Michael Jackson's ‘They Don’t Care About Us’ Trended After 28 Years For a 'Woke' Reason, Here's Why

Michael Jackson was not just the G.O.A.T. of pop music but also a humanitarian and a philanthropist. The "King of Pop" who left the world in 2009, started trending on the internet for a track that he released 28 years back. The 1995 track, They Don't Care About Us, from the album HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I started making waves for its relevant lyrics and even got quoted in "woke" political conversations back in 2023. 

The timeless track dropped a bomb when it was released as a direct attack on the "woke" culture per Music Times. The caption, "He tried to tell us..." started trending the internet as the bytes of the music video that read, "Tell me what has become of my rights. Am I invisible because you ignore me? Your proclamation promised me free liberty, no. I'm tired of being 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 really do hate to say it. The government don't wanna see it. But if Roosevelt was living. He wouldn't let this be, no, no," started resonating with netizens. 

According to Newsweek, the song which also got ranked at the 30th spot in the Billboard 100 chart had a hook that made his fans wonder what other message was Jackson hinting at. Back in 2023, the song joined the bandwagon of songs with over a billion views on YouTube per Billboard. The lines that intrigued the fans and youngsters alike were, "Skinhead, dead head. Everybody's gone bad. Situation aggravation. Everybody, allegation. In the suite, on the news. Everybody, dog food. Bang bang, shot dead. Everybody's gone mad. All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us."

The music video has two versions one that was shot in Brazil and another famously known as the "Prison version" which was a blunt attack on the prevailing social injustice and prejudice in across the world. The second version gives a glimpse of Klu Klux Klan footage, Chinese protests in Tiananmen Square, and the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police in 1991. X (formerly known as Twitter) users took to the platform to express their astonishment over the portrayal and lyrics of the song. @PunishingJack wrote, "The all-seeing eye mural is in this video, is there for the very reason the song was made," suggesting a hidden message. @CamillaMR2 wrote, "It's no surprise at all, cause 'They Dont Care About Us' will always and sadly stay relevant. Michael Jackson made timeless art." 

@thesoulofagoat shared, "The only 20th-century artist to have two songs over 1B." Another user @RetroArcadeMan noted, "The only 20th-century artist to achieve this with 2 songs," the second one being Beat It. @Crayola_Smile pointed out, "It was used in the Paris protests and in the US as part of the BLM protests." There is no doubt Jackson made it a case that the song addresses the wrongdoings with his creativity, and the music is living up to its name!