The Hotel California
I don't know why I feel compelled to write something about Michael Jackson's passing--I've never been a particularly huge fan of his work--but here I go anyway, at the risk of possibly pissing off some friends.
I think MJ was a tragic character, but the tragedy took place long before his death. Fame, a crazy father, intense pressure, and a host of other things killed that talented little boy everyone loved from The Jackson Five. MJ became a case study in what can happen to a person if you deprive him of his childhood.
I heard some radio DJ postulate that perhaps he wasn't a pedophile, but was coming from such a different place that we couldn't understand him. I say no. He was a pedophile. Yes, he avoided conviction, but so did O.J. I think Bill Maher said it best years ago: Maybe there wasn't sufficient concrete evidence that he was having sex with the child in question (during the second major accusation), but there was certainly enough evidence to support that he was "dating" him. Why so much insistence that it was "natural" to sleep in the same bed with children? Is that really such a big part of it? And would it totally ruin the interaction with children to have another responsible adult present to make sure there was no inappropriate touching? There aren't many kids I'm fond of, but, for those I do like, I don't need to be alone with them to enjoy their company, and I certainly don't need to sleep in the same bed with them. But MJ was SO insistent and SO passionate about having unfettered access to children. Why else would he care so much if he weren't setting the stage to be alone with them and do something inappropriate?
Even scarier than what he had done to his own face (it made me nauseous just to look at it) was the thought that someone with his influence and fame would eventually find a way to have other children to himself in the way that he wanted. He was extremely determined, and megastars have ways of getting what they want.
And then there's the non-stop news coverage. Yes, it's appropriate to give coverage to the death of someone that influential in the music world. But that was last Thursday, and coverage hasn't let up, nor will it for the foreseeable future. There are so many important issues with health care, the clean energy bill, North Korea, Iran, and now Honduras, but the public isn't paying attention because a pop star died. Many more lives will be affected and/or lost depending on how other current events unfold...perhaps there will even be some celebrities among them.
Michael Jackson songs have been playing non-stop on the radio since his death last Thursday, but the song I heard recently that made me most reflective on MJ and similar folks is "Hotel California" by the Eagles. Despite what you've heard about the song being about Satanism or BDSM, if you listen closely to the lyrics you'll understand that it's about fame. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
I think MJ was a tragic character, but the tragedy took place long before his death. Fame, a crazy father, intense pressure, and a host of other things killed that talented little boy everyone loved from The Jackson Five. MJ became a case study in what can happen to a person if you deprive him of his childhood.
I heard some radio DJ postulate that perhaps he wasn't a pedophile, but was coming from such a different place that we couldn't understand him. I say no. He was a pedophile. Yes, he avoided conviction, but so did O.J. I think Bill Maher said it best years ago: Maybe there wasn't sufficient concrete evidence that he was having sex with the child in question (during the second major accusation), but there was certainly enough evidence to support that he was "dating" him. Why so much insistence that it was "natural" to sleep in the same bed with children? Is that really such a big part of it? And would it totally ruin the interaction with children to have another responsible adult present to make sure there was no inappropriate touching? There aren't many kids I'm fond of, but, for those I do like, I don't need to be alone with them to enjoy their company, and I certainly don't need to sleep in the same bed with them. But MJ was SO insistent and SO passionate about having unfettered access to children. Why else would he care so much if he weren't setting the stage to be alone with them and do something inappropriate?
Even scarier than what he had done to his own face (it made me nauseous just to look at it) was the thought that someone with his influence and fame would eventually find a way to have other children to himself in the way that he wanted. He was extremely determined, and megastars have ways of getting what they want.
And then there's the non-stop news coverage. Yes, it's appropriate to give coverage to the death of someone that influential in the music world. But that was last Thursday, and coverage hasn't let up, nor will it for the foreseeable future. There are so many important issues with health care, the clean energy bill, North Korea, Iran, and now Honduras, but the public isn't paying attention because a pop star died. Many more lives will be affected and/or lost depending on how other current events unfold...perhaps there will even be some celebrities among them.
Michael Jackson songs have been playing non-stop on the radio since his death last Thursday, but the song I heard recently that made me most reflective on MJ and similar folks is "Hotel California" by the Eagles. Despite what you've heard about the song being about Satanism or BDSM, if you listen closely to the lyrics you'll understand that it's about fame. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.