RIP Michael
It's almost 4 am and I'm up preparing for a phone interview scheduled for this afternoon. Of course, I keep stopping and starting because I'm a procrastinator and lazy. So, during this mini-break I decided to go ahead and post my lil' tribute to MJ. It's pretty much word-for-word what I said in my buddy kaydee23's LJ. Nothing special.
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The first album I ever bought was a Jacksons album. I didn't really have to buy music in my house because my mother had/has a record collection (and later CD collection) that could rival Wolfman Jack. But I remember that 2300 Jackson Street came out when I was in middle school, and I bought the album at a summer fair. I have no idea where that album is today, but you always remember your first music purchase and your first concert.
I was telling an online buddy of mine via twitter that I used to know all the choreography for "Thriller", "Beat It", "Bad", and "Remember the Time". So when the videos came on, I would perform along with the dancers in my living room. And I had every step down in the "Smooth Criminal" video except that long lean forward.
It's unfortunate that some people have trouble praising him today without criticizing or slamming him first. Michael Jackson grew up in the public eye and spent 25 years being lavished with love from strangers and the last 15 years being damned as a pariah from the very same strangers. In the face of it all, he always had my respect as an artist and my sympathy as a man who clearly suffered from some profound psychology problems**. But he never earned my hatred or disdain, no matter how often people insisted he should.
Today, I say to hell with the haters. People from all over are coming together to remember how he influenced their lives, and that's the greatest gift he ever gave us.
** I'm not advocating deification here. Or even whitewashing history. But I am a firm believer in the idea that if you truly believe someone is suffering from a mental illness or psychological disorder brought on by abuse, chemical imbalance and/or social instability, why in the holy hell would you ridicule that person? Why is calling someone "retarded" considered offensive, but you can throw the word "crazy" around like it's nothing? Why does one group demand compassion, but the other demand disdain?
_______________________
The first album I ever bought was a Jacksons album. I didn't really have to buy music in my house because my mother had/has a record collection (and later CD collection) that could rival Wolfman Jack. But I remember that 2300 Jackson Street came out when I was in middle school, and I bought the album at a summer fair. I have no idea where that album is today, but you always remember your first music purchase and your first concert.
I was telling an online buddy of mine via twitter that I used to know all the choreography for "Thriller", "Beat It", "Bad", and "Remember the Time". So when the videos came on, I would perform along with the dancers in my living room. And I had every step down in the "Smooth Criminal" video except that long lean forward.
It's unfortunate that some people have trouble praising him today without criticizing or slamming him first. Michael Jackson grew up in the public eye and spent 25 years being lavished with love from strangers and the last 15 years being damned as a pariah from the very same strangers. In the face of it all, he always had my respect as an artist and my sympathy as a man who clearly suffered from some profound psychology problems**. But he never earned my hatred or disdain, no matter how often people insisted he should.
Today, I say to hell with the haters. People from all over are coming together to remember how he influenced their lives, and that's the greatest gift he ever gave us.
Click to view** I'm not advocating deification here. Or even whitewashing history. But I am a firm believer in the idea that if you truly believe someone is suffering from a mental illness or psychological disorder brought on by abuse, chemical imbalance and/or social instability, why in the holy hell would you ridicule that person? Why is calling someone "retarded" considered offensive, but you can throw the word "crazy" around like it's nothing? Why does one group demand compassion, but the other demand disdain?