Included in several of those blogs have been comments on the death/hoopla/anger at the comments about Jackson.
I will start this little rant in saying, I feel for his family and children. It's a terrible loss for them, and there is a chance that there will be a long battle over who will get custody of his children - not good for anyone. Those kids have led what must have been a very unusual life so far, and to loose their father and get fought over is something no child should have to endure.
I was a fan, in the 80's of Michael Jackson. Was there anyone at that time that wasn't? But.... I don't understand what all the big deal is at this point.
There are those who have said that it is improper to speak ill of the dead. And while I usually agree with this, I deeply believe that at best, this man was very confused about the role of adults and children. At worst, he was a pedophile that used his wealth to get out of being held accountable. He is also someone who has not contributed to the musical scene for years and years. So...what is all the hoopla over his death? Yes, it's sad that someone died, but people die every day. There are no huge headlines for the soldiers coming back from the war. Where are the headlines for policemen and firemen killed in the line of duty? Children are snatched every day, and the articles are relegated to the inside pages of the paper.
But a man with questionable personal habits dies, and the whole world shuts down.
There are things happening in Iran, atrocities that are unfathomable - people being pulled off buses and hacked to death with axes for questioning the government - and all anyone can talk about is the death of this man.
More than speaking ill of the dead, I tend to think I am speaking ill of the media in this country. Speaking ill of the people who live here who are so celebrity hungry that they don't question whether the person they worship is really a good man - heck, he had a ton of hits in the 80's!He wrote We Are the World! He must be a great guy! I am saddened at the way so many people are reacting to this. And so, I will avoid Twitter, where MJ posts outnumber the Iran posts. I will avoid blog posts that honor a man of questionable honor. I will avoid the "news" that has turned into a celebrity tabloid, going on and on about what killed this one man, and where his children might end up (what about all the other kids who are left without families every day? Where is their news special? What about all the kids in foster care? Why aren't they on the front page?).
Hopefully this will all blow over soon and we can be done with it.
26 Comments:
Right on, Mrs. B! Our society's addiction to the cult of celebrity is turning our priorities upside down.
I agree 100%. The media always tends to overdo things. I understand that he had may fans... but who cares? I hope everyone can drop his death quickly so his family can move on with their lives.
So very, very true! Everyone has seem to forgotten how he was in the last couple of decades and the "circus" that surrounded his life. I don't understand the sudden affection that is being bestowed upon him. Give his family the privacy they deserve and move on.
I was rather sickened last night when the entire evening news program was devoted to MJ. I could understand if they did a segment on it, but this was ridiculous. The last time I remember seeing the news outlets completely devoted to a single event was 9/11. Do they really think that MJ's death is as important as that?
The media tends to cater to the lowest common denominator. It's insulting that they think this is what we want.
Right there with you, Mrs. B.
:-)
Word. :)
I prefer to remember MJ as he was in the 1980s, when I (and every other grade schooler I knew) was trying to figure out the moonwalk and who really did the "Thriller" dance the best. I don't want to remember him as the sad, deviant mess he became.
I feel for his family, particularly his children, but please, let's all move along. There's nothing here to see anymore.
-Krista :)
I agree completely. The few people on my facebook feeds, etc that dared to point out that no one was caring about the atrocities in Iran & everywhere else, but were devestated by a millionaire (at least?) of questionable behavior were ripped apart (I had a similar status but my friends new better than to mess with me)! My libran nature made sure I went and snapped back at all of them.. but one friend of a friend ACTUALLY SAID
"MJ made music that touched the world! He was incredibly successful. What did those other people do?"
My stomach hurt for the rest of the night.
Also, what I don't get is why everyone my age is so devestated. We're 20ish, he has only made one album in the past 10 years.. I don't think any of us ever really saw his music videos on TV.. thriller is the only song of his i can even think about. I know there'd be some fans still ( i mean, i love the beatles ) but i think so much of their grief is just completely shallow and "i saw him on the news a lot! He's famous! I heard his songs a few times! This is a tragedy!" People who were around for his heyday I can understand much more...
I am not a great pop music fan so i never really liked his music! But i did n't know he was pedophile and the buzz around his death depressed me now i am just disqusted!
I'm so with ya!
We were listening to the radio yesterday about this new green-bill and couldn't believe the amount of MJ hoopla there was on there!
It's like... How dare you speak about government and the state of the nation on the day Michael Jackson died! (totally being sarcastic here!!)
Yeah, I have hidden out from the TV b/c of this. How hypocritical of themedia too! For the longest time he was wacko jacko the weirdo. I say who knows what was going on his life? Only he did and its his business (unless of course he was hurting someone else). He was not a happy soul and seemed to be in much turmoil. Now the guy dies and the media has all but sainted him! He's on a pedestal so high that no one can reach him. Its crazy and I avoid hype-media like the plague.
amen mrs b. as my hubby said this am... geesh, you'd think elvis had died again.
So very very true! I haven't turned on my TV and have been keeping my internet usage to a minimum until this all passes. The whole world closing down over the death of a pop start while people are being butchered makes me sick.
This little webcomic that I found today made me smile, so I thought I'd share:
http://stereotypist.livejournal.com/131545.html
Well said Mrs.B. you are right...where are the news stories about the atrocities in the middle east or all the parentless children anywhere other then Neverland?
the reaction to MJ's death is mindboggling and disheartening.
As a person who said it's ill to speak of the dead I will say this:
Speaking negatively of him is still speaking about him, which still boosts the number of results for MJ in an internet search. If you're sick of hearing and seeing about him, stop writing (good things, bad things....anything).
As for the child molestation thing...I'm close to my boyfriend's children. I can NOT imagine taking money over making sure that anyone who touches those children in the wrong way ends up in prison with a girlfriend named Bubba. Or dead. Either one would work for me. Getting rich would not.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion (I'm sure you're familiar with that saying about everyone having opinion amongst other things). I don't think it's any reason to run for the internet, just to seek out that which you would rather see. Enjoy the sunshine and your upcoming vacation.
I totally agree with that. Celebrities die like everyone else. Yet America is so focused on what's happening with celebrities such as Jon and Kate's divorce and Michael Jacksons death that they don't even think twice about the little girl who is STILL missing here in florida, or the soldiers in Iraq who risk their life everyday.
The media sucks.
As a pagan mama, am I allowed to give you an amen?! When Princess Diana died I understood the Medias' field day...the people of the world loved her because she did good things. While MJ made good music back in the day, I'm over hearing about how upset, devastated and depressed people are over a former pop star dying. I feel horrible for his kids.. but that's about that.
SacredAngel, first off, I want to make sure you know when I made the comment about "speaking ill of the dead" it was not directed at you. I've seen it several places, and I wasn't trying to point fingers at any particular person.
And yes, everyone has an opinion (and an a-hole, lol!), and I totally respect everyone's right to have it. My issue is more with the media portrayal of the man, not with people's individual feelings of him. Everyone has the right to feel how they feel.
I do have to say, though, if it wasn't a pay off, why did Jackson pay his accusers family $20 million dollars? That's a heck of a lot of money to pay someone who "wrongly" accused you.
If he had not paid 2 different families off, my opinion might be different.
I avoid the news other than NPR the rest if fluff and controlled (ie crap) so I actually get wind of news stories online (twitter facebook lol) because NPR only happens in the car.
It is sad that so much is going on and not many really know about it. But thats the problem again with the media ... or not problem so much as their JOB to keep us in the dark - sheeple
I miss seeing you on twitter
Hear! Hear! And let us be done with it!
Mrs. B, I totally agree. I lost my mother, the most caring, wonderful woman on the planet, 4 months ago and there was no hoopla about that. No matter that she touched hundreds of lives, no matter that she left a family and a community devastated..no matter that I will never be the same...
I am sorry for Michael's family and friends but really, his death was no more important than that of the "regular" man or woman.
I totally agree with you. What has he done since the 80's that should be honored?
Agreed! I follow your blog, and this is the first time I really feel compelled to speak up. I don't like to hear about MJ constantly. As a journalism major @ university (almost done, hooray!) I understand that people are upset about not getting more news... but: surveys/polls/studies/you name it show that really *is* what the majority of the public wants. Thats why in a supermarket there are more tabloids than news magazines (as in, more Us, Enquirer,etc.. vs. Newsweek & Time).
I also would like to see more real news, but know that is not going to happen in the near future.
A good site for old fashioned investigative journalism:
propublica.org
I am pretty much like you - my prayers go out to his family - but I cannot stand changing channels and he is on every single one - speak on sistah~
Ha, I did the same.
Funny thing was that I had my fill in the first 15 or 20 minutes after we found out b/c I was helping my hubby pull things together for his job. Incidentally, the MJ coverage had the highest amount of hits and was the most popular content on his sites. I'm over it, now.
Thank you for saying this! I couldn't agree more. It's amazing how people gloss over the past when people die. Why don't truly amazing people in our society who do good get this much media attention?
Post a Comment