"Hold me... like a River Jordan..."
My friend from SF, David Manning states:
my last status message implied that i had a shred of respect for michael jackson, but i actually don't. What was he? A singer that didn't write most of his own songs or play any of his own instruments. A dancer who didn't do his own choreography. An entertainer who bowed to the dictates of his producers, record label executives and corporate sponsors (until he self-destructed and they dumped him like toxic waste). He was only called the "king of pop" because mtv was paid millions of dollars by pepsi and his other owners in the recording industry to refer to him exclusively as such. and speaking of that, he was a corporate shill who helped sell a worthless, harmful product that goes a long way toward keeping millions of african americans fat and diabetic (two conditions which affect african americans at a disproportionately high rate). i don't mind that he tried to remain a child his whole life, i wish i had the means to do the same, but whether or not he really did suck that little boy's dick, the fact that he put a child in the position to be dragged through that nightmare of a media and legal circus in the first place is reprehensible enough. i hope the story of his death doesn't take up too many news cycles while so much real tragedy is happening in the world.
but i am really interested in seeing what he has done with his corpse.
-DM
(the comments were as follows)
*i also thought about your earlier post and wondered how much respect you thought was due. I had decided that very little was due and that you worded it just fine.-PB
*But!!! Sequined glove!!!! IT'S THE COOLEST!!!!!-SS
*i know, he had one awesome glove and a great voice. and then?-DM
*I don't know, I know some people are acting like it's awesome that he's dead and I'm just not ok with that. I'm alright with being satirically heartbroken for entertainment purposes. But I don't like the idea of any sort of death before redemption. Death is too... too permanent. What is funny is that people fail to realize that he didn't have a ...decent song after 'Remember The Time' and when I thought about it, I think I was more of a fan of the choreographer. What was his name again? But shit, he was awesome!-Bree Conklin (Meeeh)
*well - don't forget to BLAME the parents of the Kid in 2004 (when he went to trial the second time on criminal charges). His parents brought him there KNOWING what the past allegations were. they wanted their 15 minutes of fame and a chance at a whole lot of money....that is far more sickening to me (as a parent). you should NEVER KNOWINGLY put ... your kid in a position to be harmed, and that is exactly what they did. there are many entertainers memorialized, idolized, worshipped, etc., who never wrote a song in their life and weren't half the entertainer he was and who's music didn't carry half the postiive messages his did. he broke down barriers and opened the door for many african american artists. was he a perfect human being, absolutely not. I'm with Bree, it isn't "awesome" that he's dead.-LCR
*i agree that it's not awesome he's dead. think honestly about how many people in our circles reacted with mean-spirited glee when ronald reagan died. that wasn't cool, either, but i didn't hear any of my friends protesting that. i'm not celebrating his dying at all, but i am saying that i don't think he deserved even half of the adulation that's.. being heaped on him now that he's gone. as far as talent goes, he was a very good singer, and as far as i'm concerned that's about it. prince has more talent in his left pinky than michael had in his whole life (and i dislike prince the person even more than i disliked michael jackson). and once again, i've always imagined michael would have something spectacular done with his body when he died, just to show the world one final time what an entertainer (and egotist) he was. but with his $400 million in debt and the fact they're doing an extensive autopsy, it seems like it might just be a regular burial for mr. jackson.-DM
*you're wrong, he was actually 500 million dollars in debt. and yeah, he was an egomaniac but at the same time he was very lonely and sick. and i sympathize with that, greatly. being that i was a teacher, i am strongly opposed to what he may have done but at the same time. i do wish that he would have lived long enough so we could find truth and he ... could have sought out the help he needed. there are people angrily saying that he should burn for what he did but i think he was and has been burning, metaphorically anyway. it's all just really, really sad. but then again, i sympathize with serial killers so what do i know? he was sick... he needed help and never got it and now, he never will.-Bree Conklin (Me!)
*haha thanks bree, i had to let my team of fact checkers go due to the slow economy. i'm scoopin what you're poopin about sympathy, and i'll meet you halfway on michael... i never had any sympathy for him and i still don't, but i do have some pity for him. he sure didn't seem to be a person at peace with himself or the world, not even close, and ... for that i would pity him. but i just can't feel sympathy for him when he had enough money to buy his own staff of world class mental health professionals, and access to any support structure he needed (lack of family support is no excuse for some of the things he did, IMO). the fact that i dislike how he made so many of his millions doesn't improve my outlook any. but really i'm just not that focused on what he did in his personal life, i didn't know him. like most people i only know him as a public figure--a professional entertainer and a celebrity--and as a public figure i just didn't respect him at all. good singer though.-DM
*you know, on the subject of family and to kind of toss aside my own judgments. my friend bill did point out the fact that, all of his other brothers were raised in the exact same lighting and were beat by his father and all of them turned out to be relatively normal, as far as the alleged molestation of kids goes. but you know, maybe this is what his 'come back' was all about and the optimist in me would like to think he was seeking out treatments in betwixt touring and reinventing himself. or maybe he would have eventually confessed and killed himself. the world will never know. nonetheless, thanks for the scoop on my poop.-Bree Conklin
*word. and i've never spent so much time talking (typing) about him before, so there you go: i'm caught up in the new michael jackson mania too!-DM
******
So there's that, some of my opinion... and then last night I was on the phone with my friend Bill in NY and we argued and argued and in the end only sort of found a happy medium, then it turned into huge discussions about God and sociopaths... and in the end, it's just not worth it, so that's just my two cents.
my last status message implied that i had a shred of respect for michael jackson, but i actually don't. What was he? A singer that didn't write most of his own songs or play any of his own instruments. A dancer who didn't do his own choreography. An entertainer who bowed to the dictates of his producers, record label executives and corporate sponsors (until he self-destructed and they dumped him like toxic waste). He was only called the "king of pop" because mtv was paid millions of dollars by pepsi and his other owners in the recording industry to refer to him exclusively as such. and speaking of that, he was a corporate shill who helped sell a worthless, harmful product that goes a long way toward keeping millions of african americans fat and diabetic (two conditions which affect african americans at a disproportionately high rate). i don't mind that he tried to remain a child his whole life, i wish i had the means to do the same, but whether or not he really did suck that little boy's dick, the fact that he put a child in the position to be dragged through that nightmare of a media and legal circus in the first place is reprehensible enough. i hope the story of his death doesn't take up too many news cycles while so much real tragedy is happening in the world.
but i am really interested in seeing what he has done with his corpse.
-DM
(the comments were as follows)
*i also thought about your earlier post and wondered how much respect you thought was due. I had decided that very little was due and that you worded it just fine.-PB
*But!!! Sequined glove!!!! IT'S THE COOLEST!!!!!-SS
*i know, he had one awesome glove and a great voice. and then?-DM
*I don't know, I know some people are acting like it's awesome that he's dead and I'm just not ok with that. I'm alright with being satirically heartbroken for entertainment purposes. But I don't like the idea of any sort of death before redemption. Death is too... too permanent. What is funny is that people fail to realize that he didn't have a ...decent song after 'Remember The Time' and when I thought about it, I think I was more of a fan of the choreographer. What was his name again? But shit, he was awesome!-Bree Conklin (Meeeh)
*well - don't forget to BLAME the parents of the Kid in 2004 (when he went to trial the second time on criminal charges). His parents brought him there KNOWING what the past allegations were. they wanted their 15 minutes of fame and a chance at a whole lot of money....that is far more sickening to me (as a parent). you should NEVER KNOWINGLY put ... your kid in a position to be harmed, and that is exactly what they did. there are many entertainers memorialized, idolized, worshipped, etc., who never wrote a song in their life and weren't half the entertainer he was and who's music didn't carry half the postiive messages his did. he broke down barriers and opened the door for many african american artists. was he a perfect human being, absolutely not. I'm with Bree, it isn't "awesome" that he's dead.-LCR
*i agree that it's not awesome he's dead. think honestly about how many people in our circles reacted with mean-spirited glee when ronald reagan died. that wasn't cool, either, but i didn't hear any of my friends protesting that. i'm not celebrating his dying at all, but i am saying that i don't think he deserved even half of the adulation that's.. being heaped on him now that he's gone. as far as talent goes, he was a very good singer, and as far as i'm concerned that's about it. prince has more talent in his left pinky than michael had in his whole life (and i dislike prince the person even more than i disliked michael jackson). and once again, i've always imagined michael would have something spectacular done with his body when he died, just to show the world one final time what an entertainer (and egotist) he was. but with his $400 million in debt and the fact they're doing an extensive autopsy, it seems like it might just be a regular burial for mr. jackson.-DM
*you're wrong, he was actually 500 million dollars in debt. and yeah, he was an egomaniac but at the same time he was very lonely and sick. and i sympathize with that, greatly. being that i was a teacher, i am strongly opposed to what he may have done but at the same time. i do wish that he would have lived long enough so we could find truth and he ... could have sought out the help he needed. there are people angrily saying that he should burn for what he did but i think he was and has been burning, metaphorically anyway. it's all just really, really sad. but then again, i sympathize with serial killers so what do i know? he was sick... he needed help and never got it and now, he never will.-Bree Conklin (Me!)
*haha thanks bree, i had to let my team of fact checkers go due to the slow economy. i'm scoopin what you're poopin about sympathy, and i'll meet you halfway on michael... i never had any sympathy for him and i still don't, but i do have some pity for him. he sure didn't seem to be a person at peace with himself or the world, not even close, and ... for that i would pity him. but i just can't feel sympathy for him when he had enough money to buy his own staff of world class mental health professionals, and access to any support structure he needed (lack of family support is no excuse for some of the things he did, IMO). the fact that i dislike how he made so many of his millions doesn't improve my outlook any. but really i'm just not that focused on what he did in his personal life, i didn't know him. like most people i only know him as a public figure--a professional entertainer and a celebrity--and as a public figure i just didn't respect him at all. good singer though.-DM
*you know, on the subject of family and to kind of toss aside my own judgments. my friend bill did point out the fact that, all of his other brothers were raised in the exact same lighting and were beat by his father and all of them turned out to be relatively normal, as far as the alleged molestation of kids goes. but you know, maybe this is what his 'come back' was all about and the optimist in me would like to think he was seeking out treatments in betwixt touring and reinventing himself. or maybe he would have eventually confessed and killed himself. the world will never know. nonetheless, thanks for the scoop on my poop.-Bree Conklin
*word. and i've never spent so much time talking (typing) about him before, so there you go: i'm caught up in the new michael jackson mania too!-DM
******
So there's that, some of my opinion... and then last night I was on the phone with my friend Bill in NY and we argued and argued and in the end only sort of found a happy medium, then it turned into huge discussions about God and sociopaths... and in the end, it's just not worth it, so that's just my two cents.