Michael David: Michael Jackson: A Strange Life and Death
Since Michael Jackson died, I have been trying to figure out how I felt about him, as a human being and artist, as well as the coverage and reaction to his death. When I first heard of his death, I was immediately reminiscent of my childhood. I was 9 years old when Thriller was released and yes, I had a glove. My videotape of Motown 25 was completely worn out because I had watched his performance of Billie Jean about a thousand times. Thriller just catapulted him to a stardom not seen since the Beatles.
By the time Bad was released, I was in my teens and more into the hardcore scene but I still made time to watch the premier of the Bad video. I enjoyed the Bad album but something was changing with MJ that made it harder to be a fan. Maybe it was me growing up or maybe it was the odd direction Michael was going but my interest in him soon faded away.
The next twenty-something years of MJ’s life were riddled with bizarre behavior, lawsuits, and his odd fascination with children. The plastic surgery never bothered me but I did think it was silly to deny it so vehemently. The thing that I could never get beyond was the unusual relationships he had with children. I listen to his supporters say he just loves kids in the purest sense and because he had no real childhood he is just trying to experience it as an adult. His detractors will tell you he is nothing more than a pedophile. I hesitate to label someone a child abuser without full and complete evidence but those who defend his perpetual childhood are just dead wrong.
MJ’s fans point to his father’s alleged abuse, as well as, growing up in the spotlight as an excuse or reason why he lives a Peter Pan lifestyle. I’m not sure how this excuses him sleeping in the same bed as children, even if it wasn’t sexual. I’ve known and worked with plenty of people who have had much more tragic childhoods and yet they did not revert to a perpetual child-like state. His actions have not only affected his life but they have affected his children’s lives. MJ was savvy enough to buy The Beatles music but not mature enough to have a living will to protect his children from a custody battle. I am just really disturbed by the deification of Michael after his death by his fans.
The detractors are just as over the top. I find pedophiles as disgusting as the next person but Michael was never convicted of anything. Just because someone has been convicted in the court of public opinion does not mean they are actually guilty. Gary Condit, Richard Jewell and Steven Hatfill were all unfairly assumed guilty even though they were innocent. Today I saw Rep Pete King of NY calling Michael a pedophile on YouTube; it’s easy to pick on a man people think is freakish but where was King when the media was praising a man who headed an organization that systematically raped children for decades in Pope John Paul II. I realize the completely over the top coverage has caused much of the backlash but that doesn’t excuse King’s comments.
In the end, I hope the people who are fans of Michael remember him as an artist and stop excusing his crazy behavior. It is very sad to see how MJ’s life had completely deteriorated in the last two decades but this was of his own doing and is no one else’s fault. To the detractors, it’s okay to dislike MJ and his behavior but even if someone seems 100% guilty it may not be the case. I plan to enjoy the Jackson 5 and some of MJ’s solo stuff but I will not canonize nor demonize him. He was just a pop star and nothing more.
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Really though he was more than a pop star…
he ended up being a global icon
First of all, Michael Jackson did leave a will for his kids. It’s been in the news a lot.
And as far as how he’ll be remembered, all you had to do was watch today’s memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to see why he was more than a pop star, a cultural icon or a “deified” freak. His artistry and his personality touched millions all over the planet Earth. He was the greatest entertainer of all time. But beyond that, he was an amazing human being.
“It was Michael Jackson that brought blacks and whites and Asians and Latinos together.” said Rev. Al Sharpton today. “It was Michael Jackson that made us sing ‘we are the world,’ to feed the hungry long before Live Aid.”
“It was that comfort level that kids from Japan and Ghana and France and Iowa and Pennsylvania got comfortable enough with each other so later it wasn’t strange to us to watch Oprah on television,” the reverend continued. “Those young kids grew up from being teenage comfortable fans of Michael to being 40 years old and being comfortable to vote for a person of color to be the president of the United States of America.”
“Michael did that,” Sharpton said. “Michael made us love each other.”
( http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24646.html#ixzz0KehO6LZA&D )
Michael Jackson did a lot of things he never publicized. He gave his money - more money than any other pop star in history - to humanitarian causes. He visited orphanages in third world countries. He lobbied congress - IN PERSON - to do more to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. He worked hard to make the world a better place; much harder than probably you or I or almost anyone ever will. He deserves our gratitude for that and we owe him some thanks for inspiring others to act similarly.
And in the mean time, any man in America who is not proven guilty of a crime in a court of law is always - 100% - innocent.
And as far as how one should feel about the life, legacy, damaging media coverage and personal tribulations that made up the story behind the man named Michael Jackson, the best argument of all was made by Dave Chapelle:
“He made Thriller!”
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36sKMwbwfWc)
I realize a will or two have ben found but my concern was about custody rights not anything else. I respect that you consider MJ the greatest entertainer of all time but that is subjective and I could find many more people that would not consider him the greatest. Quoting Al Sharpton does not strengthen your argument. Barrack Obama was elected because, fortunately, ou society has progressed. MJ did break the color barrier on MTV I will grant you that but he had no more to do with Obama being president than James Brown, Michael Jordan, or Stevie Wonder did. Also Sharpton was factually wrong when he said “We are the World” came long before Live Aid. WATW was recorded in Jan 1985, Live Aid took place July 1985 but Bob Geldoff had recorded the Band Aid record in Nov 1984 before MJ and Lionel Ritchie put together USA for Africa. You have no idea if he gave “more than any pop star in history”. If he did I applaud that put he also profited more off of children than any pop star in history. Also we don’t know how hard MJ did or didn’t work to make the world a better place, plus what does that even mean. Better for whom? I really don’t know if he deserves the world’s gratitude or not. Do we owe Bob Geldoff the same gratitude for inspiring MJ?
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