He's dead. He's buried. (Maybe). He's old news. So let's examine what all the media and the entire mainstream missed concerning Michael Jackson and his death. It's really quite simple. (If you're from New York). So now that the pomp and spectacle are over, listen up.
Since Michael's death through his funeral service, the airwaves have been buzzing with both adulation and admonishment. I always found it curious how and why people will complain about media coverage and then go on a radio show to bring it all up again. Why is this big news? It's because you all keep making it big news, that's why.
To anyone who complains about the attention given to Michael, they have to get a grip on reality. Michael Jackson wasn't a big celebrity. He was a one in a billion megastar. And he wasn't just a great performer. He was an astonishing singer at the age of 10. TEN. That alone puts him in a very elite group. And one more thing. He wasn't an amazing child prodigy who ran his course and moved on. He grew as an artist and went on to have a career that overshadowed anyone else in the industry. He's also been a part of everyone's life for as long as any of us can remember. He had talent beyond mere mortal proportion. And he died mysteriously at a young age. So stop trying to make it out like the coverage is overkill. Of course the media was going to milk it for all it was worth and I have a feeling they'll continue to do so.
Now to anyone who extols the magnificence of Michael Jackson and feels compelled to defend him, you too have to accept certain realities. Michael Jackson was crazy. No, not eccentric -- crazy. In a way that was fearful. It couldn't have been any clearer. And he was stupid. Yes, let's get real. The guy was dumb as dirt. Why is that so hard to accept? Because it's "mean" to say so? If you want to find meanness, you're looking in the wrong place. The biggest culprits were those closest to Michael.
Everyone accepted him when he had the pet monkey and slept in an oxygen chamber and built an amusement park around his home. His first cosmetic work actually looked good and the one glove and wacky clothes were all a part of his quirky charisma. He was entitled to be a little loony considering his skills as an entertainer and his unusual life experience. But at some point being different turns into bizarre, which turns into delusional and eventually dangerous.
That is what no one seems to get. When a man goes into seclusion, it shouldn't be surprising if he's shunned. When a man mutates his appearance in what seemed to be an attempt to look like an adolescent Caucasian girl, you must question it. When a man dangles his child over a railing, it proves he has no grasp on right or wrong. You can make all the excuses in the world but it's a moot point. Even those capable of the most heinous behavior imaginable have reasons why they are the way they are. It's still not an excuse for the behavior.
Jackson attempted to hide behind his innocence, as if the child's mask he'd created from plastic and stitches excluded the need to behave like a functional adult. And much like that goulish facade, it began to crumble and everyone saw the truth.
But what is most disturbing is the family. As a New Yorker, I can't understand why with so many friends and family, (many of whom were so very tearful at the funeral) no one ever approached Michael to do what any self respecting New Yorker would do. Just say; "Hey Mike, stop being such an asshole." And keep saying it until it sinks in.
Just tell him. Over and over. Wearing a mask in public does not disguise you, it draws attention to yourself. Pretending to be "a normal guy" while sleeping with little boys does not make you more acceptable. Acting as if you're a child did not provide protection from scorn. But that's the way it is when you're crazy -- and stupid. And that's even more reason he needed people to step in and tell him so. I truly believe he would have at least had a fighting chance. As it stood, he was hopelessly lost. It was of little surprise that the ending wouldn't be pretty.
Who are the doctors who continued to disfigure this man? With all the media attention, why is there nothing about them? Who were the lawyers and advisors who allowed for his personal life and finances to dissolve into shambles? Who was the personal doctor who prescribed a cornucopia of lethal drugs? Where are the welfare workers that would swoop in and scream bloody murder that there were children who were not attending school, yet because they're the children of a celebrity, it all gets passed on. Where was the loving family when time after time, year after year, incident after incident, it was as clear as it can be that this man was on a course of self destruction and nothing was being done? Oh yeah, they were all at his funeral, heartbroken that he was lost at such a young age. And now it's time for a song! Everybody sing along! Look how much we loved Michael. How's my makeup?
Anyone who is allowed free reign of inappropriate behavior will continue to engage in it. Add fame and fortune and it will surely run amok. Michael needed guidance and never got it. And as far as I'm concerned that makes everyone who was on that stage at his service a hypocrite.
Or maybe they too, are just stupid.