Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Friday, June 26, 2009

MICHAEL JACKSON

died tragically young yesterday. And the cable news stations have been awash in "All Michael All The Time" since the report of his hospitalization and subsequent death.

We're sorry for his children and his family. Condolences to them all.

But seriously.

He was an entertainer--yes, I know, a worldwide entertainer. But that's it folks.

We're getting into Princess Diana hysteria here, and it is annoying. There is no reason for this incessant coverage of Jackson, except to keep people watching for what? Everyone on the planet knows his life's story: his abusive childhood, his strange behaviors, his weird plastic surgeries, his weird marriages, his trial, his whole messy, operatic life.

Someone told me today that if Jackson's life had been lived by an ordinary person, that person would either be in jail or an asylum. Maybe.

The point is, he was an entertainer.

Enough of this.

CABLE NEWS STATIONS!--there are serious issues this country is facing. Michael Jackson's untimely death is not one of them.

Get a grip and act like adults instead of maudlin, self-absorbed teeny boppers.

We're sorry he's dead. He was too young. He was very, very talented.

Now can we get on with our lives?

33 comments:

Pamela Zydel said...

Shaw: I heard about it last night then immediately after I was moving on with my life. Sad, yep. But hey, I have kids to raise, a hubby to care for and a puppy to train.

Arthurstone said...

Yet another in the seemingly endless list of reasons not to own a television set.

Or a radio for that matter.

dmarks said...

Or books or magazines or newspapers, right, Arthurstone?

Joe "Truth 101" Kelly said...

That was a good comment Pamela. LMAO. You'll have to teach me how to do that without resorting to naughtiness.


This comment humbly submitted by Truth 101.

Anonymous said...

Even if Jackson wasn’t a pedophile and I truly believe that he was , he did other inappropriate things with children, like insisting that his own kids be called Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II - and shaking his baby over a high balcony railing. His extensive sleep overs with kids happened, and even in the absence of sexual acts, they were inappropriate because kids should have sleep overs with their actual peers; not with a troubled grownup trying to repair his damaged childhood by pretending he’s their peer.
Even though he turned into a “ Only God-Knows-What” later in life, he did have incredible talent that can’t be denied. Whether he actually molested the children he had sleep-overs with, he most definitely spent way to much time with them inappropriately so. And that alone made him as weird as a circus freak. 50 years old and he never grew up, and he apparently died still very messed up.

That’s what I regard as tragic
As for the constant new coverage...
I think enough is enough already.
No more pleazzzzz.

Pamela Zydel said...

My mom always said to be very careful of my actions. Because no matter how famous I could become and if my name were to ever be in lights, people would ALWAYS remember the bad things. Like, oh look there’s Pamela’s name in neon lights! But do you remember when she did that really bad such and such. Now, look at Michael Jackson. Everyone says how talented he was and what great music, etc., but then the molestation and weirdness always follows. My mom WAS right, as usual.

Truth: A little naughtiness is good. As long as it's not with some woman in Argentina. Well, if you're married and have morals, that is.

Arthurstone said...

Be nice dmarks.

Actually, not.

But I do try and avoid corporate electronic media. Studies show it makes people stupider.

cn'treadmapokereyes said...

Michael Jackson faced a series of child abuse allegations culminating in a ... prosecutors branded Jackson a serial child molester. A jury found Michael Jackson not guilty of child molesting, attempted child molesting, conspiracy and providing alcohol to minors.
"Wacko Jacko." Jackson, who had lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal on charges of child molestation Got away with murder.. He whined, cried foul and threw hissy fits and pleaded with his fans to help him (Not to mention throwing millions of dollars to the offended family) to get out of court proceedings on several occasions. I felt as though our legal system had somehow failed us when he was acquitted.
With priests molesting children,Sunday school teachers committing murder and the other problems within the church this is a pathetic form of behavior.In the first place he was invited to speak,he did not ask to come.Second, most of the Catholics supported and voted for Obama in the election according to the polls and third he doesn't support per say abortion.He's defending a woman's right to choose under special circumstance. If this display is an example of Catholicism I thank God I don't belong to it.It's a disgrace.And the reputation of this school is going downhill.Especially since you approved of Bush murdering many innocents in Iraq. Spare us this phony self righteous behavior. It's setting a bad reflection on your school and your religion.
To get back to Sicko Jackson, I think that mourning a child molester is just sick. People act like he was so wonderful. He was a sick piece of crap that hurt children. And besides that look at him....he wanted to be white and was never happy with who he was. He was a sick freak. If you don't like my comment, I couldn't care less.

Christopher said...

I imagine this is what is was like when Elvis died in 1977.

People like Michael Jackson -- so talented and larger than life, become a part of our national culture and whether logical or not, we invite them into our homes when we watch their videos, dance to their songs, and listen to them on the radio, CD player and while driving in the car.

dmarks said...

Arthur: Closing one's mind by closing off information makes one stupider. Despite what cooked/invalid "studies" say. But you need to do a better job avoiding corporate electronic media, if that is what you really are doing. Google's blogger/blogspot (what we are using here) is run by a corporation.

Matt: A celebrity child named Paris? Like that is going to lead to a normal life!

Shawn Dutton said...

The Blacks are racing to claim Jackson as their own and yet he didn't want to be Black, he did everythng possible to erase his blackness. He didn't want Black children, that was obvious.
This was a man who was a good singer, but misused his family, misused his life and misused his money or whatever he did with it. The bottom line is lets move on. His accomplishments aren't worth the two whole days news.
Oh by the way, Farrah died yesterday too. Wouldn't know it from the slobbering over a dead child molester ..
MJ was a pop icon! will miss his soul. & music But something always takes Place . The something is Race, It Jumps out! Rev. Sharpton eulogizes him For what seemed forever, Then it happened, RACE ISSUES ! this must stop! then Farrah was pushed aside ! Johnny Carson's side kick also. Can we never stop the Bull ?

gramiepat said...

Oh come on already and give us a break! This man doesn’t warrant this type of attention. Our so called leaders are getting ready to pass some of the largest tax hikes in our history and we are spending all of this time on one individual that wasn’t any more than the other celebrity’s that past away this month. Give it a break…
Ok he’s dead, and so are many, many other celebrities, most of them were much better human beings than this guy was.. What about Farrah, who was a real good person? I won’t even comment on what kind of person I think Michael Jackson was. Farrah was by far better person than Jackson and she get pushed back over a pervert!!!! does not make sense to me, are we all sick?
I am so sick and tired of the media going bonkers over such a perverted person as he was.

Now can we get on with some real news? Because, frankly I'm sick of this already..

Arthurstone said...

dmarks-

Frisky today aren't you? Avoiding broadcast or cable television news is hardly 'closing one's mind'. And thanks for the tip but I know full well Google is a 'corporation'. That as for books and newspapers and what have you I do manage to keep up.

The 'studies' are mine dmarks. I forgot the parenthesis. And my tongue is firmly in cheek. Anecdotal evidence really. My experience. I can only say that watching television news on cable or network is one of the worst uses of my time I can imagine.

Have a great weekend and no more coffee this morning for you.

joe_d said...

News reports are claiming that Michael Jackson is to be melted down and turned into toys so that children can play with him for a change.


Well he's not anyone's problem anymore, except for maybe all of the people he owed money to.

ME said...

As for Jacko -- he was a jerko -- and a pervert.......

I'm feeling in love said...

Personally My Dear... I don't give a Damn!

TAO said...

MJ was about 6 months younger than I am and I will say that seeing the Jackson 5 in concert was an awesome experience.

Personally, I do not believe MJ ever had sex with anyone....

But none of us should fool ourselves into believing that MJ was NOT a major force in our society.

If the media had been as active back in the days of Albert Einstein I am sure he would have been perceived as a freak also...

dmarks said...

However, Einstein never raped children. I don't see the point of equating MJ with AE.

Arthurstone said...

Michael Jackson was bundle of contradictions, obsessions and oddities beyond his alleged sexual habits. He was a mighty, mighty eccentric. So was Einstein.

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Arthurstone said...

Golly. It's a little like focusing on the lying, deceit and manipulations someone like Dick Cheney used to prosecute a completely unnecessary war causing the death of thousands, endless misery and costs which will continue for generations while ignoring all the good he accomplished.

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Arthurstone said...

I think the star-struck 'parents' were thrilled to walk away with millions.

dmarks said...

Arthur: Have you been engaging in a debate with deleted trolls for the past few comments?

Shaw Kenawe said...

dmarks,

I deleted those comments because they had nothing to do with the post and were personal attacks on Arthurstone.

Arthurstone said...

Yeah.

And he misspelled stoopid.

Arthurstone said...

A topic of interest might be the parenting ability of one Evan Chandler.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_child_sexual_abuse_accusations_against_Michael_Jackson

dmarks said...

Shaw: I had no doubt that you kicked the trolls in the teeth for good reason. But I just wasn't sure if that was why Arthur's conversation ended up looking oddly one-sided as a result.

As for the MJ case, I remember jurors saying that if they had been aware of the facts, they would have convicted. Sometimes actual guilt is different from court-determined guilt (OJ is another famous example). But those parents, you are right, *shudder*

puddy said...

and now Billy Mays...

why? WWWWHHHHHHYYYYY????!!!

when will this senseless dying stop?

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

"I’m really angry with them booking me up to do 50 shows. I only wanted to do ten."

One of his brothers once told me he was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was younger …

(Source)

If true about a diagnosis of schizophrenia, or even if there were an underlying mood or anxiety disorder, it would explain the blunted affect or disaffectation often observed in his public presentation of himself.

All this is a subject of conjecture and a moot point. The source article is probably on target about the role of his handlers and the “grave” disservice they rendered to him. Celebrity handlers are notorious for their callous disregard about the well being of their clients. For them, a talented celebrity is little more than a cash cow or a money tree. If the celebrity has an emotional impairment and is ill equipped to defend himself, the combination can be lethal. Under the circumstances, perhaps this was Michael Jackson’s only resolution.

Voice of Reason said...

So the sack of crap weighed 112 lbs... Wow, that's a lot of Horse Manure!

Arthurstone said...

At our cycle/spin class the evening the instructor played an hour of Jackson's music. What a talent.