Superstar Michael Jackson Dead

[badinage]

No, this is bigger than the death of Elvis. Bigger than the shooting of John Lennon. This is seismic.

A terrible, terrible day.

He was certainly more accomplished than Lennon, and his influence around the world can hardly be comprehended.

America is brutal on its most representative, most mythic artists. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Elvis, Marilyn, Pollock, Michael ...

In the coming days, you will hear and read a lot about his demons, about the charges and the children, etc. My take is, we don't really know. We may never know. And he was, after all, acquitted.

And if we are going to excoriate Michael, fine, then let us excoriate all the others in rock and roll and show business for their monstrous misdeeds ... Jagger, for being a vile and degrading human being. Sinatra, for consorting with gangsters and abusing women. Chaplin. Woody Allen. Etc., etc.

[DieHardWizFan]

Seriously there have been few albums better than Thriller.... that being said dude was a total petterass! Read the details on the 2nd lawsuit against him and tell me you really thing he was a good guy: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0218052cbell1.html

Dude will rot in hell for touching children. I will still rock Thriller in my car when nobody else is close enough to hear me sing along. I really wish his music sucked but it totally kicks ass, it sucks to hate a phenomenal artist but touching kids will eff up a repuatation really quick.

[badinage]

Seriously there have been few albums better than Thriller.... that being said dude was a total petterass! Read the details on the 2nd lawsuit against him and tell me you really thing he was a good guy: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0218052cbell1.html

Dude will rot in hell for touching children. I will still rock Thriller in my car when nobody else is close enough to hear me sing along. I really wish his music sucked but it totally kicks ass, it sucks to hate a phenomenal artist but touching kids will eff up a repuatation really quick.

Uh, dude, leave it alone. Not cool.

[CaPtaiN eYeSaNo]

Seriously there have been few albums better than Thriller.... that being said dude was a total petterass! Read the details on the 2nd lawsuit against him and tell me you really thing he was a good guy: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0218052cbell1.html

Dude will rot in hell for touching children. I will still rock Thriller in my car when nobody else is close enough to hear me sing along. I really wish his music sucked but it totally kicks ass, it sucks to hate a phenomenal artist but touching kids will eff up a repuatation really quick.

Classless....

[DieHardWizFan]

Classless? How do you figure? Nobody gets accused of child molestation twice unless they are doing something they shouldn't. If this was the 1989 Michael Jackson then I would be really really sad but the MJ that everyone loved died a long time ago. I fail to see why the death of a child molester needs to be sugarcoated.

[CaPtaiN eYeSaNo]

Classless? How do you figure? Nobody gets accused of child molestation twice unless they are doing something they shouldn't. If this was the 1989 Michael Jackson then I would be really really sad but the MJ that everyone loved died a long time ago. I fail to see why the death of a child molester needs to be sugarcoated.

i thought he was acquitted....

In my opinion, your statement was classless.

[DieHardWizFan]

i thought he was acquitted....

So was O.J.

You might think I am classless for speaking the truth but I think you are a moron for thinking he was innocent.

[CaPtaiN eYeSaNo]

i thought he was acquitted....

So was O.J.

You might think I am classless for speaking the truth but I think you are a moron for thinking he was innocent.

I don't think what I said warranted a personal attack. However, it is my opinion that our justice system while not perfect, deserves a certain amount of respect. If some female accuses me of rape and I am exonerated of the charges by 12 of my peers, should my name be forever stained?

Whether he was guilty or not, his eccentric lifestyle made him an easy target. Heck, the plaintiff's mother was previously convicted of welfare fraud. Think that she wasn't after cash?

Be careful when claiming that your opinions are the truth. The facts simply do not support that. While my opinions may differ from yours, do not start with the name calling. It's classless.

[DieHardWizFan]

Whether he was guilty or not, his eccentric lifestyle made him an easy target. Heck, the plaintiff's mother was previously convicted of welfare fraud. Think that she wasn't after cash?

Be careful when claiming that your opinions are the truth. The facts simply do not support that. While my opinions may differ from yours, do not start with the name calling. It's classless.

Since the mother rejected repeated settlement attempts I am not so sure that financial gain was her #1 goal.... Since Jackon settled with the first accuser for a staggering sum it is quite probable that he had lots to hide. Read the link I posted where the stewardess testifies that Jackson got this cancer-ridden child drunk on wine while on a private plane, was she convicted of welfare fraud? Look nobody will know with 100% certaintly that Jackson touched kids since nobody else was there when it allegedly happened, but any person with a functioning brain is still able to draw their own conclusion from the evidence and the evidence definitely suggests he was a child molester. Sorry for the personal attack but the MJ defenders during that trial repulsed me, they put their fandom ahead of what was right and wrong.

[P'Oed]

look, maybe this is a bit of a stretch but if God forbid something happened to Kobe would we all be concentrating on rape allegations right now? Because I think most of us would put that aside and cherish the memories we had of him on the court. People need to stop focusing on the negative and give the positive a try. This guy did so many great things, not only for music but for people in general. He was a humanitarian who made us aware of world plight (We Are The World) and did many great things for countries across the world. If you can listen to some of his songs without getting a little sad or teary eyed perhaps you don't really realize the impact that this guy had on pop culture. Saying things like "he should burn in hell for touching dem kids" doesn't make you sound cool, it makes you sound like you don't have any brains. We don't know what happened and we never will. All we can concentrate on is what we know: the guy was an icon.

[barelyawake]

Again, not an MJ apologist, but:

A) I knew a kid once who claimed he was taken to a teacher's home, when he wasn't. He had no reason to lie. He just made it up, because it literally couldn't have happened. To this day, I have no idea why he said that. I say this to show you have no idea what kids will say or do.

B) Understand how Michael was raised. He was raised getting drunk as a kid; watching people have sex in his room; and, being beaten by his father. So, "normal" for him is different than you. You assume he's getting children drunk to abuse them. I believe he was because it's normal to him. He always drank as a kid. He envisioned himself as a kid still, and he got drunk. Why couldn't they (following his way of thinking)?

C) MJ strikes me as particularly asexual. I believe he was trapped in childhood, where sex isn't even an issue. I do think playing naked is a large possibility. The guy had issues. But hate to break it you ya, every genius does. Otherwise, they would be well-adjusted people. And well-adjusted people don't create great art. They have no reason or need to. Plato and Socrates had sex with boys. Again, that's not to excuse anything -- far from.

D) In terms of that stewardess, phrases like "You know, he didn't have good taste in wine. He like yucky Kendall Jackson..." and "He was a weird kid" don't instill confidence in me that she is an objective witness, nor a piercing intellect. Though again, getting a kid drunk isn't that big of a deal to me. Especially when filtered through the distorted lens of Michael Jackson's world.

That said, I do believe that Michael had "inappropriate" contact with minors. But, I don't believe it was sexual. That's my speculation. But, love the sinner and hate the sin. And don't speak ill of a man who just died. Give those who cared about him (BTW, I'm not one of those, just to clarify) their day. I just respect the hell out of what he achieved. And I also think he's a tragic figure in American history. As one comedian said (paraphrasing), "When you look at Michael Jackson's messed up nose and bleached skin, understand that he did that FOR YOU."

[barelyawake]

Fine you prick... F' off....

[doclinkin]

Whoo. I'm crying from laughing. Funny.

[barelyawake]

Doc, are you attempting to say my girlfriend doesn't have a good sense of humor, because I can easily guide her your way...