Michael Jackson Goes to Heaven

The New York Post has run an almost unaccountable number of Wacko Jacko headlines during Michael Jackson's peculiar years. But now he's become the Post's "Tragic Star," complete with commemorative poster.

One of the most mocked, vilified, and calumniated people of our time has, overnight, been transmuted into... a saint.

This isn't just media death-business sentimentality either. There's some spontaneous revisionism that's going on here. It was, it suddenly seems clear, the hard heart of the media, lead by the cruelties of the New York Post, that condemned him to his marginal existence--exiled in Persian Gulf kingdoms--when, in fact, there was a latent, abiding, adoration for the boy-man.

The Michael Jackson story could be one of the biggest media screw ups of all time: The public didn't hate him, the public loved him.

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Comments

[MICHELLEDIANE3]

Michael Jackson."Y­ou are not alone." Not anymore. I believe you are now, the angel in heaven you sought so hard to be here on earth. You were so misunderstood, vilified, and beat upon. There was so much mockery and hatred of you, for only one reason. You"re goodness; your luminosity into the beautiful heart you believed could be in every man. You had such generosity, and tried so hard to teach others, to look into the soul. And to not judge based on color, creed or class.
But darkness, doesn"t like beauty to shine. It detracts so much from what it is trying to do. Create dark human less souls of us all. To replace the radiance that was born within all of us, by God. You spoke of nothing, but love and peace. Your light through your words, and music shone so bright. You"ve brought so much too so many, but only sought pure love for yourself. Your sensitivity brought ridicule. When all you wished most of all was to be embraced and understood.
I think what personally stood out to me most of all; was your tender nature. Envy in other people mistook that for weakness, when in reality it is strength. The force of who you were was so strong. Many people wish to have that, but could never achieve it.
We are all afforded different opportunities in life. Instead of being envious, they should have rejoiced with you, in your life.

[catlady777]

I have always been a fan of Michael Jackson but was disappointed in his behavior with young boys. The perception presented by sharing his bed with boys was too much. I was so surprised when I heard he had died, but when I saw the performance Joe Jackson put on at the BET Awards it was like a light came on. I was repelled by Joe pushing his record company and basking in the attention on the red carpet. Imagine Michael having to deal with this self-centered abusive man. Seeing the replay of the Martin Bashir interview with Michael touched my heart. As a survivor of child abuse, I finally got it. Michael did not want to see Joe Jackson's image on his face. That in my opinion was the root of the plastic surgery. God bless Michael. I hope he is at peace.

[sexyrexy]

Michael Joe Jackson proves he's truly the hugest star even in death..

he cannot be ignored.. he still arouses such great emotions in people.. yeah or nay.. doesn't matter.. as no one can ignore him.. hardly anyone indifferen­t..

the true marker.

[nowarpleez]

I hate the US media. MJ devoted his entire life to American culture, and we turned on him. I never for one minute believed any of the terrible things that were said about him and neither did a jury of his peers. How could he not become a recluse; everybody wanted something from him. People camped outside his home night an day. Try living his life for one month and see how it changes you. He lived it for 40 years. MJ R.I.P. Forever.

[Ohioan730]

I never cared what the media said. I started getting freaked out around 1988 when he emerged in the "Bad" video looking more like me that himself. I just wish he knew how beautiful his original face was.

[DietrichMoody]

Michael Jackson is THE FIRST True World Citizen Mega-Star to pass away - in front of the citizens of this world - and it will take awhile to acknowledge the impact and change, and we are a nation of Pop Culture, remember all the face time given to Anna Nicoles death or how Americans paid attention of Charles and Diana's wedding and Diana's subsequent them. My god, Soap Opera's were interupted to see the funeral...­.anyway...­.

Think about it: THERE WAS NO INTERNET, THERE WAS NO CABLE, THERE WAS NO 24 HOUR NEWS, THERE WAS NO TWITTER, AND MY SPACE, THERE WAS NO DRUDGEREPORT, HUFFINGTON POST, ETC. when Pop individuals like Elvis, John Lennon, Monroe died, or likewise, when maligned and beloved figures like: JFK , Ghandi, FDR and Martin Luther King died. There is something profound about this. How much attention was paid when Aurthur Ashe died???

I am not going to judge whether the New York Post, or the Washington Times, or Arkansas Herald , Sacramento Bee, or the Boca Raton Centinel thinks. When coverage: in Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin American, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East is favorable, maybe the New York Post, is getting it.. Who cares how they got it, they got it.

[citizensrus]

"This isn't just media death-business sentimentality either. There's some spontaneous revisionism that's going on here. It was, it suddenly seems clear, the hard heart of the media, lead by the cruelties of the New York Post, that condemned him to his marginal existence--exiled in Persian Gulf kingdoms--when, in fact, there was a latent, abiding, adoration for the boy-man."

I agee ..there are lots of people awash in their guilt, and they should be.

[citizensrus]

Well, if suffering makes one a saint..as I've always heard..the­n he's in Heaven. Actually, all saints were sinners. The Bible is full of sinners.

[JonathanDS]

I gave up believing in an objective media when all reporting of Michael Jackson was suddenly void of all reference to his anti-semitic episode. He apologized, pulled the anti-semitic song, removed the anti-semitic remark from it, and re-released it. He then followed this by doing the music video for the song with Spike Lee, returning to the anti-semitic version. No reference to this episode could be found in any of the innumerable articles about Michael Jackson that followed, not once throughout his trial for child molestation, when every other article went into a Jackson biography about all of his past transgressions of various natures, was mention of this made. I further remember that his big defense during the episode of the anti-semitic song line was that he had a Jewish friend, Michael Milken (the wealthy Wall Street crook who was sent to prison). How would it be if every time someone was accused of racial prejudice against Black people, they suddenly worked into the discussion a reference to some notorious Black man guilty of rape and murder? Whatever his pretext for bringing Milken into every discussion of his own anti-semitism, a few of us saw through.

[sexyrexy]

he was not alluding to all Jews.. just to ONE-- that family who accused him of that child molestation allegations.

it may have been harsh of him-- but HE WAS FURIOUS & hurt..

[TheWanderer]

The Media's big game in present times is to condemn itself in the third person, commenting from within as if it were from without. And who is this presumably monolithic "public" you mention? Am I presumably a part of that public? I ask because I don't care about Michael Jackson, though if I did I'd be more likely to villify him than praise him; his moonwalking is no prophylactic against his pedophilia, by way of example. But really, I don't care - not my type of music and the guy was about out of date and over the hill as Steve Perry or David Lee Roth.

[ianrthorpe]

In Britain we had stories about the entire crowd at the Glastonbury Festival being subdued and in a state of shock. My son who is there doing gig on the smaller stages every year said on arriving home it had been the most rumustious Glasto for years and most people didn't even know Jacko was dead.

Most of the public were indifferent to Jackson. In his niche, he was popular. I'm a sixties folk rock man, my son an eighties hard rocker. There are milions who like other genres To suggest a single performer could reach all these because he could moonwalk (circus performers have been doing that since way back ), just about hold a tune by singing in a Mickey Mouse on Helium voice, and turned himself into a freak show is risible. It's sad the man lived so unhappily and died so early but he was a song and dance man, End of story.

Most of the public did not care, MJ did not impact on our lives in any way. The media loved him because he provided so many stories. And now having helped destroy him the media are queueing up to tell us all what we really felt about Michael Jackson. Because us poor everyday folk would be lost without some third rate hack from the NY Times, The Guardian or Huff Post to do our thinking for us.


http://greenteeth.blog.co.uk/2009/06/28/michael-jackson-s-last-wish-6414391/

[jmpurser]

Well said for the vast majority of us who merely suffered through MJ's time in the spotlight.

[sexyrexy]

really??? if this was true. he would have NEVER SOLD so many records, would he???

he didn't become the hugest star.. with the likes of you about..

cause & effect.. dearie.

[Brillig]

Lots of has-been's and never-was' on this post.

When I hear people comment in this bitter tone about someone they did not care about, I know what is their problem - envy, the green-eyed monster.

Who cares if you nobodies did not like Jackson? MILLIONS did and within those millions were people of import - not ciphers.

[tiffanyjillian]

Thank you Brillig -- I agree.

To Ian in Britain: Michael Jackson did not sell over 800 million records because he was only popular in "His Niche". There are not spontaneous demonstrations ACROSS THE WORLD because he was some mediocre, niche'-only, "helium-voiced" side-show to whom MOST PEOPLE were indifferent. His albums are not the top 9 albums on iTunes because he only appealed to a specific group. He is an ICONIC performer. He revolutionized music videos, and broke sales records!

You're a bit OLDER than I am, so let me explain it to you. For MY generation and the one before it (children of the 60's, 70's, 80's) his music was a major part of the soundtrack of our childhood. We grew up idolizing this man, wanting to do what he did, and we celebrated him then, so it's only right to remember the good times -- when he was a Pop-GOD (a fact you might as well accept).

Personally, I don't care about Elvis Presley & "HIS" music -- which as you commented about the Moonwalk, wasn't really HIS half the time, he remade MANY Blues songs already known to African-Americans at the time -- yet I RESPECT his contribution to music -- EVEN IF I DON'T NECESSARILY UNDERSTAND HIS POPULARITY. I know that he worked hard for the success he achieved, and I acknowledge that he had the talent to do what he did.

And, surely, YOU are as intelligent as I am --
*wink*

[salamfall]

well, put, the sad thing is, they will see that Michael will be far more famous in death than when he was alive, and guess what, it will boil the bllod out of the haters, who want him dismissed!, sorry but he goes into history as the most famous and talented entertainer of our time, better get used to it now, cause you will see and hear a lot of him!.

[sexyrexy]

no wonder.. 50 dates were sold within mins in the UK..

[kutkreata]

His name was not "Jacko".

[terramartom]

There is the yin and yang in all things. Dark side, and lite side. With the Rich and famous it is just more pronounced.

[boogiewoman]

I was thinking how the media has been raking Micael Jackson over the coals since the 70's. Maybe he has peace now, but his family needs a prayer or two.

[antaeus]

It is a tired reenactment of a stock narrative. Jackson is a saint, the personal doctor has been cast as the villain (deservedly or not), and old Joe Jackson--the guy The Saint charged with abuse--is in front of the microphones as I write. By many reports Michael had strained relations with his family, and according to some observers, the family viewed their most talented and gifted child as a money tree. But now we're only supposed to acknowledge the artistry of decades past? None of the later craziness occurred? Michael suffered child abuse, lupus, addiction, he was frail, no wait, when he dangled his baby over a balcony it was no big deal, he was strong, in total control. Michael was a brilliant young artist and showman, with the best-selling album in history, no wait, Al Sharpton tells us he was under-appreciated. And Maureen Orth is the only reporter I've heard repeat the belief that Jackson himself was a child abuser. "The public" loved Jackson? Is that the same public that wants Reagan added to Mt. Rushmore?

[WeAreTheBorg]

Michael Jackson was a tremendously talented man. He was also a terribly tormented man. The life he led was pre-ordained by his family: He would be a star, no matter what. In the end, the "no matter what" got him.
He was never allowed to be a child, to learn what a normal family is like, to understand his true place in the world. He was a perpetual teenager in a country that worships youth.
I only hope that now he is finally at peace with himself.