I can't believe I am using MJ as Blog Fodder right now.
I've never been a fan of Michael Jackson.
I wasn't a "hater" either. But, with all this hoopla surrounding his death, I am faced with magazine after website after tv special of Michael Jackson memories.
Something I am aware of now and sort of ashamed of but more just aware of is that I, like so many others, assumed he was a child molesting monster.
Why?
Because that is what everyone was saying. Who was I to argue?
Now, I am little older and smarter and I would like to think I would have read a bit more about what was going on. I would have looked at more fact and less opinion.
I would have realized that Michael Jackson was the most famous living musical legend in the world. And if people, disgusting as it sounds, see an opportunity to take someone for some free money, sometimes those people are going to jump on that opportunity and if they are willing to do that, it's not such a stretch that they would use their children, too.
And, really, he was a prime target. He was more rich than the word "rich" describes, he loved children and opened his home and heart to them, he was not known for being especially intelligent and his family was not known for being exactly "functional". So, here's this sort of dumb, emotionally-stunted musical genius with more money than God who's naivete gets the better of him time after time.
And we all bought into it. We all thought he was a child molesting monster. We all joked about it and swore we would never leave our children alone with him.
But why? What did we actually know?
In reading about him this last week or so, I realized for the first time ever, that he was never even found guilty of anything. One accusation was settled out of court.
Ok, in an attempt to protect himself from what eventually happened anyway, the richest man in the universe threw someone some cash to shut them up - totally worth it, I'm sure, at the time.
The second time, he went to court to defend himself and he was acquitted. Shouldn't that mean something?
I guess this entry is more about mob mentality than the man himself. I am more awed by the fact that I never even knew he was never officially found guilty but the whole world said he was anyway. That blows my mind, but I'm sure it's not that surprising. It is how human beings work, right? It's "societal".
One thing I completely took for granted is his music. I never really thought about it but with list after list bieng published there are a LOT of songs that I love that I haven't heard in ages that I plan on downloading today... "Billie Jean", "Gotta to be Startin' Somethin'", "Black or White", "Thriller" (duh) and several others... I wonder if they hiked the prices up at Itunes yet...
Why Did I Ever Stop Writing On This Blog?
2 years ago
4 comments:
It's hard to know what the real story was. But, I do think that a lot of his actions were questionable at the very least.
I was a big fan of his music, and like you've said, it's amazing just how many songs he had that I'd forgotten about. But, I've had my fill of the media coverage. Enough, already...please.
The only impact all that controversy had in my life, was being more aware of the fact that one must always be aware of another's interpretation of a situation that may appear innocent enough to you. MJ's issues may have all been over one's perception. Perception is always someones reality....and that can land you in real trouble, huh??
His music was another thing entirely. Love it - always have and to this day, have a lot of his hits on my iPod that I listen to regularly. After all is said and done, and the media gets tired of this coverage, hopefully his music career success will supercede all the negative publicity he endured throughout the last part of his life.
I'm a little behind and just now seeing this. I went through almost the same train of thought as you. I assumed, believed the media hype. I didn't know he wasn't found guilty either. I certainly don't know whether he was guilty or not. What I can tell is that he was a very troubled man. I don't think anyone would argue with that. But being socially stunted, rich, and apparently very weird about plastic surgery doesn't make you a child molester.
Being dead doesn't make you a hero, either but the media certainly do proport that as well which bugs me almost as much. Not about MJ specifically...
What? Now you approve comments after I took my little typing thingy off for you?
Ho.
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