I have to say something
Last night I logged on to facebook to discover that about 30 of my "friends" had posted notes like "RIP MJ" or "We will miss you, Jacko". You all know, I'm sure, because if you have facebook, which of course you do, you saw the same thing. I found it a little bit odd. Why would a computer engineer, born and raised in Egypt be profoundly affected by the loss of Michael Jackson? Why would a devout Muslim girl in Ottawa write "May Allah be with you, Michael"? (Okay she was quoting Jermaine, but that makes it even weirder).
To me this is just the death of another celebrity and also a very a intriguiging commentary our culture.
I find it so bizarre to see this outpouring of grief for someone who 4 years ago was shunned from the airwaves because of (yet another set of) child molestation allegations. He was viewed with such disgust and disdain after the Barbara Walters interview, and with outrage after the baby dangling incident. The vast majority of people saw him as a repugnant freak just yesterday morning. So what happened?
Since all questions in life can be examined from the perspective of status updates on facebook, I'll say that this is the comment I found most interesting:
"America builds their heroes just to tear them down and then immortalize them after they've died."
That seems to be one of only two authentic sentiments I've heard about the whole thing. The statement rang even truer just now as I watched a clip on the internet of Congress paying an astonishingly insincere or deluded tribute to Michael Jackson and his "heart (that) couldn't get any bigger".
It seems to me that an honest sentiment about the death of Michael Jackson should be something like, "I liked your music a couple of decades ago, I'm saddened that you seem to have suffered severe mental problems, I'm concerned that those mental problems may have led you to perform actions that I found troubling, disturbing, and sometimes disgusting, and I'm shocked that you've died suddenly at a relatively young age."
Other than that, it seems worthwhile to reflect on our invasive and exploitive culture, although I say this while also feeling careful not to see Michael Jackson as only a victim. We shouldn't forget that he was a grown, middle-aged man and not the child he wanted us to believe he was.
In case you're wondering about the other authentic comment I heard, it was: "I'm glad he's dead. One less pervert in the world."
To me this is just the death of another celebrity and also a very a intriguiging commentary our culture.
I find it so bizarre to see this outpouring of grief for someone who 4 years ago was shunned from the airwaves because of (yet another set of) child molestation allegations. He was viewed with such disgust and disdain after the Barbara Walters interview, and with outrage after the baby dangling incident. The vast majority of people saw him as a repugnant freak just yesterday morning. So what happened?
Since all questions in life can be examined from the perspective of status updates on facebook, I'll say that this is the comment I found most interesting:
"America builds their heroes just to tear them down and then immortalize them after they've died."
That seems to be one of only two authentic sentiments I've heard about the whole thing. The statement rang even truer just now as I watched a clip on the internet of Congress paying an astonishingly insincere or deluded tribute to Michael Jackson and his "heart (that) couldn't get any bigger".
It seems to me that an honest sentiment about the death of Michael Jackson should be something like, "I liked your music a couple of decades ago, I'm saddened that you seem to have suffered severe mental problems, I'm concerned that those mental problems may have led you to perform actions that I found troubling, disturbing, and sometimes disgusting, and I'm shocked that you've died suddenly at a relatively young age."
Other than that, it seems worthwhile to reflect on our invasive and exploitive culture, although I say this while also feeling careful not to see Michael Jackson as only a victim. We shouldn't forget that he was a grown, middle-aged man and not the child he wanted us to believe he was.
In case you're wondering about the other authentic comment I heard, it was: "I'm glad he's dead. One less pervert in the world."