MJ
Okay I wasn’t going to say anything. I wasn’t going to rant about this. I was just going to let this slide, because I’m 42 weeks pregnant and so focused on bringing my child into the world that keeping up with current events shouldn’t even be on my radar screen. But I’m realizing that I just can’t let this one go. So it’s time for a rant. This one is about Michael Jackson.
First I would like to thank my child for not entering the world on the same day that Michael Jackson left it. Second, I would like to thank the heavens above for removing one more pedophile from the face of the earth before allowing my own child to enter.
And yes - there it is, the heart of this rant: WHY is our society acting so MOURNFUL over the loss of someone who was CLEARLY a child molester?? This is a man who paid off families to essentially sacrifice their children to his own sick and twisted desires. It’s NOT OKAY. Am I sorry that the guy is gone? Hell NO!
That being said, do I think he contributed something amazing to pop culture? Absofuckinglutely. There is NO question that Michael Jackson totally changed popular music, bridged some gaps between “black” and “white” music (whatever those things mean anymore), and was not only probably the first artist who figured out how to leverage MTV for his own benefit, but who figured out to market himself in a way no other artist had ever done quite so expertly either before or since. (I just happen to think the market for music has become SO fragmented at this point that we will never again experience another sensation like Michael Jackson.)
I used to be a huge fan of his. HUGE! I had all of his LPs (yes, back when they were REALLY on LP). I spent countless hours trying to replicate his dance moves as I watched them on MTV back in the day. I even still bust out a move or two when appropriate because his music, his dancing, the whole thing was just classic. But for me, his personal life quickly overshadowed his tremendous talent. I don’t care HOW talented, HOW brilliant, HOW unbelievably amazing somebody is if they prove that they simply lack basic human decency. And MJ proved that. Personally I think he proved it in spades.
Let’s FACE it people: the guy was seriously fucked up. And for that, I do feel bad for him. He clearly had parents that didn’t help his situation, and his fame and celebrity I’m sure contributed to his increasingly bizarre behavior, and that’s terrible. But neither of those things should excuse him from his bad behavior. He molested children. MOLESTED. CHILDREN. There REALLY aren’t too many crimes worse than that in my book. Now granted, he was never convicted of this. (And keep in mind that OJ was never convicted of murder EITHER, but do we think HE didn’t do it?) Michael Jackson had more than enough money back in 1993 to make sure that he WOULD NEVER be convicted. The proof is in the families that he paid off. (And yes, there is hard evidence of this. There is also hard evidence that those payoffs included some seriously tight gag orders for both the families AND Michael Jackson.) So does anyone REALLY believe that he didn’t molest those children? REALLY?
So I get SO fired up about this because every freakin’ “tribute” or “memorial” or other sort of sentimental reference to the guy simply MAKES ME SICK. I just have SUCH a hard time feeling like the world has lost something or someone great. I think the time for mourning was back in 1993 when the truth about MJ came out and those of us who thought he was some sort of genius had our starstruck haze wiped out in an instant. As much as I loved his music back in the 80s, I simply couldn’t bring myself to listen to anything he created after his sketchy personal life became so evident. And I’ve honestly felt a little guilty when enjoying the music he released before I knew what a sick person he was. For me, it’s all tarnished. I guess good character is just far too important in my book.
So I, for one, will not be getting on board with the tributes and the memorials and the general love-fest currently going on over MJ’s death. I can’t do it. I won’t. Instead I will be thinking about how difficult this must be for his family to suddenly lose somebody they love in such a public way (and to have to deal with the kind of sick baggage he left behind). And I will also be thinking about all of those children back in the late 80s and early 90s whose sick parents took payouts to sacrifice their innocence. At least now they can breathe easier knowing that their perpetrator is no longer on this earth.
