Michael Jackson

I know I will be the millionth person to blog/write about this on the internet, but I want to have a quick two cents.

My first reaction to his death was definitely shock; he seemed so young to die of a heart attack at age fifty. Part of me waited for multiple articles and tabloid stories on the mystery behind his "real death." But what I find the most shocking is that I knew of his death within thirty minutes of it happening. On the other hand, Farrah Faucet died the same day but we only heard about it because of Michael Jackson's passing. Weird world.

Michael Jackson is that person America loves to hate. I don't know if anything positive was published about him in the past ten years or more. We love to ridicule him on late night television and post horrible pictures and stories of him in magazines, let alone what airs on television. He was a public figure of embarassment, and it's kind of sad.

Now, I understand that he is also accused of molestation of young boys. I always wondered if this was true or if this was another publicity stunt. It's hard to tell nowadays. Some people just need money or attention. He could or could not be guilty; who knows. The media construes what it wants to be true. I never really judged him either way since I never really knew what was the truth. You can't always trust the media.

I bet he did have close relationships with younger boys, but I wonder if he really crossed the line. I think it's sad that he missed out on his childhood, thus constructing the Neverland Ranch, and he's always been trying to make up for it his whole life. Additionally, he has so many identity issues (hence the pigment and nose surgeries). If anything, his life is a sad tragedy, or was a sad tragedy and downfall.

Hence, once I heard he died, I was really interested to see how people would react. I wish I had polled people one week ago about Michael Jackson. I bet at least nine out of ten people would have said that he was a pervert or a psycho. Now that he's dead, people are treating him with so much respect, like the King of Pop and such.

Why do we pay so much respect to people once they're dead? Why didn't we show him this kind of respect when he was alive if we truly feel that way?

Those are my big questions around this death. When I went on Facebook or when I interacted with the public on the issue, people seem to be either one of two ways: they are either sad about his death because he was such a great public figure or they make crude comments and jokes almost happy that he is dead. There are polar opposite remarks. I just wonder what the positive side would have said one week prior to his death.



The reactions seem to be quite hypocritical, if you ask me. People are now making a big deal of him, but what about while he was alive? It's just a weird cultural, societal thing. We hate him when he's alive, but when he's dead he's a cultural icon? We are so full of it. We're so cynical. We're such hypocrites.

Now, what if Britney Spears died suddenly? We'd also make a big deal about her death, the Pop Princess. But, when she's alive, all we do is criticize her to death. We make her life (and we made Michael's) a living hell. Everything published about them was negative. Imagine living a life like that... But if Britney died, I'm sure we'd have the same reaction. I find it appalling and ridiculous.

I am also shocked at how news stations are covering this. NBC recorded over television shows just to cover his life and death. You'd think the president was shot or something. Who else would we make such a big deal out of their death? I'm just surprised that we are out of HIS life, because doesn't that set a precedent for other deaths? It wasn't THIS big when Ray Charles or James Brown died. I mean, they were big deals, but the world wasn't alerted within an hour's notice and news channels didn't give up everything to cover it. This whole thing is just blowing my mind.

Is the hype because it's unexpected? Is the hype because it's what we all wanted to hear? What is going on with the attention given to this death?

At least I'm glad that people are being nice and respectful. It blows my mind, but it's better than being mean even when he is dead. It's nice to step back and actually see some of the cool music he contributed to our culture. "Thriller" really was a cool song and video...

I also wonder how long this media fiasco will go on for. I'm glad I won't be around for the next week to watch EVERYTHING cover every angle of the story. It's going to get old really fast. There's only so much you can say about it. But, my heart goes out to his family and his fans.

Honestly, I feel bad for his mental breakdown. When you look at his work in the 80s and 90s, he really is a talented guy. He used to have such a beautiful face. He has a good voice and could REALLY dance. I feel bad that he went downhill from there. He was a really talented guy. It really is a shame.

I also wonder what will happen with the recent lawsuit between the actress from the "Thriller" video. She was recently sueing him over the video. Awkward lawsuit now...

Anyway. I just wanted to have my two cents on Michael Jackson and his recent passing. I'm curious to see others' reactions to this and how insane I think it all is.

So what do you think of Michael Jackson's passing?