I shouldn't be surprised by the number of angry and hateful responses to the news and coverage about Michael Jackson’s death. People will never cease to amaze and disappoint me. A white supremacist (James von Brunn) kills an innocent black man (Stephen Tyrone Jones) and within my Facebook community, (which has significant differences from my real community of friends) hardly anyone was outraged enough to go public on fb. My own rantings on fb about von Brunn were due to the encounters he had with the local citizenry when he lived in my small town. In spite of his venomous, racist laden comments to various people, their reactions were relatively passive, including the art gallery owner who von Brunn pulled a gun on. The locals treated von Brunn like an annoying mosquito. So when I posed the following question on fb: Would von Brunn have been treated the same way had he been black? the only real discussions that came out of that question was one with my brother, whose comments were thoughtful, compassionate and intelligent; and one that was more a reaction than a response, from a “friend” whose comments were thoughtless, harsh, imbecilic and revealed a racist slant.
And now Michael Jackson’s death has people openly in public and on Facebook spewing forth vitriolic comments, many of which seem to stem from the belief that MJ was guilty of being a child molester. A jury of mostly white people, and eight of them parents, found him not guilty, yet an abundance of public opinion believe him to be guilty, along with comparing MJ’s trial to OJ’s trial which is absurd and there is no comparison, for several reasons, one being the make-up of the juries. So could these hateful reactions also emanate from racism? Homophobia?
The most disturbing haters are the ones who attend church every Sunday. WTF is being preached on Sundays in America’s churches if people are so intolerant, lack so little compassion and are openly hateful?! Recently I had a conversation with a friend who attends church weekly and sends her children to the local (predominately white) Catholic school. She accused someone we knew of being gay and the rancor of her accusation was shocking. My gaydar is pretty good, so I’m about 99% positive she’s wrong. But it was the disdain in her face, the sneer on her lips and the hate in her voice as she said, “He’s a queen!!” This was another perfect example of the one of a million reasons why I left the Catholic church and made a conscious decision not to subject my child to the hypocrisy, ignorance and intolerance of that religion. Dontcha just love the irony of Catholics hating MJ because they believe he's a child molester? Countless priests have molested countless children, yet MJ is the ultimate demon. Needless to say, this friend had only negative comments about MJ’s death. I was with her when I heard the news. It was hard enough to process the news that came via a text to a 12 year old, so its validity was questionable, but I also had to listen to her negativity.
Once the news was verified, the depth of my sadness was surprising. For me, the significance of the music of the Jackson 5 and MJ was similar to the Beatles. I was 13 when "I Want You Back" became a hit - Rachel's age. It's hard to imagine that Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Bros. will follow her into her 20s, like MJ did with me. His music as a solo artist represented a different time of my life – dance clubs, parties - which evokes memories that always bring a smile to my face. MJ’s music contributed to the soundtrack of my life for over two decades.
Michael Jackson’s life appeared to be fraught with personal demons. When he stopped looking like the Michael Jackson I grew up with, it was almost like experiencing his death. The adorable childhood and adolescent face was replaced with a face almost unrecognizable. His physical alterations represented one those demons. I'm no shrink, but to change your looks so drastically is not something you do if you like yourself.
Regardless of his demons, MJ the entertainer deserves our respect for his talents. His life and death should be revered, not disrespected with anger and hate. He achieved more success and recognition before he was 30….more than most people do in a lifetime. His music was joyful and often wistful, much like the way he was often perceived. Watching MJ dance was always a treat – a pop version of Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly. He will be remembered for a long time, but hopefully not as a troubled soul or, as many now want to believe, the child molester who got away, but as a gifted entertainer whose music could inspire even the rhythmically challenged to get up and dance.
And MJ’s death has reminded me that it’s time to do a little weeding in my life, because life is too short to have even one hateful, intolerant, racist, homophobic person in my life.
Another very insightful & well written piece. I am very sad that MJ's life ended in such tragedy -- I can't even imagine what his kids will go through as his life is sorted out. Too bad that talent & fame brings so much pain sometimes.
I agree that getting rid of the negative, ignorant & draining folks in our life's is an absolute MUST!! Life is short & we must bring as much joy & hope to others as we can muster......and to ourselves!!!!
Posted by: Pamela | June 30, 2009 at 09:36 PM