Jackson Death: How do you feel about it?
 

When a politician dies, there is almost always someone who "celebrates" because they believe their politics were evil and therefore so were they. Not so much for entertainers -there are those who mourn and those who don't care. But MJ's death seeems to be hitting the full range -and getting the same coverage in the US as Princess Di's death in the UK.

So how do you feel?

I just don't care and it bums me out that we'll be hearing so much about it on the news for a while.

I think its sad, his music was fun. He had a bad rap because of the molester stuff, but I'm not sure its true. I think he acted guilty about it, doesn't mean he was. Anyway, I think he was really screwed up in the head through no fault of his own. I wonder, what will happen to the kids?

you know, mostly I'm just pissed that I had him on last year's deadpool list and not this year. I think Swayze bumped him. Or maybe Winehouse. maybe Liz will be so overcome she'll toddle off too? -then I'll get my first point!

Something else ...

Don't care.

Very surprised at first - I wasn't expecting that. Then, I'm a little sad for his kids, that they lost their dad - losing a parent is always hard.

It makes me feel a little uneasy, 'cause he was only a year older than I was.

That's about it.

I am strangely saddened, but not sure why. I found out this afternoon through my husband, so I haven't seen any sensationalization by the media or anything (yet.)

Than you were? Did you find a cure? For aging?

I respect him, but I never listened to his music often...

I can't wait for the conspiracy theories, although I can wait for the news to start fellating this a ton (well, it already has) + MJ's record sales will go through the roof.

Saddened. On the one hand, I'm certain (in my overly-cynical way) that it was a drug overdose. Right now they're calling it "cardiac arrest." You know, because cocaine does stop your heart. :rolleyes: On the other hand, I suspect he had a pretty miserable existence for the most part, and I wouldn't blame him for needing an escape.

J5 was my introduction to pop music. I was like 10 when "I Want You Back" and "ABC" and "The Love You Save" were singles. I had no idea it was Motown for Children, but that's pretty much what it was.

Michael Jackson was physically and sexually abused from a very young age.

I just think it's sad.

that's my take on it too

We'll know very soon: the coroner's report is due tomorrow 12 noon pacific time, or 15 hours from now.

I voted 'other'.

I appreciated his talent in the 80s. He was fabulous, both with his songs and dancing however his extreme antics (child sleepovers, molestation rumors/accusations, perpetual-childhood, physical appearance changes, dangling babies) really made me question his mental state. I cannot imagine what his life must have been like, and how (I feel) he snapped and decided he'd be a child forever, in addition to trying to change his appearance to be something other than how he was born. What mental anguish he must have gone through. It just wasn't normal.
I hope he is finally at peace.

If you've ever listened to the radio program Lovelines, Dr. Drew has said specifically that psychological maturation stops at the age the child was molested. I've heard him take calls and predict with frightening accuracy A.) that the caller was molested, and B.) at precisely what age.

I guess we'll never get to see his tit at the Superbowl, now. :headshake

I was surprised. had a really busy day today, and heard about it at around 6pm.

i am NOT a fan....but still.....it IS a bummer. it's like ......it's like, in my memory, he represents a period of my childhood.....but not one i identified with....one i loathed. as a Jr High kid, I HATED him. all the sycophantic minions that adored him made me ill. the height of his fame coincided with my darkest Black Sabbath/Ozzy/Metal Phase.

I grew out of that, and have recently developed a certain appreciation for the talent that he surely possessed....

And now he's gone. It's like some one else defeated your former worst enemy. Like somebody dumped your ex wife.

and yet....eh, fuck it.

I went with other. I understand his music's draw but there wasn't anything he did after childhood that particularly resonated with me. My gut reaction was one less abuser in the world. I see the effects of child abuse every day at work but as noted he was a victim as well. Bottom line it was an early end to a sad life, unfortunately the abuse doesn't stop with him. Lil' Pete had the best line, "Good riddance, God rest his soul."

I know a large portion of folks think he was guilty. I don't know. I really don't. For one thing, I've always wondered about the parents who allowed sleepovers when his urges, for want of a better word, were in question. That seems suspicious to me, not because of that starstruck mentality, but were there almost hopes for unpleasantries which could later bring large cash settlements? More specifically, did abuses actually occur? Signs point to yes, but I don't convict in my head based on what I hear in my little corner of the world.

Regardless, when I see old video of Michael when he was a little kid, belting out I'll Be There, I am just floored at his talent. Thriller was released in late 82, and during my freshman year of college in 83, you couldn't go anywhere without hearing it. He was an amazing entertainer, with the pop music and his dancing.

I think it's always sad when a pop culture icon dies. No, I didn't know him, it's not the same as losing a loved one, but part of them was part of our lives.

As was pointed out, I think he had a miserable existence too. It's just sad.

I wasn't into his music either, and can't say his death has exactly rocke dmy world, but ... yeah, it is always sad when an icon dies. There are one or two fond childhood memories that I woldnt have had he not been around: I'm thinking in particular of staying up late the night they aired the Thriller video for the first time over here. That kind of thing stays with you.

Sad chap all in all. A walking tragedy.

I was shocked, SHOCKED!, when I turned on the tv at like 8:30 and they had a teaser about an upcoming special for Farrah, which I knew about, and Michael Jackson. Then they came back to the live coverage at the hospital.

I never owned any of his music, except the duets he did on McCartney's Pipes of Peace album. I wasn't a fan, but his music was everywhere and was catchy. So I know most of it note for note. He had a hell of a lot of talent. When I hear his more popular stuff now on the radio, or wherever, I like it.

The dude was a freak. I never really thought he was guilty of being an abuser. None of the charges ever stuck, and his civil payoffs were probably just to make the accusations go away. But it's very possible I'm wrong.

I don't care that he's dead. It's just shocking.

Hahahaha! :D

I blame senility.

It was reported (FWIW) that he may have been trying to change his appearance from looking more like his father whom he despised. Does the reason someone has 500000000 facial plastic surgeries really matter? Guess not, but I just thought I'd throw it out there.


Spot on! great post.

Thats about where I am with this. I was glued to the tv for about an hour switching channels ... then I realized he was just another torn soul who, hopefully, is finally at peace.

I think it's sad that he didn't get help when he needed it. I wonder if his siblings did anything to get him some counseling.

The guy said that the Anna Nicole Smith situation was nothing compared to this. I was shocked that someone from MJ's "inner circle" came out with this the very same day he died.

I grew up listening to his music. He went from icon to traggic circus clown. I am quite surprised he lasted this long. It has been a long time coming.

I saw a special on him a few years ago, I think it was 20/20. I remember all the family members they interviewed that there was ever any abuse, or anything wrong with MJ. I also remember one point were the interviewer (barbara walters mebbe) and him were in front of a mirror, he was all distressed because he didn't want to look at himself.
He lived a very sad life.

Wasn't into his music, so I don't feel much impact.

Annoyed that the "news" is going to ignore important world events for the next 96 hours and is pretty much going to be showing nothing but tributes and inane interviews with his crying fanbase. Last night I watched as no less than a dozen fully grown men stared slack-jawed for several hours at the TV above the bar showing looping cellphone camera footage of the ambulance pulling away. Even the scrolling 9/11 ticker at the bottom of the screen had aborted normal functions to switch into Celebrity Death Mode.

CNN continues to earn #CNNFail.

don't really care.

I was gutted by the death of Nicholas Hughes.

ETA-- now they're saying MJ got a shot of Demerol at noon and it was "too much," - he got a daily shot of Demerol it seems. Was on lots of drugs...autopsy will out.

Same, except it was layne staley's death which I found so tragic I wept a whole day. Mostly for the lonley state in which he died and no fan fare, media coverage.

Superficially I wonder what makes M.J. so much more worthy.
( only for a split second and then it's back to apathy )

I don't think the media coverage is about worthiness or non-worthiness, I think it's just that people had heard of MJ.

Good question. Not unlike other institutional cases of suspected or documented child abuse, the parents either aren't aware or unable to acknowledge the potential for abuse. Some of the parents might themselves be abusers or past victims who, never having come to terms with their own victimization, just don't see what's plain as day to the rest of us. Some of the parents were so in awe of MJ that I don't think they could even conceive what might happen not to mention that he was very generous with many of the parents some of whom were of modest means.

Its as unfortunate as it is inevitable that those who seek to prey on the defenseless will always be able to find an innocent victim.

I've never been a big fan of his, or of pop music in general, but there's no denying what a big star he was, and what a big impact he had on music and dance. In particular, every hip hop, R&B, and So You Think You Can Dance type people owe a major debt to him--it was all from him.

As to his personal life--I think there was something in him that never really grew up. It was internal, as well as deliberate. I don't know if he suffered abuse, or was an abuser himself, but I think there was something off about him sexually--I never really bought his presence in the videos where he was supposed to be "bad" or "sexy."

All of this is true. However, I still see another angle. Not all parents are good ones. I believe the potential existed for the down the road accusations, whether anything untoward occurred or not. I believe it's easy to say one didn't know or were jaded by their past experiences. There are people who play victim, and who use their children to get attention and perhaps payoff in retribution for their past victimization.

This is, of course, as much speculation as is those who are sure it happened. I don't know that it did or didn't, but I think we need to look seriously at all sides of possibility.

End result is same: if abuse did indeed happen, the children were victims...this is the sad bottom line. Adults, regardless of their past or their financial situation or aspirations or even stupidity, are charged with making their children safe. It is their choice to not do so, and in my opinion, allowing sleepovers in this situation is a choice to throw the safety of their children to the wind in exchange for whatever they thought might be afforded them.

Oh now I get it: the initial autopsy report doesn't include toxicology lab work that takes a few weeks to happen.

They keep calling him the king of pop. If he ever was the king of pop, he hasn't been since thriller.

They can deny you a job if they find anything in your piss in a quickie lab test, but it takes weeks to see if there were toxins in MJ's system?

That's because it's so hard to get 'em to piss once they're dead. :D

Don't I know it!

Oh, um...ooops. :bolt:

Much different test. Pee tests are limited in scope and specificity. Hair, blood, and bone will tell the tale.

Next time a potential employer wants a piss test, I'm going to ask them to do an autopsy, for accuracy. ;)

I would just like to ask where can I go to get a daily shot of Demerol?

Coz I'm liking the Demerol. Makes the world go all fuzzy and stuff.

Doesn't seem to have worked out too well in the long run, though.

I'd travel south to be a part of the adoring grieving throng, but by the time I got there, he'd already be dead.

Doctor Who Was With Jackson Believed to Be a Cardiologist.

Well, he's more of a Doctor of Everything, but he does have two hearts.

HI, Dr. Nick!

The reactions and frenzy following any celebrity death still amazes me. His death has little to no effect on me except to make me thrilled I am not a celebrity. But some people are apparently ready to carry their grief forever.

Yeah, I find it sad, but certainly nothing to get torn up about.

Though when Gregory Peck died, I called my mom and said "Atticus died!" I found it sad, but that's about it.

Except for this tattoo...j/k.

So....tonight I had this really stupid guy in my office buying a car.

And he says...so, I'm buying my new car the day after Michael Jackson died.

And I said....well, that's one way to remember it.....
and he says.....'from food poisoning'


And I have not had time to fart, much less read the cellar for my news updates.....and I say...."Really?! is that what killed him?!"
and he says, "they found 10 year old nuts inhis mouth"

So i start laughing.....cuz i got the joke.....and he delivered it perfectly dead pan.....and i said....man...that's great....first one I've heard.......and, great delivery.....
so he just looks at me and says....'yeah....i still think it was because he was taking too many different kinds of medicine.'

so I'm like.....you get that it's a joke right?.....

and he's all like....yeah...but people take too many prescriptions....and....blah blah blah

he didn't get the joke he heard...and took it as though it was really what 'they' said

I'm still tickled

oh man, that's funny :lol:

poor guy. what extras did you sell him?

Just Gap insurance......he had bad crebbits, and was capped on what he could finance.

A friend of mine sent me this earlier today. I think that it is well put, in typical Achewood fashion.

From here...

On the Sudden Passing of Michael Jackson.
Raymond Q. Smuckles
President, Prime Time Records

It’s bad. It’s bad around here. It’s like today was fake. Even the sunlight seems staged. I wish they’d take it away.

When I got the Celebrity Death Beep on my Blackberry, I blew it off as a dumb rumor. That service is good, but I can see it makin’ mistakes. A false headline at, like, The Onion coulda’ triggered it. Michael had an eye on his health constantly. You know that about him. We all know the lengths he went to for health. Dude slept in a hyperbaric chamber. I like my health, but I ain’t gonna go that far, you know? Michael’s health was, to him, a special, magical thing. Something worth machines.

What I think a lotta folks are feelin’ now is a regret. Not regret that a man died; no. They regret that for almost three decades they been mockin’ this guy. This guy who wrote Thriller, and PYT, and Billie Jean. You know who you are, you Michael deniers, listenin’ to your The Cure or Aerosmith. You always considered Michael’s music silly. Not serious. Lame, mainstream. “Popular.” And his life — everyone gets a kick outta’ watchin’ the mighty fall. It sells paper. It makes us feel falsely superior, from our low places. Yet now, now that he’ll never sing another note, you listen to those songs anew —ABC, I Want You Back, Beat It — and you know who he was. Michael had more talent in his little finger than any act today has among four men. Try wakin’ up tomorrow and writin’ We Are The World. See what you come up with. See if you can get Stevie and Tina to come down to the studio, along with Bruce and Billy and twenty other people who cost a whole hell of a lotta money at the time.

Michael was our music. The next time you’re out alone in your car, and Smooth Criminal comes on, it’s gonna mean somethin’ different to you. You’re not gonna change it this time. You’re gonna hear it and think to yourself, “I missed knowin’ his music in the moment.” I don’t blame The Cure. That was your call. The Cure is just out there, like car horns or people who make noise when they cry. The Cure is a choice. When we hear Michael, it is not a choice to feel the beat. It is not a choice to cock your head and straighten all the fingers on your right hand.

His story went out like a light today, and now all we have is his music. He can’t make any more mistakes.* We can’t say anything bad about him anymore.**

R.I.P., Michael. You moved more wax than anybody, player.***

-=Ray Smuckles=-
Achewood Estates, CA
June 25, 2009

* Unless there is something weird in his will.
** I wish this were true.
*** Except: The Beatles (they had a huge head start), Elvis (even bigger head start), and Bing Crosby (40-year head start, and declining super-fast).

I'm just wondering how long it'll be before he's spotted at the local 7/11

that happened yesterday

Or in a piece of toast.

From Mike Yon
 

Verrrrrrrrry interesting ... but stupid.
 

Back in 2002, Michael Jackson was calling then Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola a racist and a devil in a well publicized falling out. Now [06/26/09], Tommy Mottola's current wife (he used to married to Mariah Carey), the Mexican singer-actress-entrepreneur Thalia has started a Michael Jackson tribute forum on her website. Thalia posts under the username "Lady T" on the bilingual board and here's the link: We all have a Michael Jackson Story

Via the ABC

Michael Jackson called himself the King of Pop. Okay, it was the media that made it stick, but I do think it's a cheat all the same. Like Ol' Blue Eyes. I'm trying to think up a nickname for myse;f that I can pass around too... Answers on a postcard, the judge's decision is final.

Anyway.
I've never been a Jackson fan. Didn't like the way he danced or the way he sang. His voice was too high, his trousers too tight, his pelvic thrusts and crotch-grabbing frankly unsettling. And I didn't like his enunciation. I have more misheard lyrics from Michael Jackson songs than all the rest of my misheard lyrics put together.

For example Annie are you okay as Annie are you walking and Keep on with the force don't stop as Get on to the Post Office. Even when I heard the lyrics they made little sense to me (dance on the floor in a round?)

My teen friends and I assumed he was gay. I judged him on that, because at the time I still thought it was a kind of deviancy. I laughed when he got married - what?! It was so obvious! Looking back I can still see that his style of dress, speech, dance and affectations were signs that something unhealthy was going on inside. It's just that now I have the sense to realise that being gay can be perfectly healthy, and it's unlikely to have been his issue anyway.

Do I think he had paedophilic tendencies? No, actually. I think his monstrous lifestyle warped his ability to experience real love and relationships. I don't think it necessarily translated into a sexual desire for children. In a more innocent time he would just have been an eccentric recluse. Then again, in a more innocent time he wouldn't have had the worldwide success that damaged him/ freed him to behave the way he wanted to.

I'm already tired of the tributes. I've just Sky-plused a load of episodes of Britain's Next Top Model to watch until it's safe to come out again. At least no-one is calling these girls geniuses.