June 26, 2009
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Going to Neverland
I had to throw out some love to Michael Jackson. The news of his death really hit me yesterday. I know the man is eccentric, reclusive, (to some) creepy. But he rocked the music world at a time when I was a young, impressionable girl. I still have my Thriller album somewhere and I remember listening to that record over and over and over again. Billy Jean will always be what Michael Jackson is all about. Hooo hooo hooo.
Obviously, issues in his past with children is a note of concern. However, I have never been fully convinced that anything wrong every happened. There is suspicion, of course. But, I guess I see it like this. If someone were to harm my child in a sexual way, there is no amount of money that would ever make that "ok." The people who accused him of molestation/abuse were all over that "settlement money," money they could have likely obtained in civil court anyway. Maybe I'm just looking at this all wrong. Maybe I'm naive, but I honestly think that we will never know the truth.
What I do know is that Jackson lived a really bizarre life, probably grew up in an abusive family. Somewhere along the way, I think he reverted back to being a child in his mind, going to a place where he was happy, before the pressures of adulthood. It's really difficult to say.
I'm not condoning any ill action toward children. I'm on board with the belief that child molestors/rapists should be put to death. I do not believe in rehabilitation for these individuals. But, I don't think a case has ever been proven against him. For all I know there could be something out there I'm missing, but the guy was cleared. I know, I know, so was OJ. Well, there you have the conflict.
Anyway, my husband and I both agree. We're pretty torn up. And these younger folks who keep making the stupid jokes and the nasty comments, I guess I just have to toss it up to the cliche/tired "generation gap." I guess you just had to be a child of the late 70's and early 80's to understand? I don't want to believe that's the case, but I'm seeing otherwise (more often than not.)
Comments (4)
I'm pretty neutral on the situation. Never was a fan, and uncertain about the truth of his troubles. I figure he is now where he deserves to be, whether heaven or hell. May he rest in peace at last.
Hope you don't get upset by my comment. I was born in 1961. The death of MJ came to a surprise to many. Personally, I was surprised he lived that long. With all the health problems he had, reaching the age of 50 was no easy feat. There's no denying that MJ was a world class singer, dancer and an even better overall showman. He truly was the king of pop but all the bad things that happened in his life were mostly caused...by himself. All the health issues from many, many unnecessary surgeries and playing with fire when it came to children, Jackson was a mess and quite frankly, he was sick in the head. I don't believe for one minute he was innocent of molesting children. As a sex molestation victim myself when I was 5 yrs. old, I have no respect for him as a man. He had so many loyal fans and I feel bad for them. Not for him. For them. He led a life that he wanted to live. If he was smart and surrounded himself by people who wanted nothing but good things for him, he'd be one of the world's richest people. How a person like him be in so deep trouble financially when you have some of the world's best selling albums, 50% stake in the Beatles discography and all those royalties is beyond me. Do I feel bad for him? No, I don't. And I'm being brutally honest here. He was a ticking time bomb and his demise was coming. Unfortunately, he will be worth more money dead just like Elvis. As a big fan of music, though not of him (I only liked a couple of his songs), I would have loved to see him perform one more time. I would have liked to see him make a comeback to prove he could. His comeback was taken away from him but he didn't really help matters either. When Britney Spears became a hot mess a couple of years ago, alot of people compared her to MJ. She had to clean up her act and stop doing what she was doing because she was tempting fate. And you look at Britney Spears now - whether you like her or not - and you see her perform in shows (yeah, she lip synchs I know) and seeing her back in shape and you can't think of anything but somewhat of a success story there. She did what MJ and others who were a mess like him couldn't do. And I'm not a big Spears fan but as a person, you can't ignore the fact the obstacles that she had to overcome to be where she is today. Hopefully, she'll continue to stay on this path as young as she is. Unfortunately it didn't end that way for MJ. I feel for his family especially his 3 beautiful young kids because of their loss because I know how it feels. JMHO here.
Micheal Jackson was a world class musician, dancer and performer. I think somewhere, somehow he got really messed up in the head. I truly believe there are things in his past he just wasn't able to deal with and traumatically changed him. He seemed to always be striving for some sort of ideal perfection...but I'm not sure even he understood what that perfection was really.
Honestly, I agree with you. I can't imagine, if someone were to molest my daughter, there ever being any amount of money that would make it 'OK'.... or even tolerable. And I believe that I would feel like I somehow cheated my daughter if I were to take money as a settlement. That being said, I do think he crossed the line a bit in regards to children. However, I don't think it was intentional. I think he truly believed he was just being friends with them. I think you're right... I think in many ways he retreated to a more child-like state... trying to create a childhood he never had. I know alot of people will disagree with this line of thinking, but at the end of the day, we don't know what he was thinking. We can only speculate. I think it is sad that there are people who will place judgment on him based on their own experiences. Sure in some aspects, he chose his life. In other aspects he did not choose his life. He was pushed into performing at a very early age. I think he had some psychological issues that prevented him from making good choices with his finances, friends, family, etc....
He was a great musician. I hope people can remember him for what he brought to the music world, not for his bizarre choices. His talent far exceeded anything else we've seen.... I dare say, we will ever see.
For all the uncertainty surrounding his rollercoaster life, one can't deny the man had talent and changed the face of music - - he was indeed one of a kind and the world will truly miss him. His passing is on the same tragic scale as those other celebrity passings of JFK, John Lennon, Princess Diana and, of course, Elvis. Such a tragic loss and I do send my condolences out to his family, friends and fans.
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