Remembering Michael Jackson
So, you know by now that Michael Jackson died today after cardiac arrest (just a few hours after the death of Farrah Fawcett).
His adult life was marred by lurid molestation charges, endless displays of bizarre behavior with his three children, plastic surgery horrors, and financial mayhem.
But he was a musical genius in his early days before he succumbed to Hollyweird and that’s what I’ll choose to remember. So sad — the corruption of innocence, the talent squandered, the celebrity gone wild. So sad:
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I love the power and grace of dancers. I bet if you asked her, she’d rather watch Jackson. She likely tries to emulate many of his moves.
Michael Jackson in his prime was the best song-and-dance man since Sammy Davis Jr. Too bad his demons took over. By the way, if Phil Spector and Joseph Brooks had died at 50, they would today be remembered as a beloved record producer and songwriter respectively. One of life’s mysteries is what makes good people go bad.
My first awareness of Michael Jackson was when I heard “Rockin’ Robin”. I was a 7th grader in Cincinnati. That year, I “found” music. I’ll always thank Michael for the introduction.
Some of us who’ve been around the block a few more times remember getting that particular intro some years before from Bobby Day. Not to take away from Michael, but Day is the one who’ll always come to my mind first re: the tune – he really kicked it!
I loved the Osmonds, especially Donny, I was never a Jackson 5 fan. We watched the Sat morning cartoon, but that’s about it. And I never got into his later music.
He was one messed up individual. I hope his children can move on to a more normal existence.
Oh, brother. Thacker Agency (cough SPAM! cough) is back.
So he converted to Islam for the money. Isn’t that what you’re saying? Yep, that’s I call character.
“He was so soft spoken, I can’t see him as being malicious”? What a pile of crap. Do you think pedophiles in general yank their prey off the streets with chloroform-soaked handkerchiefs into windowless vans? No, they seduce children by acting like them at first and gaining their trust, hoping they will be viewed as allies against restrictive adults who won’t let them do whatever they want. Then, the pedos convince the kids that one of the things they want to do is drink something that lowers their inhibitions and/or cloud what good judgment they may have.
Hopefully you don’t simply use demeanor as a gauge when choosing your children’s associates (if you have any). One of the reasons Jackson won the last molestation suit is because the mother of the leukemia-stricken teen who admitted he slept with Jackson in his Neverland bed couldn’t come up with a plausible reason why she let the behavior continue unless she was getting some sort of enrichment from it. In other words, Jacko’s lawyers (wisely, sickeningly enough) used the alleged victim’s mother’s naivete or greed (pick one) against her.
And speaking of children, nobody can say someone half a century old “never grew up.” Maturity is something that simply happens to everyone unless they either have enablers preventing them from that natural process, have some sort of addiction or mental illness that makes it impossible, or they have the wherewithal to make a conscious choice to avoid it.
The last option applies here: Jacko decided that he never wanted to grow up, spent the bulk of his fortune toward his goal of being Peter Pan, and didn’t have anyone around him who could disabuse him of such a self-destructive goal.
The gullibility of Jacko Wackos is exceeded only by that of the Baracko Wackos. Their belief in their hero is a shield against missiles of logic.
P.S. Just in case you missed it, Brian, here’s my response to your soft-pedaling of the Playboy “Hate F*ck” business.
My Memories of Michael Jackson
I know you won’t mind my sharing this with you Michelle. You and I are the same age, born the same year, out of high school the same year. You might be able to relate to much of what I’m describing in my post about Michael Jackson. I am sad he’s gone but will snap out of it by tomorrow to get back on the Cap and Tax crap. No worries there, k? :]
aka: Domestic Divapalooza (The I am Pooped is my more personal blog)
I remember being 13 or 14 and we used to tease our friends by accusing them of being gay like Michael Jackson (like it or not, that’s how little boys bond with each other at that age) Sadly, I was wrong about his sexuality.
He was a pedophile.
Any good qualities about him are negated by the fact that he raped children. Done, end of story. No excuses possible
Pedophile.
I’m kind of bemused anyone would have spent their life comptemplating and speculating the possibilities of Jacko’s sexuality.
If you have kids and are a good parent, you should contemplate the sexuality of all the influences they have that you know about. Unless, of course, you want them influenced by a grown man who thinks he is Peter Pan and rapes children.
Just because someone can sing and dance doesn’t make them a positive influence. Especially when they rape children.
Did I mention the fact that he raped children and paid their parents off to drop lawsuits? You may want to contemplate his sexuality.. Raping Children – no excuse.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned.
De mortuis, nihil nisi bonum
RIP
But you were talking about this from being a young man – I assume you didn’t have many children at the age.
Things must be a bit different from my days of boy’s locker-room talk.Then it centered on the opposite sex. Contrary to your experience, that was the topic norm for me and my chums. Had we instead discussed which of us were homosexual and what male pop stars we thought might also be homosexual the school janitor would have had to work overtime sweeping teeth off the floor.
At any rate, it’s just not something I’d be obsessed about – especially from a young age. That’s something I’d consider a bit over the top.
You may feel Jackson was whatever you feel he was, but feelings don’t equal facts. If you had some privy info to pass on to the authorities I imagine you would have done so before now.
Otherwise, like the lefties who rant that Bush, Cheney, Condi, etc. are “war criminals” it’s to be considered as – at best – nothing more than an “IMHO”.
Actually, I haven’t. But I did point out you admitted to having done so since a young age. The contemplation of my own teen years had much, much more to do with a very cute lass named Connie.
Never liked him. I’m waiting for the autopsy to confirm something more than just cardiac arrest. I’m more saddened by the death of Fawcett who, unfortunately, is overshadowed by Jackson.
#113…I agree…that and Johnny’s sidekick Ed…both deserved far more attention than hours of nothing but Jackson…thank goodness for DVR’s….
I will remember the innocent Jackson…loved Beat It but then the best part was Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo which he reportedly did in one take…
There’s an old saying about famous deaths coming in threes. But I suspect you’ve heard that.
I’ll especially miss Ed. Grew up watching him with Carson – the classic Tonight Show.
Farrah was really a minor actress with Charlie’s Angels and a few TV movies as her biggest roles. But she seemed to be a good person and was so sick with the cancer, dying much too young.
Never sat through an entire video by either of them – I’m more of the Ed Sullivan live performance era than the MTV era. Jackson was a talented kid, though, esp. with his brothers in the 70s.
But to paraphrase what Dorothy said to the Scarecrow, “I’ll miss Ed most of all”. Y’know I’m getting maudlin when I quote from the “Wizard Of Oz”, lol. (Which, oddly enough, was a movie that Jackson was in a really bad 70s remake of – with Diana Ross as “Dorothy”!)
I feel MJ’s life was more tragic than his death. RIP MJ.
I think you’ve got the Moonwalker pegged, L.N.
(I don’t know how children respond, but one of the greatest public service announcements ever created, to my ear, is the little drama with the predator who meets a 14-year-old girl online and says how “incredible” it would be if they could meet at the mall (without parents) and just hang out. Of course, it turns out that the new friend was not what he said, “not a 14-year-old boy,” and “not nice.” It tries to warn kids that predators often seem friendly and appear to be like themselves.)
All over the world children are breathing just a tad bit easier…
Whoever is operating the backhoe this week: please dig the hole a few feet deeper than normal.
I loved the Osmonds, but also read the Jackson stories in my Tiger Beat, 16 and Fave magazines. I’ll always remember Michael as the sweet little boy who sang ABC, I’ll Be There, and yes, Ben. Donny Osmond always kept in touch with Michael and would come to his defense over the years as he too had a father who us fans were shocked to later learn also, he felt, deprived him of his childhood for the sake of the family music business. Michael’s father resorted to physical abuse, however, to keep the gravy train going. Donny said Michael’s father was a very cold man.
One of my favorite memories of Michael is when he and Donny presented on the first American Music Awards. In this one spot, they had little mini-me’s (Rodney Allen Ripey and Rickey something) and it was so cute and funny – a classic clip that has been shown over and over.
Here’s how I remember MJ
A pedophile is a pedophile and not to be upheld as an icon.
THANK YOU! Eddie’s guitar work did more for Jacksons career than anything he ever did himself. And no one ever noticed. Jackson basically sucked after the J5 years.
Michael Jackson embodied diversity. He *was* diversity, all in one body. Witness:
He was born a black boy from Gary Indiana.
He died a white man from Hollywood.
He loved men, women, and children. Literally, evidently.
There wasn’t a religion he didn’t call his own.
He’d breathe oxygen, sometimes with nitrogen and sometimes without.
He had a large nose.
He had a small nose.
He had no nose.
He had a cleft chin.
He had no cleft chin.
He had no chin.
He had frizzy hair.
He had wavy hair.
He had straight hair.
He had burning hair.
He’d wear two gloves. He’d wear one glove. He’d wear no gloves.
He’d wear gold lame’ jock straps OUTSIDE of his clothes and, we must presume, inside as well.
Yes, truly, Michael Jackson was all things to all people.
Caution – Moon Walking can be fatal to your health
There was an incident when he was visiting the Colorado Rockies — Aspen, Snowmass, etc. He decided he wanted to go into the local WalMart in Glenwood Springs. They thought he was a robber and wouldn’t let him in. They called the cops. He had also gone into a store in Aspen and they, too, thought they were being robbed.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/entertainment/2880079/detail.html
Yeah, that’s normal….
Did I mention he was wearing a full cover ski mask?
sweet. . . my spam causes your little heart to flutter. That’s pretty powerful.
Do most pedophiles try to get approval from the kids’ parents? All I am saying is that I hope none of you people ever get accused of doing something you didn’t do.
Apparently our justice system means nothing to any of you. Jackson was never convicted of any wrongdoing. Not one time. All the parents of the children that accused him willingly sent their kids to ‘neverland’ and allowed them to sleep over.
Why didn’t they just go to Disneyland? If he’s a ‘known pedophile’, then why let your kids go there?
He was strange and odd, but he was not convicted – ever.
People here seem to like our system when it helps them.
Smithee, you seem to know me, but I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing you. I suspect you think you are a wonderful person, and that’s wonderful.
If I were spam, I would have thought Malkin would have banned me a long time ago. I am a marketer. My silly little website has likely made more money in the last year than you’ll make in 10. Maybe I should apologize for being such an opportunist. . . I will. I’m sorry for being so resourceful.
Plus my site does save people a lot of money and reduces their health care expenses. . . something that isn’t important to anyone, right?
So you came to MM’s defense in the publicity she got from the Playboy HF article. You are a hero. That entire episode was nothing more than spam for MM and the other girls on that list. The article itself was up for all of an hour, but it dominated headlines here and elsewhere for a week.
That was as much spam as my little link.
Anyway, this post was about remembering Jackson. A man whose music will influence children for a long long time. His tragedy was how he handled money, not kids. I don’t doubt that he was taken advantage of by ‘nice families’ who saw him as their meal ticket. You think being charged means you are guilty. I hope you are never falsely accused of anything.
I shouldn’t respond, but I have time and I don’t want you to think that I’m cowering in fear of your ‘brutal attacks’ on a rememberance thread of a dead icon of my childhood and MM’s childhood.
Do me a favor. . . any time you hear a Jackson song in the future, don’t listen. . . and remember I told you that. Spam indeed.
I remember that…but why Walmart?
Trolling for kids?
Death is the great equalizer.
I pray for him that God have mercy on his soul.
All this hoopla over Michael Jackson & barely a word about Farrah Fawcett.
I am sorry but once he touched the kids, he was done as far as I am concerned. His death only saved more kids from molestation. In my opinion alone, this death saved kids.
His music be damned.
In some ways, MJ epitomized the American dream. He was a self-made millionaire. But he got too famous too young and ultimately lost his marbles. What a waste of a brilliant talent. One wonders what his life might have been like if he hadn’t been rushed into stardom by his stage-parents.
You watch….Obama hoggin’ the spotlight from Michael in 3…2…1..
Well. I certainly hope no one here is ever falsely accused of being a pedophile, because it sounds like you’ll be vilified for the rest of your life, even if acquitted.
I don’t believe he was one. But that’s not really my call. Was he strange? Absolutely. Did he let his talent go to waste? For sure, and that’s part of what’s so terribly tragic.
I think what saddens me the most is losing an icon from my childhood. I was born in the 80s and MJ was a staple. I still love his music. Love him or hate him, he left a powerful mark, akin to Elvis or the Beatles. We don’t really have larger-than-life artists anymore, so losing one means there’s no one to replace him.
Plus, it’s a rather startling reminder of our own mortality. When the people we idolized as children die (Farrah or Michael), we realize we, too, are growing older. It could have, just as easily, been one of us rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest.
I won’t say ‘rest in peace’…based on my own beliefs, I don’t think he is. But I will say a prayer for his family. Farrah’s and Ed’s, too.
Any good qualities about him are negated by the fact that he raped children. Done, end of story. No excuses possible
Pedophile.
I couldn’t agree more.
…
slightly off topic alert…
I do find it a little disconcerting however, that so many posters here who (I assume) were willing to throw Gov. Sanford’s career to the dogs for having an extramarital affair (Not fit to serve! not fit to serve!) seem so willing to contioue lauding a pedophile’s career and , assumedly, purchasing his records as well (and God knows what else upcoming vomit-worthy memorabilia collectionc tk)
He decided he wanted to go into the local WalMart in Glenwood Springs
he saw a sign that said
“Boys pants half off.”
I think the comments on this thread epitomize the agony of such a person’s life and death. We may respect his abilities, and many of our childhoods were greatly impacted by his music and gift for performing. Yet, so much of those great memories are forever spoiled by the things he did in his later years.
Whether he was truly a child molester or not, he did do some very bizarre and dangerous things involving innocent and vulnerable children. Anyone remember him hanging his newborn baby out a two-story window?
These and many other of his actions have shocked and saddened me through the years. I have wished many times that he would have returned to the days of innocence and joy that he seemed to exemplify as a child.
When I learned he had suffered cardiac arrest, I prayed that he had turned from his evil ways and accepted Jesus as his Savior, as his time seemed so short. It’s in God’s Hands now.
i give credit where credit is due, his thriller album was arguably the best album ever cut, certainly the most purchased. but it seems he had the same drug habit from the same cause as rush limbaugh. i wonder how many people will pillage michael for abusing prescription drugs the way they do rush? can you really see the obama posse villifying that black hollywood entertainer gay pedophile icon in the same way they savage rush? if michael belonged to the musicians union, you would be poking fun at every democrat special interest group except the NAGS.
I’m sorry the Jackson Family has lost a son and brother at such a young age. He was an amazing talent that was destroyed by his own demons, and I’m sure with the assistance of more than a few people.
I do have a problem with the media circus that transpired starting with the news of his initial medical problem. All the networks were completely carried away with trying to out do each other with their wall-to-wall coverage.
I don’t know about the rest of you but I can only stand about 15 minutes maximum of Geraldo Rivera at any given time.
If acquittal equates to innocence, then a lot of people owe O.J. an apology.
Now now Max you will get the idol worshippers all upset
I know the man was quite talented but these celebrity deaths are really vulgar in their appeal to all too many in the media. I guess it started with the death of Princess Diana. Sad in every case but many good people are losing friends and family at the same time and we hear not a word.
Farrah Fawcett Dead at 62 and I think I saw a 15 second blurb on TV. My daughters had Farrah Fawcett hair–down to the blond bit. Oh well. But I do remember seeing the Jackson Family on the Ed Sullivan show- that father was one hard looking man.
eat-nails-and-pass-cannonballs rough
The Justice System means a lot to me. The first time he was accused, the charges were dropped because he paid them off. The second time, he was not charged correctly, something like contributing to delinquency and the jury was more concerned with why the mother let her kid hang out with him, they blamed her and probably rightfully so. He was a pedophile, just like OJ murdered his wife and Goldman, our Justice system may not be perfect, but it is the worst and best in the world. He was acquitted, I still would not let my children near him, just like I would try to talk any female in my family from dating OJ.
I believe the tragedy was that like most child stars he was allowed to do anything he wanted. He did not learn personal responsibility, something the left holds dear, no personal responsibility. His life is like California, given to liberal ideology, it becomes destroyed.
Michael Jackson was a very talented individual, I hope he finds the peace that he did not seem to find in life. Despite all of the success and money, there was a void there, something that he could not fill with fantasies of reliving a lost childhood.
I’ve met a lot of people who “brag” about the money they make. 99 X out of 100, they are not worth having around.
D’oh! max beat me to the punchline.
D’oh! max beat me to the punchline.
you’ll get ‘em next time cakes!
Good one, John!
I ~hate~ it when people — especially media people who are not supposed to be clueless — conflate the concepts of acquittal and innocence.
Acquittal = failure of a jury to agree that the state has not proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. “Not guilty”
is an unfortunate, short-hand phrase which is ~not~ the opposite of a jury finding of “guilty.” It is merely a commonplace way of speaking of an acquittal.
Conceptually, this is not difficult, although linguistically it is a real muddle. This distinction may seem subtle to some, but it is like Mark Twain’s comment about the seemingly small difference between “lightening” and “lightening bug,” well worth taking note of.
The situations of MJ and OJ illustrate the importance of this distinction. Juries failed to find these gentlemen “guilty” of the alleged crimes. They did not, by any means, find that they were “innocent.” And, importantly, their failure to find guilt to have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and under the elaborate process protections afforded to defendants, in no way suggests that the general public is not entitled to render their own verdict based on the reasoning and wisdom by which we all judge non-legal matters every day.
My bad…should read: “Acquittal = failure of a jury to agree that the state has proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. “
Michael Jackson’s career was never the same after Thriller. The two writers who wrote most of the lyrics and music were incredible talents and Quincy Jones was great as the producer of Thriller. After Thriller, the two writers no longer composed Michael’s music and his next album “Bad” was not the burst of genious that Thriller was and still it. It was pedestrian. By that time, rap was replacing R&B and Michael did not have the grit for rap. When done right (and not gangster rap) rap can be really good. Listen to Kanye West do “Touch the Sky” and Jay Z do “the rock boys” and you can see why Michael was hopelessly left behind.
R&B still has some great singers (R. Kelly comes to mind, but before anyone gets angry, I am only talking about R. Kelly’s musical talents, not his sordid personal life) but aside from R. Kelly and a few others, R&B is now for older folks.
But speaking of Michael, I am reminded of what Paul McCartney said back in the 1980s: “Michael is not in Steve Wonder’s league talentwise”. Michael was a musician for children and teens, Stevie is for adults. Maybe that is why Stevie, well into his 50s, is doing unbelievable things with his music. In contrast, Michael was prett much finished ag age 25.
unfortunately, our news will be nothing but MJ for the next 2 weeks.
Now compared what happened to MJ and OJ to the Duke Lax Team. Those three athletes were deemed guilty by the MSM, the “Group of 88″ and a large number of students at Duke before any evidence came out. Once all the evidence came out, the second DA handling the case (after Nifong was relieved and disbarred) stated that these guys were innocent, not merely not-guilty, but INNOCENT!
Too bad Crystal Mangum, sharpton, jackson and et al wasn’t treated the same way these guys were.
GSP
“This is Sparta!”
P.S. I agree that the world is a little safer with one more pedophile gone. Now if only NAMBLA and their supporters would join MJ wherever he’s at.
Misscheryl said:#148 yes , that’s all Fox news had on last night, And today. Haven’t heard much about Farrah Fawcett? Must be she don’t deserve it. What a shame, guess I’ll have to run the watch reruns today.
You seem not to understand how our system works. There is a very high bar to clear in order to prove criminal guilt, and that’s as it should be. But “not guilty” does not mean the same thing as “innocent”. From his own mouth we heard Jackson say how “beautiful” and “loving” it is to take children into your bed. You can say he was never convicted all you want, but it is certainly not unreasonable for people to think he was a child molester.
Because some parents are stupid, and some of them are even evil. Some of them cared more about the material payoff than about the welfare of their children. Their enabling doesn’t make him any less horrible.
I guess Nicole Simpson’s real killers molested those kids.
If you want to say he made a lot of good music that should be considered on its own merits and it’s unseemly to dance on the man’s grave then fine, I’m with you there. But you’re engaging in no small bit of denial here about how Jackson lived his life.
The guy was a phedophile. Children are safer because he is dead. He hasn’t produced good music in at least a decade.
I am not morning him any more than I would any other child molester.
I dunno, I kinda liked ‘Scream’; the one he did with Janet. How long ago was that? Am I dating myself?
Drudge is now back to the land of the living and reporting things applicable to the living.
The pedophile is dead. I don’t care.
Our country is being murdered by communist thugs, yet the shallow, stupid mass media is wailing over the death of a pustule.
Would that Fox had expended equal energy and air time on the impending death of Liberty.
How sad. I guess you’ve told us that for you, morals come somewhere behind creative musical talent.
Very sad indeed.
So are chimpanzees
I can’t believe Purplepeep (#112) and Thacker (#126), who I like reading, would defend this guy. Even a cursory glance at Wikipedia would have told you that Michael Jackson settled out of court with the Chandler family for the 1993 molestation of Jason Chandler (age 13) for $22 Million.
YOU DONT SETTLE A CASE FOR $22 MILLION IF YOU ARE NOT A CHILD MOLESTOR!!!!!!
Happy,
The cost of litigation takes its toll. Who knows how much the legal bills would have cost him given how famous he is.
It is easy to say “fight to the death” when it is another person’s money.
Respectfully,
eric aka the Tygrrrr Express
http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com
*Great music overshadowed by abhorrent behavior, that’s the bottom line; And once a pedophile, always a pedophile; So all I can say is “Beat It”.
I’m sorry but was this man as an adult forced to do and act the way he did? Its true that as a young child he may have been innocent however as an adult he had a choice and in many cases he choose wrong. Its a shame that as a young man his innocence was destroyed but I’m not sorry to see that what he became as an adult is now gone. Even Hitler was an innocent child at one time.
Blacktygrr – The OJ Simpson “Trial of the Century” is estimated to have cost $3-6 million in 1995, according to Wikipedia. Jackson settled out of court in early 1994 for $22 million. Your logic does not hold up.
BTW – As for the “other people’s money” dig, you don’t know my situation because if you did, you may not have made it.
Well, I gotta say, it is an odd feeling.
Having spent my teen-age years in the 80′s, you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting something MJ related. The whole noise concerning how the video for “Thriller” was made onward, television was awash in who and what he was…almost.
However, say what you want about his being “acquitted” of the molestation charges in 2005, in 1993, he paid a reported 20+ million dollars to shut up a child and his accusations of what he did to him.
So yes, as an icon, it always feels strange to no longer have that around…but I will NEVER shed a tear for ANYONE who places a hand on a child…I don’t care WHAT went on in their own childhood or life.
And yet, there was a moment of silence in Congress today to honor this creep. Nothing for Farrah or Ed. Just this pervert. Says a lot, don’t you think?
And yet, there was a moment of silence in Congress today to honor this creep. Nothing for Farrah or Ed. Just this pervert. Says a lot, don’t you think?
Unfortunately they lacked the requisite melanin count
Ha! So did Jackson, by looking at him.
If they pre-empt Glenn Beck’s show for more information on this perv, I will scream. I think that is exactly what is going to happen. The only decent show on FOX News any more. And they will probably break in. FOX News will be losing a lot of regular viewers over this and they may not return.
Well ole MJ was in good company there with the other pervs like Barney Frank. Im not sure who disgust me more Jackson or the US Congress.
Fine! You all figure it out. Meanwhile, I’m more concerned about all the taxes and increased prices I, and my children plus grandchildren, have to cope with, thanks to the out-of-control congress and president, we have. I’m not going to lose sleep over Jackson. Sure, loved “beat it” and other hits, but let it rest.
Lots of good points in your comments, HM. On that particular one, many will recall the bizarre McMartin daycare hysteria where people whipped themselves up to believe absurdities, which included invokings of His Nibs. There have been fine parents who took innocent pics of their little ones splashing in a bubblebath and who ended up getting lynched by crazed prosecuters for the snapshot. I’ll fess up to being one of the “prudest among all the prude”, but there’s something very wrong when what we use to call “bearskin rug” snapshots elicit such hysteria.
But why the hysteria and hatred directed at Michael Jackson from some here? That’s an easy one: it’s always easier to deal with the Distant Boogyman than the real world realities of the actual sexual abuse of children. When it does occur it’s overwhelmingly at the hands of close relatives and trusted, dear family friends. It’s much, much easier to sit in the kitchen at the laptop commenting about a dead weird celebrity than to deal with thoughts of what an adult family member might be doing to a child in the “family” room or pondering the “sleepover” the kids are attending down the street.
For some of us it’s the death of pop stars who we remember from when they were children that’s a real mortality kick in the butt! Now, Ed McMahon had more than a few years on me, so his passing was sad, but it’s the way of the world for the old to die. His death had the most meaning to me in this recent spate of celeb passings. So many wonderful evenings spent watching him and Johnny – great memories, good times.
Hacker Agency wrote:
Most pedophiles are the NOT most popular entertainer on the planet. That kind of star power blinds too many people; they take at face value a carefully-honed image created by professional publicists, imagining that someone who has that much talent and achieved that much fame could have the same flaws and foibles as us common schlubs who can’t dance, can’t sing, and can only play the radio.
There was a time not too long ago when parents didn’t think twice about letting their children be alone with Catholic priests. There was a presumption a priest would never dream of doing something harmful to an innocent left in his care. Why did that change? Because the priests that couldn’t control their sexual urges took advantage of the trust parents and children alike had in them.
Disneyland has a mute plastic mouse. Neverland Ranch had the world’s leading entertainer. If you don’t believe he’s dangerous, and have the option of choosing between the two, it’s a no-brainer (which would certainly be the case if you continued to think Jacko wasn’t dangerous after he admitted sleeping in the same bed with young boys).
Errol Flynn was one of the superstars of the still-emerging film industry when he was accused of statutory rape of young teenage girls. Flynn was prosecuted, went to trial, and WON. OTOH, in 1993, Jacko, when accused of molestation and sued in civil court, vowed to fight “lies” to the end, lawyered up with Johnnie Cochran and retained recently-convicted Hollywood scumbag Anthony Pellicano to intimidate the accuser’s family. Then, shortly before the trial was scheduled to begin, Jacko dipped into his cavernous pockets, flipped a wad of $20 million, and made the allegation go away.
I question the sanity of parents that allow their children to sleep in the same bed as an admittedly “odd” (to use your word) single unmarried man. Further, I question the motives of such parents in making allegations their children were abused. As I mentioned in my previous post, that’s an effective defense against charges of hanky panky, because only idiots or extortionists would willingly put their kids in such a situation and then be “Shocked, shocked!” like Captain Renault.
That, however, has nothing to do with Jacko himself, and his questionable practices with children. There’s something seriously wrong with someone who wasn’t creeped out when Jackson told Martin Bashir that adults should sleep in the same bed with young children (“Of courrrse!…You don’t sleep with your own kid or some other kid who needs love?”) as his future accuser lovingly leaned on his shoulder.
I never used the words “known pedophile,” Thacker, but I will say this: I would never trust ANY adult who said that it was acceptable to sleep in the same bed with children of no relation with my flesh and blood. Why would you? I would never trust ANY adult who gave alcohol to children without the permission of their parents. Why would you?
Unlike Jacko, I try to live my life in a manner that I cannot credibly accused of “of anything.” But if that should ever happen, I won’t have his option of paying someone off with my pocket change. I would fight like a Spartan.
Good God, you’re a creep.
Some leftist orifice writing for a major mainstream publication explains in great, vulgar detail how he would love to violate conservative women out of hatred. But, say you, it was only up for an hour, so it doesn’t count as something that deserved the smackdown it did?
Dude, I know you “read” Playboy, but do you have any REAL women in your life? A wife? A girlfriend? A daughter? What about a mother?
Hopefully, she’ll get the message now and flush you from her site.
Asserting that the criminal act of giving alcohol to minors and sleeping in the same bed with them are acceptable behavior when certain people do it is cowardly — you’re trying to protect a false image you don’t want to see ruined. Have the courage to see things as they are, not what you want them to be.
I don’t know why that would be a favor to you, but as Hall & Oates said, “No can do.” Jackson left behind a legacy of great (and occasionally magnificent) music that gets better as pop music gets progressively more overproduced, less melodic, more mindlessly rhythmic, and performed by barely (if at all) talented people (hello, Lil Wayne). Jackson’s questionable activities won’t dissaude me from enjoying “Beat It” any more than Richard Wagner’s virulent pre-Hitler anti-Semitism prevents me from being moved by “Ride of The Valkyries.”
Hiya Happy – Nope, not defending anybody. But if you can show where I’ve wrote something that is objectively false, I’d be “happy” myself for the correction.
someone in Florida, riding a bus made a comment that MJ should be in prison. A black guy stabbed him for saying so.
.
Imprisoning the dead? I’m a strict law & order-type, Cheryl, but that seems a bit drastic even to me.
oopppsss – should have been in prison.
quit pickin on me, you know what I meant
Yeah, I know, but I needed to get a giggle in this thread and it was just there. I couldn’t stop myself.
No one was stabbed, and the guy who pulled the knife was upset because someone else was DEFENDING Jackson:
I’m not sure whether the knife-wielding Jackson-hater was white or not. Might be one of you idiots.
So, if Mark Sanford could sing and dance, he wouldn’t be a bastard full of “jerkitude”?
Really, I don’t get this double standard. Adultery is wrong, but pedophilia is just pure evil.
Read an interesting article on what some Hollywood insider witnessed, regarding MJ’s “relationship” with a 13 year old boy (the one who was involved in that lawsuit).
I read that news article. What transpired is that a passenger on the bus got the news that MJ was dead. He announced it to everyone there. The bus driver commented that Jackson belonged in jail for pedophilia; a black guy on the bus became enraged and pulled a knife on the bus driver. The first passenger tried to calm him down, and the knife wielder turned on him.
So, it wasn’t a case of the black knife wielder being anti MJ.
Actually, atheling, neither you or anybody else here got the story right. And it’s even more especially bizarre for anyone to attempt to make this some kind of a black/white thing, since all of those involved may be black.
From the local news:
King Of Pop Death Spurs Fight On County Bus
“King Of Pop Death Spurs Fight On County Bus
NORTH LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
News of Michael Jackson’s death in South Florida prompted one county bus passenger to lash out at another.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office said Henry Wideman, 54, chased a fellow passenger down the aisle of the bus wielding a knife after the passenger remarked that Jackson’s passing marked the loss of a great musical talent.
That passenger is James Kiernan, 60, who was not hurt. Wideman was arrested on Thursday night and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He posted bail on Saturday, which was set at $5,000.
Kiernan had also announced news of the pop singer’s death on the bus prompting the driver to say that Jackson should have been jailed long ago.
Wideman apparently became angry by Kiernan’s comment. Wideman also shouted profanities and threatened Kiernan.”
You also misrepresented Michelle, atheling, when you responded to her quote:
“But he was a musical genius in his early days before he succumbed to Hollyweird and that’s what I’ll choose to remember. So sad — the corruption of innocence, the talent squandered, the celebrity gone wild.”
You, for some non-logical reason, read Mark Sanford into that quote instead of responding to what was actually written, saying:
Then, you jumped the “logic track” altogther with:
Mark Sanford made a big, public announcement of his “bastard full of “jerkitude” status. So it’s not a debatable matter of opinion that’s up for question.
Were you to find a like confession from Jackson, you might have a comparison point. Otherwise you got an absurdist non sequitur (lit. “it does not follow”).
just for the record, I wasn’t suggesting this was a black and white thing…I’m angered by the fact that people can’t voice an opinion in a public place without fear of being attacked.
we are no longer a national of laws.
I wasn’t thinking of you on that, Cheryl, or I woulda mentioned it when I poked fun at ya earlier.
(It was the back&forth following that I had in mind.)
The flipside of that is, considering half the laws our elected officials make, it’s too bad we are a nation of laws!!
purplepeep:
Um, your “logic” doesn’t follow.
Jackson admitted that he slept with teenage boys.
If you don’t think that’s weird, then you’ve got real problems.
I can’t believe you are trying to defend a pedophile.
I actually think Michael Jackson was a better person that Obama will ever be.
You’re welcome to show me anywhere I’e said something that was incorrect, atheling. An “Um” and quoting my handle doesn’t count as a correction.
I believe the difficulty is in “thinking” with emotions in lieu of using the Joe Friday “Just the facts, ma’am” mode which I prefer. For example, on the bus incident; you claimed to have been better informed than another commenter (and “read the story”), but yet you still got the wrong conclusion. When you bring preconceptions into something, ir’s inevitable that only misconceptions will follow.
Coming from a family of 10, I spent many years sleeping with teenage boys myself. And the little ones quite often slept with the folks. Now somebody could make something of all that, but it would speak much, much more to the sad state of that person’s mind more than anything else.
Now, if you had evidence of heinous wrongdoing by Michael Jackson (or by anyone, for that matter) and brought it to the authorities, I would be quite impressed. If you’re claiming to have had such evidence but did not bring to the authorities, then you share whatever guilt you would assign to him.
But, unfortunately, all you have are your opinions and feelings – and that’s fine, as far as it goes. But in the real world, you’d need to add a dollar to those feelings & emotions just to buy a cuppa coffee. You’re in the same place as the moonbats who go on about how Bush, Cheney, Condi & all of the “Bushies” should be tried for “war crimes”. Das macht nichts.
purplepeep:
I’m not the one using my “feelings”; I’m stating facts.
You seem to be unaware of the documentary by Bashir where Jackson openly stated that he slept with teenage boys that are not family members, and that it was an expression of “love”.
Tell me, how “normal” is it for a grown man to say that sleeping with teenage boys (only boys, mind you, not girls) that are not his own or members of his family?
Convenient of you to miss that, isn’t it?
Why do you worship the guy? He’s a creep. Remember when he dangled one of his babies from a balcony?
And you defend him?
I am wondering what is the motive you hold in defending this guy?
You close your eyes to his statement, which is ON FILM for all the world to see, and pretend I’m a moonbat?
What is your motive, purplepeeps?
purplepeep the pedo defender:
BTW, Jackson also had a “friend” of his filming his antics at Neverland, who is a gay porn filmmaker – a Marc Schaffel (no doubt you’ll go on to defend that creep, too).
Here’s the article, complete with photo of Jackson and pornfilmmaker, who was also an unindicted co conspirator in the molestation trial.
Now, defend that, you perv.
Actually, it’s someone who is bizarrely obsessed with pedophilia 24/7 and who can only address rational comments with “you perv!!” that I’d be much more concerned about, atheling. I keep in mind something Shakespeare said about “protesting too much”.
Dodging bullets here.
Would just like to say that I have devoted some time to listening to several of Michael’s old interviews, even back to 1980, and I am convinced he is a pure soul. He is a very unique and exceptionally sensitive person. He was deprived of a normal childhood. Felt more comfortable on stage than with regular people. His feelings for being on stage were perhaps spiritually inspired. He longed to be Peter Pan and threw his fortunes into creating a happy world for children. He invited children to the world he created. Wanted them to have what he never had. But made the mistake of allowing social situations that made him highly vulnerable to judgment. He didn’t know how to be socially normal.
Michael grew up in a tiny house in Gary with eight siblings. Pretty sure they shared beds and were on top of each other most of the time in one way or another.
Here’s a tragic story: In one of Michaels’ interviews, he revealed that in the very early days of the Jackson Five’s fame, when they’d be on the road traveling in a bus or van or housed in a trailer, his older brothers would bring back groupie girls to have sex and told him, the little brother to stay quiet while they were all squished into close quarters.
“Coming from a family of 10, I spent many years sleeping with teenage boys myself. And the little ones quite often slept with the folks. Now somebody could make something of all that, but it would speak much, much more to the sad state of that person’s mind more than anything else.”
Even worse when one of ‘em is a blanket hog. Or had too many beans for dinner, lol.
But I can’t get too worked up over parents choosing to send their teens over to snooze with some washed-up pop icon. Not on my list of things to lose sleep over.
Think of how the criminal courts would be jammed with cases of all the rock stars who play around with the teenybopper groupie-girls who show up backstage if somebody wanted to make a crusade of that! But they’d all tend to be white and it’s heterosexual – it’s just not quite as salicious.
Were parents still letting kids go over there after the first public allegations?
Well, I don’t have much interest in celebrities in general, PAlchemy, but I do remember the parents being some of his staunchest defenders. And I’m pretty sure he wasn’t kidnapping the teens off the street!
There’s a story in the U.K. Daily Mail today by a childhood friend of MJ’s. The first major incident was in 1995. MJ settled out of court for $25 million even though he swore he was not guilty because he wanted to get it behind hin quickly. He also said he didn’t care what people thought. Then he when on TV in 2003 with another boy cozied up to him and made the statement that he thought is was a nice thing to share a bed. Obviously he didn’t care about the consequences.
The question of whether or not the late Michael Jackson was or was not a pederastic[1] pedophile will likely never be accurately answered.
Something that does seem to be a fact though is that children who have unusual talent of interest to the big shots of the entertainment media all too often ARE exposed to pedophiles and ephebophiles[2] (see Shirley Temple Black’s experiences) which in turn especially for males may lead to them becoming pederasts when they are adults and have a Caddy or Benz for every day of the week.
If Mrs. Malkin *really* cares, she could use her “bully pulpit” to help out these kids, to put an end to the exploitation of kids who are gifted (or cursed) with talents adults who buy tickets and follow-on merchandise spend mega and even giga-bucks a year on.
A few names come to mind:
Judy Garland
JonBenet Ramsey
Jackie Coogan (who most here may remember as “Uncle Fester” in the ’60s TV series “The Addams Family”)
not to mention the countless highly talented adults who have been exploited unto death by both the New York City and Hollywood media cartels who only care about how many dollars these singers, comedians, star athletes, actors and actresses can make for them then toss them aside like a used Kleenex once the end games of alcohol,drug and/or sex addiction, serious mental illness, general ill-health or when the person starts missing too many shootings, games or sessions of that exploitation starts to play.
This is not a new problem; for instance see the story of who probably was the greatest Italian tenor ever and how his career ended!
No one noticed back in 1920 it seems, here it is 2009 … almost 90 years later and no one in a position to do something about the problem seems to care.
Comments welcomed here or to restring@fastmail.fm
[1] Pederast – a man who likes sex with boys who haven’t reached puberty
[2] Ephebophile – person who prefers “tweens” and teens who have reached puberty as sex partners.
The guy lost me when he did the crotch-grabbing, car-wrecking and screaming bit at the end of his “Black or White” video. I believe at that point he totally lost control of himself and became a hopeless freak. His inevitable fate did not surprise me in the least.