Thursday, July 2, 2009

The People Mourn for Michael Jackson

It's been one week since the death of Michael Jackson. Many ordinary people have expressed their grief over his death and the impact he had on their life. Many celebrities have gone on record expressing their heartfelt grief, while also recalling the last time he was with them personally. Even politicians have weighed in on the matter. It's been said that "Michael Jackson was a black man that WE shared with the rest of the world."

Are you freaking kidding me?

Okay, first, let me say that I loved "Thriller." It was a great album, and with the 1980's advent of MTV, his videos were amazing. We hadn't seen Michael since the Jackson 5 days and he was all grown up, and although some of his dance moves were rather risque for the times, he was extremely talented. I think almost everyone has a favorite Michael Jackson song.

But, then there was the weird face transformation. Now stars can be excentric, but who actually completely changes their face to look like someone else? And not just anyone, but the one person they admired most, namely, Diana Ross. Then there was the skin bleaching. He may have been born a black man, but there was nothing black about him when he died. He was whiter than me. He may have had a condition called vitiligo, but still there was alot of bleaching going on. Look at him in 1983, then look at him twenty years later, and he was a freak of his formal self.

Now, although it will take a month for toxicology reports to come in, most everyone agrees that Jackson was an addict. Painkillers, sedatives, antidepressants, he took them all. He was deeply in debt, he'd nearly lost his beloved Neverland Ranch, his reputation was in the toilet and had been for years. At best he was totally weird, at worst, he was a pedophile.

While he was acquitted in a court of law of child abuse charges, he was convicted in the court of public opinion. There were no new records, no concerts, no political affiliations for Jackson. Did you see him in the last ten years do anything but walk down a street or sit in a car with a mask or veil over his face?

What about his three children? Their mother completely disappeared after the daughter was born, and the third child, a son called "Blanket" or Prince Michael II, does not even have a mother named on his birth certificate.

So, I say all this to wonder, outloud, what are the people mourning? Is it who he was in the 1980's, a talented young man? Or is it the young boy who had an overbearing father who terrorized him and took advantage of the talent his children were born with? It can't possibly be the Michael Jackson who existed in the decade preceding his death. The same public who are now mourning him, would not have bought tickets to his concerts or bought his music. Are our memories so short, that no matter what you do, you will be remembered fondly if enough people say you were great? Is it because he was black and therefore, no wrongs can be charged permanently to him in the Age of Obama?

He was preparing for a comeback. He had concerts booked in Europe hoping to redeem his reputation, and no doubt, earn some money. But he never got the chance. Last Thursday, he stepped out into eternity. Never again will he sing or dance here, but he did face an Almighty God. He was judged in the only "court" that really matters. He will now spend all of eternity at his final destination, which is up to God, and not anyone else.

Was he ready to meet God last Thursday? Are you ready to meet him today?

1 comment:

  1. I don't think it has anything to do with the Age of Obama. His music really was one that broke through all stereotypes, black and white people now had a common thread in music which was a first. But I agree that since the early 90's, he was merely a distorted shell of his former self. However, he no doubt still had power and his music still cherished, reguardless of his reputation. His tickets, all of them, sold out within minutes.

    Are people over-exagerating? Of course. He was a beloved icon who obviously let his past dictate his future. He never seemed to age beyond the scared little boy which haulted his career.

    I think what people are holding on to are the memories he created for them, not Michael Jackson himself. Justin Timberlake talks about how he was his inspiration because he would moonwalk across his kitchen floor. People talk about the summber in 83 where they rocked out to Billy Jean. Dancing to Thriller in clubs. So even though people miss Jackson, I agree that I don't think they miss the man, they remember what he did for them. We was legendary, that's undeniable.

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