Pajiba

'Jackson, we're told, was the "king of pop," who had "the biggest selling album of all time," and "broke MTV's color line." Every one of these dubious factoids was devised by Jackson or his agents.'

Heeeeeee-Heee! *crotch grab*

The problem for me is that all of Michael Jackson's good work was done decades ago. I can't recall anything amazing he had done since "Thriller". Perhaps this is because the bizarre spectacle of his personal life completely eclipesed his professional endeavors.

Nice article. From all the footage they've been showing of MJ lately, I find myself drawn to all the music he did when he was younger (pre-Black & White) and with the Jackson 5. The man had some serious problems, but nothing can change the talent he possessed.

Except for Remember the Time in '92. I can never get enough of that video. Flashy celebrity cameos aside, the choreography is outstanding. Unlike current videos incorporating any kind of dancing, the moves in RtT relate directly to the poses found in Egyptian artifacts. Wowed me every time.

vomit. he was a sicko. these articles went unchallenged b/c they are true. take some time to read them before you spout off about him being found NOT GUILTY.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/06/michael-jackson-is-gone-but-the-sad-facts-remain.html

He may have been "NOT GUILTY" in 2005, but he did pay a $22,000,000 settlement in 1993, followed by a quickie "marriage" to a Scientologist. Just sayin is all.

Michael Jackson was much younger than 11 when he began singing with his brothers. And he was not found "NOT GUILTY" of child molestation charges in the first case, because he was never charged. He settled out of court before charges could be brought. I really recommend reading Maureen Orth's Vanity Fair articles on the molestation cases and Jackson's behavior during the last 10-15 years of his life. It's disturbing.

That said, I am still a fan of his music. It's what I grew up on and I can't imagine my childhood without it. Whatever else can be said about him as a person is irrelevent, except to illustrate just how imperfect he was, despite the impression his fans have had over the years.

There is no denying that Michael Jackson was an entertainer and that "Thriller" was every bit as impressive an album for all the reasons stated above. I was 10 years old when it came out. I loved it. I knew all the songs, watched the videos, moonwalked, all that stuff.

That said, I was pretty surprised by the reaction of people following his death. The candle light vigils, the people crying in the streets, all of this stuff. Jackson was an icon, but, to me, that icon died years ago.

I never really considered the "Thriller" Michael Jackson (or even the "Bad" Michael Jackson) to be the Michael Jackson that was still around. They were totally different people/being/entities or whatever.

I don't really have a dog in this fight, but some of these comments remind me of how I acted when Sammy Davis Jr. died. I joked about it, made tasteless comments, didn't really care. Then I learned more about the man and what he gave to society through his talent.

The whole child molesting thing is a myth btw so all the jokes are just stupid and ignorant.

RIP MJ

HUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

*CROTCH THRUST....to a child's face*

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at July 14, 2009 12:41 PM

i love you

Yeah, this is one of those subjects where I end up wanting to kill everyone, so I should stay away. But like a true Pajiban, I don't know when to stop.

I liked his music, yes; I thought he was quite talented. But I also acknowledge that he was a deeply disturbed individual who hated himself and his past so much he cut his face apart so he wouldn't look like his father. Somebody like that is capable of lots of dark things, but it doesn't mean that I still can't pity him.

So no, I am not putting him on a pedestal. But I don't see the glee in spitting on him either. Maybe if people were trying to help instead of either using him or making fun, things might have turned out differently.

Still I have a question for the joke-tellers: do you really think such things are funny? Joking about a kid being violated? I suppose this is my "rape isn't funny" subject, but I just don't see the humor in making light of something so tragic, really.

Posted by: Vermillion at July 14, 2009 1:15 PM

Thank you.

What a waste of a post. Last one? Thanks, could've done without it. There is absolutely no new information or reason to prolong this discussion. Is it really this slow today???

I won't deny the guy had talent. I'll acknowledge he entertained and brought joy to many people. I'll even back down (somewhat) from my previous stance along the lines of good riddance to another kid diddler. Dude was undeniably fucked up, and what he may have done hasn't been proven. That said, such a large settlement is suggestive that something off-colour, if not criminal, went on behind the neverland gates and it's possible a child felt harmed. That's not cool.

It's sadly unlikely that people are unlikely to let him lie in peace in death, just as they encouraged the bizarre behaviour and attention-seeking in life. Who thinks that a lesson is going to be learned out of all this?

I wasn't a huge fan, but I respect the impact he had on so many, and acknowledge their sense of loss. I won't endorse or condemn the man any further - he had enough issues given to him, let alone what he created for himself. I will thank him for giving Weird Al a huge boost, and let him rest in peace by avoiding further speculation on what happened, what he did, and what killed him. Sure, he was flawed, but there's worse people out there deserving demonising. Yes, he was talented, but so are many others - why idolise just one? At the end of the day, he was just another messed up person. That makes his passing no more tragic, and no more deserved, than any of ours. Can we just pay our respects, and move on?

This post is just Pajiba's continued slide into irrelevance. Seriously, not very long ago we got about, what, five quality(debatable) posts a day? The output has increased about three fold. Now, I would expect the percentage of the quality to drop, but I think the volume of the quality has dropped as well. Welcome to TMZ2, folks.

Umm... why are we still talking about MJ? Some loved him (me) some didn't (others). He was alive for 50 years. We've known of him for 40ish. He was weird. He was a sex offender. He wasn't a sex offender. His father beat him. Shamon.

Whoever asked who bleaches their skin need to waltz on over to the "ethnic beauty" aisle of their local supermarket. Or maybe go into an African foods market. I don't know anyone who's bleached as extensively as MJ did, but that bleaching cream doesn't just sit on the shelves untouched. I know parents who use that shit to get their babies light-skinned and end up creating a bunch of blotches on those poor cheeks.

And to richmac - Fine, if you don't believe that he broke the color line on MTV, whatever. But name me a black entertainer that reached his level of visibility and success before MJ. The only superstars I can think of are white males... Elvis, Sinatra, The Beatles. MJ is the first black guy that people wanted to actually wear stupid ass red leather jackets for. I mean, shamon.

And I can't think of any since.

I just feel sad for Michael. I didn't know him personally, but I just feel sad for the whole tragic life. Sometimes I feel bad loving his videos, music, and dance. He was fucked up and I'm sitting here delighted?

Richmac maybe MTV believed that Jackson did break a color barrier, after all they would know because they were there. Why does it bother you that they believed he broke a color barrier? MTV is not showing Jackson videos, they’re showing “16 and Pregnant” and “Run’s House” so that means to them the Jackson videos have run their course. In any business the main goal is to stay relevant, any business that is not interested in staying relevant will be out of business. You don’t have to worry about Jackson being shoved down your throat anymore, now you can go back to watching “America's Got Talent.”

"'The only superstars I can think of are white males'

James Brown. Sammy Davis Jr. The entire Jazz movement, spanning decades. Chuck Berry. Bob Marley. Ray Charles. Aretha Franklin. Ella Fitzgerald. Tina Turner. Sam Cooke. Marvin Gaye. Nat King Cole."

Maybe we define it differently, but I don't think these people ever reached MJ levels of superstardom.

A few years ago I was talking to a friend who's from England about how lame music is now and I mentioned the awesomeness that is Marvin Gaye. And he didn't even know who Marvin Gaye was. I sung a bit from a bunch of his songs for him and he finally recognized Ain't No Mountain High Enough. I couldn't believe it. But you bet he knew who Michael Jackson was.

But I guess if you're talking about extremely talented black artists who didn't get much credit or who are well respected than I agree with you. But I don't remember Sam Cooke making grown German women faint at sold out concerts 25 years into his career.

German women, motherfucker please, Teddy Pendergrass had bitches taking off their panties and throwing them at time during his concerts.

I've been sounding way more fervent than I ever expected to over MJ - but here are my useless thoughts:

He paid off the kid accuser - and no one will ever really know the truth. As mentioned above, any lawyer would say that was the best choice - because if there's anything that we want from our famous folks - it's to have their personal lives turned out to speculate upon. Even if he didn't molest that/those kids, any unfamous person would object to having their bedside table on display in a courtroom. Think about that as a possible reason why an emotionally fragile recluse with a rabid fan base might capitulate to a hungry for cash family (due to their child's illness).

On the flip side - most abusers are formed by childhood experiences involving their own abuse - doomed to re-enact their pain until they achieve some control over their moment of victimization. That or they are a sociopath - and while MJ got freaky, I think we can accept that that happy faced little kid got warped by fame and manipulation, he didn't launch out of the gate a frightening psycho. I think his family betrayed him down to the very last Latoya sound bite. They are culpable, especially for the open secret of his father's abuse against him. He was the most exceptional child of a violent control freak who took the lion's share of abuse under their watch. They should be made to pay.

And all this played out under the white-hot prism of media adulation and demonization. In his hands were the most powerful tools known to our society - riches and fame. I wonder what anyone else would have made of that mess? How on earth do you police your own desires in that situation? How do you access a frame of reference to what is normal?

And last - why do we eat our heroes? I'd f*ckin love to understand this about our species. It's sick. But, like they say, all Vultures like to watch until the corpse is ripe.

One way or another, I think he was a genius with a gift unlike any other. And a human with a tragic story, doomed to repeat until the cycle died with him. Fricken shame.

I have always find heartbreaking about this man is that he was very talented and his music was amazing, back when he wasn't completely drugged and lost his mind for good, but he was and he is the poster boy for child abuse. all he did his entire life was trying to run away from what he was, trying to regain what was took from him. I don't believe he tried to become white because he was ashamed of being black but merely cause he was ashamed of himself. an abused kid who never got to have a childhood. about the child abuse, I agree with who says that it was easy for him to buy the verdict with the kind of lawyers he had, but I sincerely don't believe he ever sexually abused anyone, simply because I cant see ever being a sexual being (basically he was the 50 years old virgin) and the trials only achieved to make him feel betrayed by the only ones he felt he could trust, children. I'm not in any way saying that it isn't fucked up. I find appalling that social service that never looked up into how he was raising his children just because he happened to filthy rich. dude was disturbed and a desperate kid that never got to grow up.
and for christ's sake the dude was fucked up like a freaking horse on drugs and yet he had the understanding of keeping them hidden from the cameras and a week after he died I already saw them more than I saw Britney's vagina!

he wasn't peter pan, he was more like richie rich on crack.

rio wrote:
I sincerely don't believe he ever sexually abused anyone, simply because I cant see ever being a sexual being (basically he was the 50 years old virgin)

Well, read the Vanity Fair articles posted earlier (especially the last two), on p. 3 of the last article it said An issue of Barely Legal magazine presented as evidence had both their fingerprints on it. Police searching Neverland in 2003 had found dozens of erotic magazines and books in Jackson's bedroom and bathroom.

On the same page it also says Sneddon has no reservations about Jackson's guilt. He was present in 1993 when the police photographed the star's genitals in order to see if he had certain identifying spots which his first accuser, Jordie Chandler, had drawn for the authorities. The photos matched the drawings exactly and would have been Sneddon's most powerful evidence if the case had gone to trial. Instead, they helped Chandler collect $25 million in a civil suit.

And on p. 4 it mentions another scene from the trial:
Mesereau inadvertently opened a door for Zonen by asking Robson, "If you had known Michael Jackson, as a grown man, was reading Playboy, Hustler, Penthouse, magazines like that, showing naked women, would that have concerned you?" Robson said no, but it would depend on the kind of pornographic material. Zonen seized the opportunity. He strode over to the table where the evidence was kept and pulled out a large photo book called Boys Will Be Boys. Over and over he asked Robson to pick a page and describe what he saw—naked boys of 10, 11, or 12 with their genitalia prominently displayed. Then Zonen produced a second book, "of photographs of two men engaged in sex acts with one another." He asked, "And, in fact, the sex acts are all acts of either masturbation, oral sex, or sodomy; is that right?" Robson said yes. "Would you be concerned about a person who possesses that book crawling into bed with a 10-year-old boy?" Robson said, "Yes, I guess so." And so on. Every time Mesereau tried to blunt the previous testimony, Zonen would get up and grab another book—seven in all.

And later on that page, the interesting fact that his accusers were all around the same age and the same physical "type":
Anyone sitting in the small courtroom had to be struck by how much the boys named as intimate friends of Michael Jackson's looked alike. They could be cousins or even brothers. In fact, the 1993 accuser, the current accuser, the maid's son, and another boy were so similar in appearance that one witness misidentified them. Handsome pre-teen boys with dark hair and eyes, they almost all came from troubled homes where the father was out of the picture and the mother was starstruck. Blond former child star Macaulay Culkin, who took the stand for the defense, was the single exception.

About the age thing, all these boys were around the age of puberty, so it would really be more accurate to describe him as a pederast than a pedophile...as creepy and exploitative as his actions seem to have been with these boys (getting them drunk etc.), I can't help but feel a twinge of cultural relativism when I remember that these sorts of relationships were seen as A-OK in ancient Greece (but then, so was slavery)

For the record, some people call me the Space Cowboy.

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