychopaths. Think of it, those psychopaths meet regularly and decide our fate. Think of these morons, talking about how to many we are, about how these epidemics invented by them kill us too slowly and about what else should they create to precipitate our decimation. Let me paraphrase The King Of Pop and say "If Michael Jackson was livin' he would't let this be". Don't believe politicians who tell us pretty things, because they are all fake. Don't believe the "specialists" who appear on tv and tells you that HPV vaccine or bio-cip are best solutions for smart people. Don't believe commercials. Don't accept anything just because you are told to. Don't be afraid to refuse things that others accept foolishly. And remember, every moment, Michael Jackson's words:

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

Because this is the truth.

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This is an interesting song by Michael Jackson entitled 'They Don't Care About Us'. I remember hearing it years ago and realising that Michael Jackson was political. I remember thinking at the time 'I didn't know that'. I might just pause and think what does political mean?