I am a fan of Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was a musical genius and loved by many, for a very good reason. He made really good music. I cry every time I hear that darn Free Willy song.
'But they told me I meant to be faithful and walk when not able and fight to the end, but I'm only human.' How could you not relate to that?
Or this lyric:
'Everyone's making a fool of me. Seems that the World's got a role for me. I'm so confused will you show it to me?' If that doesn't make you feel for the guy, then I feel for you.
MJ never had it easy. And he may not have handled all of his situations with grace and dignity, but he tried to be a good person, and he so often bared his soul to the world, despite being a very private person, just looking desperately for acceptance.
I admire him for continuing forward in this life as long as he did, because the man was going uphill the whole way. It seems, although it's not confirmed, that he lost his battle with depression. I don't condone taking one's own life, or even justify it, so all I will say about that is that he will be missed by many, and he was a positive, essential addition to this world, as all people are.
I know people like to make jokes about how their boys will sleep better tonight, or how his face died thirty years ago. I get the jokes. I, of all people, know what it is to laugh inappropriately. I just wish more people would realize Michael Jackson was a human being, with real feelings, who brought a lot of beauty into this world. He was somebody's father. He was somebody's child. He was somebody's brother. He was somebody's friend. He was somebody's, a lot of somebodies, inspiration. I feel like the jokes caused him a lot of pain. He took them seriously. This was not a man who needed to be taken down a notch, you know?
I've got a lot of love for MJ. And his death made me sad.
P.S. Does anyone else remember when the "Black or White" video was a television event? We were allowed to stay up later to watch it. So, so awesome.
9 comments:
Thank you!! I know you posted on FB how we both agree that we're sad. I too understand the jokes, but I seriously teared up a little yesterday. He was a person and a great great artist. Renee, we're sensies and we just understand other sensies. Some of the cruelest jokes have been made about him in the past day. Stuff I don't even feel I should repeat... and I don't offend easily.
PS-the black and white video is on MTV right now, and yes I totally remember when it came out too.
one more thing... I totally forgot how at the end all the faces change into different people. Tyra Banks is in that video... crazy
Everything that I have felt and everything that I have tried to say you just put into words for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I get and understand where you are coming from Renee, but the crack where little boys should sleep better at night isn't really a joke. The artist was a pedophile. If not for his money, he would have been the creepy guy who was on the 10:00 news with all of the neighbors talking about how they always knew something was up with him/knew nothing about him. His artistic impact is undeniable, but he ultimately perpetuated the cycle of abuse from his father to a number of innocent children.
Thank you so much for this post. I think you summed up how we all feel. I got the news at work yesterday when we were all busy reading CNN and AZCentral and ignoring our actual work. A co-worker jokingly said she had to go home because after the news she wouldn't be able to work anymore. Her boss told her to "moonwalk back to her desk and get to work". And oh it was funny. As were all the other water cooler jokes that started going around. But when I got in my car to drive home and turned on the radio to "I'll be There" the tears started. I kept wondering how Mamma Jackson must feel.
I swear no one loved Michael more than I did in 6th/7th grade...the Thriller years. I spontaneously cried when he did the moonwalk on tv for the first time. I would stay up late hoping for any of his videos to play on TBS's Night Tracks. My parents surprised Heather and I one weekend when they went to rent videos and brought home the making of Thriller. He was a huge inspiration to music and dance lovers the world over - he is the Beatles / Elvis of our generation.
However - I cannot get past the very serious pedophilia allegations and his own damning words about his actions with young boys. I really can't express it better than Jack did - basically, he was a Chester with money, who had enormous musical talent. It's all just very sad.
I will admit to the pedophilia being a dealbreaker on how much I idolize a person. It even limits how much I stand up for a person.
But I think it's terrible how people dehumanize him. (Nobody here had. I have just heard some really awful joking around that actually made my stomach hurt). I hope that my sympathy for the man does nothing to add to any hurt he may have caused another person. I just don't believe his death warrants celebration. His death made me cry, because I saw him a person lost and confused and trying to make his way in this crazy world, and he managed, despite obstacles, to create really beautiful work that reached a lot of people and create positive change.
I don't want to weigh the good against the bad. If he hurt a child, there is no excuse for that. I don't ignore it. And I mourn, because that's how I feel.
I too feel sad about his unexpected death. I do not believe that he was a pedophile. I believe he had strange behavior and that made him a target to people who want money. Money is a more powerful force than people want to admit. I think he did a lot of good in this world to help children but accusations will overshadow that. I hope he is remembered for his ground breaking musical style and his truly phenomenal choreography. Not his constantly changing appearance and his strange behavior.
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