In recent days, ten to be exact, I’ve been enthralled in the world of Michael Jackson. You may have noticed the number of MJ posts since his passing on June 25, 2009. There was more enlightening information about the man that I was tempted to post but decided not to so I wouldn’t bombard the blog with MJ all day. However, I felt my first written post about Mr. Jackson wasn’t enough. I have learned more about the man behind the music since that day and became more inspired and amazed by him. I also felt guilty.
He was truly misunderstood and believe me, I know what that feels like–it’s annoying, it’s hurtful and it’s frustrating. And like so many Americans, I, too, misunderstood Michael Jackson. No, I didn’t think he was a child molester. However, I didn’t rule out the possibility either. I just didn’t want to believe it for there was no true evidence from the two cases and I just didn’t want to think that he did it and fall into the media’s sensationalism.
Nevertheless, I did wonder about his seemingly bizarre behavior and his endless love for children and child-like things. I did wonder about his skin color and the ever changing structure of his face. I did ponder over his career and how much love and respect he received during the Thriller and Bad era versus the Dangerous and Invincible era. I wasn’t that excited about the comeback tour. I guess, in a sense, I wasn’t paying that much attention to Michael Jackson. I didn’t know the man at all and like I said in another post, I was not a fanatic. I only appreciated the music and the performance. The rest was up to interpretation.
Sadly, I didn’t realize how brilliant, caring and interesting this man was, and still is in spirit, until after his transition. I read and listened to a speech he did at Oxford University in 2001, which I didn’t know about until after June 25th. It was truly a raw, honest and beautiful speech. It made me laugh and cry. It also made me realize how wrong I was about him. He didn’t do anything to those kids. He couldn’t possibly harm a child. He loves children too much to ever do that. He even said in an interview that he would slit his wrists before hurting a child in any way.
Even though I’ve never fault him for those charges, I still felt extremely guilty after that speech, almost to the point of feeling slightly sick to my stomach. To be excuse of such a heinous act and to have almost everyone look at you differently, to one degree or another, must have been the most painful feeling. To be rumored of not liking who you are over and over again due to a disease that couldn’t be controlled must have been frustrating. To be constantly questioned about it and to be constantly not believed had to have been a nightmare. To be put in a situation where you are trying to do the best by these children by providing them their childhood with unconditional love and support, financial and otherwise, to only be subjected to their parents’ greed must have been heart wrenching. To be labeled as “wacko,” a “freak” and other negative names must have hurt like hell. And to know that there is a possibility that all of this was happening due to the extreme success of a talented, intelligent Black man, who outsmarted the big honchos in the music industry, made him believe that it was a conspiracy against him and rightly so.
He was not perfect at all. He had flaws. He made mistakes. To his omission, he compensated the lack of childhood in his early years by building Neverland Ranch and having friendships with children. He outbid a friend, Paul McCartney for the publishing rights of Beatles songs and might have married Lisa Marie Presley for the wrong reasons. He was addicted to painkillers at one point in his life. He also had too many unnecessary cosmetic surgeries on his nose. He said things that would be deemed questionable. He did things that most would say is odd and eccentric. He was a human being in all its complexity.
I don’t want to make him appear to be a saint but I do believe wholeheartedly that his intentions were good in his music and in his personal life. He wanted to end the mistreatment of true artists in the music business, especially Black artists. He wanted to help heal the world through an initiative of rebuilding the parent/child relationship. He spoke out against racism, injustice, police brutality, greed and other social issues that America still haven’t dealt with, through song, speeches and interviews. As one of his bodyguards said, he was the most misunderstood person in the world.
Michael said in one interview that if a lie is told over and over again, you will begin to believe it. He also said that the truth will outlive a lie. I think with his recent transition, people are finally seeing the truth and appreciating the music, the dance and the man of Michael Jackson.
And I have a funny feeling that he would forgive us all for misunderstanding him while he was here on this Earth.
R.I.P. Michael.
Filed under: Music | 14 Comments
Tags: Jacksons 5, June 25 2009, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson on Sony Records and Tommy Mottola, Michael Jackson on the music industry, Michael Jackson speech in Oxford University, Michael Jackson Vitiligo, MJ
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That exactly how I feel about it.
Wow!!! *Lets Have A Moment of Silence*
Have A Blessed Day!
JNEL & J.
http://jnelj.wordpress.com/
R.I.P. Michael Jackson ♥
Very similar to what I feel. I am so upset with the whole story, I just cannot move on. I even feel bad physically. When I read his Oxford speech I could not believe it was written by him. There is a lesson in this story, but do we ever learn.
I would say my experience has been much the same as the authors’ regarding my thoughts toward Michael when alive–now am shocked to find quite a bit of depth to some real grief for his sudden death. Most of my friends don’t feel the same, but my mother does! Thanks for the text to that Oxford speech–I will keep to read for comfort. I know that my understanding while he was alive could not have made any difference for him, but if I can emulate just a bit of his spirit, that may be the best I can do.
I agree with the author. I read his Oxford speech and was deeply moved by him. The speech reflected his thoughts and his heart. He was gentle, kind and in-depth. His songs are an inspiration to mankind. He was a true genius. No one could live his life … the pain he went through… yes inspite of all that he could still find in his heart to love the world…
Thanks for reading guys! Really appreciate it. And please feel free to pass on all the links in this post.
i’m late with all of this… but i just can’t believe everyone acts as if they didn’t see this all coming. i mean if you look at photos of him in his last days, he looked like death. it looked as if he would turn to dust at any given moment. with that said, it is a travesty, and an immense loss for the music industry, the jackson family, and the fans.
What a beautiful post, that is exactly how I feel. You took the words out of my mouth. I URGE ppl to understand that the MEDIA is mostly DESTRUCTIVE, especially the American media.
I so wholeheartedly agree with what you wrote, I can’t even put it into words. Like Griselle said, you took the words right out of my mouth too.
Earlier today I, too, read & listened to his Oxford speech for the first time…and then I just cried so pathetically much.
Like you, I wasn’t a diehard fan in the past, but I did have huge respect for him and, without being able to explain why, I would’ve bet my right arm he did never harm a child. After hearing this speech and learning (like you) so many other things about the person he was though, I can’t even describe how much my respect and appreciation for him has grown.
What has also grown is my anger though. This speech and a long list of other things (and what they clearly tell us about him) show what was remarkable about Michael Jackson, what made him stand out from billions of human beings the most. Not only the music, not his surgeries, not the countless lies the media spread, not his “strange” appearances in public..but only his kindness, his unshakable love for and belief in mankind and his intelligence. Not with a single word did this ever get mentioned in the media. And we, we consider ourselves adults, immune to naivity, open-minded, “unbrainwashable”..but we allowed the media to fool us about this man. We might well not have believed every lie, but we let them hide the real person from us, completely, what he stood for, what he was *about*. We (or most of us) thought of us as intelligent, nice human beings because we didn’t join in the accusations, but we basically never could be arsed to spend half an hour online doing some non-tabloid research on Michael Jackson. I’m convinced it wouldn’t have failed to teach us, those who, like you and me, start to realise all this now, that lesson that we are learning now and that does but come with this saddening aftertaste of guilt; the word that you so rightly used.
Like you, though, something tells me that he would forgive us. And therefore I also believe that it’s not too late to “spread the word” now, to help him be understood finally.
Wow, I didn’t expect to get so many responses. This is a lot for this blog. lol Anyway, I’m happy that others can relate. I’m still on my MJ high. And what you said Michelle is so true. I typically like to think I’m open-minded about things but little did I know how close-minded I was about him and the media’s manipulation. It truly is like a mind game with the media and it’s a destructive mind game, as Giselle so greatly pointed out. Everything influences everything to one degree or another and when we were constantly bombarded with this child molestation stuff, I think it’s fair to say that many of us, who weren’t fanatics or true friends and family of MJ’s, questioned his innocence at least once in our heads. However, it’s not just the case. It’s everything. The whole “freakshow” that they built around MJ is something we fell for as well to one degree or another; when in fact, the media is the freakiest freak show of them all if you think about it. Look at what they promote. Look at what they sell to us every single day. Look at what they focus on in local, national and international news, especially in America. Look at all the negative energy they throw out there. It’s not right at all. And MJ was trying to throw out more love and peace to the world through his music, his art and his humanitarian efforts. Like I said in the original piece, he was not perfect at all. He is a human being after all but I think he meant well and the media didn’t mean well at all with MJ.
I’ve also been thinking about the spiritual aspects of MJ’s death. What it could be signaling and all that stuff. That’s another blog for another day. lol
He was indeed a wonderful human been. Thank you for the beautiful words written. I pray to God that the truth will prevail soon and that the whole world will know that he did not do anything wrong to those kids. I wish they, now grown up men, will finaly tell the truth. They owe that to him and to the world. Enough garbage has been told. RIP Michael.
Enjoy coming back here and seeing all the caring, thoughtful posts…especially since I just sorta freeze when I start thinking about larger meanings and how sad a society we have that couldn’t just bask in the beauty offered to us by a spirit like Michael’s. I bet a lot of us were caught off guard with our feelings because we were all busy, busy (I didn’t even know about the 50 dates in London!), and that tabloid stuff over the years just hit us in glancing blows that scarcely registered. Plus never had the cable TV in the house, so I really missed out on a lot of the glorious energy of his videos. I see the lesson in appreciating folks while they’re here — but that’s not enough of a lesson — want something BIGGER! All those years of the media trying to force Michael to explain himself, but when you take the the time to listen to his music, you realize he put all the essentials out there. All the other stuff—turns out that’s meaningless. So I just brought myself to something bigger in realizing how hard it is to NOT JUDGE when dealing with our fellow humans. Keeping MJ close might help! So, still relating with you, Jiovanni (& your friends here), and wondering when I will reach MJ saturation. I want to hear his voice everyday, and see every performance, etc. I can find on Youtube, but also not in possession of my own pc, so THIS could take a while
Whether Michael is gone or not..(lots of convincing conspiracy theories out there and now that I know more about him who could blame him for faking his death?)….is it not up to us to confront the Tabloid vampires and media who slandered the man over and over for money?? Not just for revenge on what they did to Michael for over 25 years but to prevent this sort of witch hunt from ever happening again. I am sickened by recent broadcasts…..the same slime that hounded him, inventing lies about his sexuality, skin condition, marriage and birthing the rumor he molested children now feast on his death .Still they rarely mention his enormous generosity to mankind or the part they played in his misery. MJ wrote numerous songs begging them to let him be. Privacy, Scream, They Don’t Care About Us, This Time Around, Stranger in Moscoe, D.S., Tabloid Junkie, Money,etc. They drove him into isolation. Thank God for his kids !!
1)Diane Dimon..makes a living off slamming MJ. Started with her “reporting” on trashy HARD COPY in late 80’s. She pushed the pedophile angle relentlessly. She now has the nerve to comment on all things Michael for equally trashy Entertainment Tonight who cowardly does not post an address, e-mail or phone number. Stop watching that show and complain to your local affiliate and to CBS. The ONLY thing these vampires understand is MONEY.
1) You can reach the blood sucker herself at: Diane@DianeDimond.net
2) You can complain to CBS regarding her employ on ET here: http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php
2) Martin Bashir…Judas, Brute`, scum extraordinaire. Was rewarded ABC’s NIGHTLINE co-anchor post for his false documentary betrayal of MJ. The piece was edited to make MJ look like a monster and D.A. Tom Sneddon admits he indicted Jackson based on that scummy work. Same slimmy lawyer and child psycologist from 1993 accusation were prompted to “try again” to milk Jackson of millions due to this fake documentary’s airing. Write ABC demanding his removal: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3428117
3) Tom Sneddon……..twice went after MJ. Retired from Santa Barbara DA office but someone must know how to reach him. His lunacy broke Michael’s heart and I fear he never recovered.
4) Nancy Grace. ………yuck. Rode the MJ trial to her own CNN show where she delivers her fact-less opinion nightly. Never did produce the “TWO CHILD PORN BOOKS FOUND AT MJ’S HOME” she referred to nightly on Court TV. This broken soul does not have a valid email contact but you can voice your opinion to CNN here: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?81
5) US MAGAZINE……..so base, so scummy, so gossip driven nothing can be believed. They make up stories. Worse than the Inquirer. Lately they stated Dr. Klein was definitly the kids real father!! Horrid people. Complain here:
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?81
6) His finatical fans. Why do you scream like an insane person when you see someone you admire?? Why rush at them like rabid animals? Weeping and nashing . Fainting ,acting bizarrely, pounding on cars??? You made it impossible for him to live like a normal human. He could not ever be alone in public or have a moments peace outside his walls. You made it impossible for him to have normal contacts and go through the steps of finding a love partner. You condemed him to hiding, using decoys and avoiding your craziness. A lifetime of entering fancy hotels via the kitchen. You are equally responsible for driving him into isolation and loneliness. You literally loved him to death. He valued your loyalty but you frightened him and kept him lonely.
LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO HIM!! Could any mere human withstand over 2 decades of constant slander?? No wonder he retreated and found confort in numbing drugs. These blood suckers took from the world a gifted human with a heart of gold. He did not deserve what they did. Voice your opinion to their boses. Withdraw any support . Do not buy thier products. If you are finatical fan , change your ways.
I didn’t know about the concerts either and like you say we were all just busy and i thought that after the trial MJ was doing well. During the trial i did go and buy a couple of cds to show my support and never believed what they said was true. You can look at him and tell he was telling the truth and i would think how can people not believe him. Knowing him he would forgive the people that did all those things to him. And he loved Lisa Marie, he didn’t marry her for the wrong reasons. His good friend said she was the love of his life. I don’t know why i am so concerned with Michael’s life and death. You could just look in his eyes and see that he was a good person. It makes me upset when people can’t see that and has for a very long time and after lots of research i see that i was right. i myself have alienated some people from my life because of negitive comments about him. It’s good to know there are still some people that can see the true side of him.