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Michael Jackson dead.

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TheEgoist

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Looks like the King of Pop is finally dead...Much like Elvis, it would have been nice to remember Thriller Mike., but unfortunately the last 15 years or so...Leaves you with less-than-consistent feelings about the guy.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/m...th_prompts.html

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He allegedly molested children. Nothing was ever proven, and I think people should get the respect of not being called criminals when no court could convict them...Clearly Michael's oddball personality did not help at all in convincing people he didn't molest children, but still.

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I'm not sure I can agree that's always the case. Convicting someone requires evidence beyond reasonable doubt, presented during that one trial, by a competent prosecutor, and heard by a competent judge and jury. Criminals don't always get caught, prosecutors aren't always perfect, jurors can be irrational and stupid, etc. You can't always go by the criminal justice system.

I would've never trusted Michael with chidren (because I have a strong suspicion that he's a pedophile), and I'm also convinced that OJ is a murderer.

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Looks like the King of Pop is finally dead...Much like Elvis, it would have been nice to remember Thriller Mike., but unfortunately the last 15 years or so...Leaves you with less-than-consistent feelings about the guy.

Elvis decayed. Jackson went off the deep end.

Even if he wasn't a pedophile and never actually molested a child, it is unseemly for a grown man to seek the friendship and companionship of children. Why? because that's exactly what pedphiles do.

And even that was the less bizarre part of his life, or at least what the media showed.

As to his music, I never liked it one bit. I recall getting a tape of "Thriller" at the height of its popularity. I don't recall what I did with it. I suppose I gave it to someone, but it's also possible I threw it in the trash (but then I'm eccentric when it comes to getting gifts).

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Just a sense I gathered from the bits I heard of M J over the years is that he was stuck in some pre-puberty stage - which is probably why he related to very young fans.

A sort of psychologically-arrested Peter Pan, he seemed completely asexual and non-sexual, so it was quite feasible that all he needed around him were children to play with - literally.

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Just a sense I gathered from the bits I heard of M J over the years is that he was stuck in some pre-puberty stage - which is probably why he related to very young fans.

A sort of psychologically-arrested Peter Pan, he seemed completely asexual and non-sexual, so it was quite feasible that all he needed around him were children to play with - literally.

He had positive things to offer in his early career -- he was singing right from the start with the Jackson Five --, but then went in a funny direction, and your analysis may be right on. It's not one I'd heard, but it makes sense.

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Just a sense I gathered from the bits I heard of M J over the years is that he was stuck in some pre-puberty stage - which is probably why he related to very young fans.

A sort of psychologically-arrested Peter Pan, he seemed completely asexual and non-sexual, so it was quite feasible that all he needed around him were children to play with - literally.

That's the general thought. He acted like a man-child with a billion dollars and all the power of the most popular musical artist of his time.

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I always thought that Michael Jackson hated to be black because he changed his skin color to pale white, straightened out his hair, and made his nose rail thin. He's been out of the limelight for a pretty long time now so most people know him mostly for the two cases where people were trying to sue him for money(allegations that were never proven), South Park Episodes, Wacko Jacko, and so on. People that knew him personally do have fond memories of him though and I did like some of his music and he did accomplish a lot with his time on earth.

Edited by dadmonson
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I always thought that Michael Jackson hated to be black because he changed his skin color to pale white, straightened out his hair, and made his nose rail thin.

As far as his skin goes I don't buy it. There are no treatments to lighten skin. Skin color depends entirely on a pigment called mleanin produced by the body. When skin gets exposed to an ultraviolet source, like sunlight, it produces more melanin to shade the skin (that's why people tan). There are ways to increase melaning production through drugs, but none to supress it.

There si a medical condition that hampers melanin production. That's what Jackson claimed to have and I believe it because the condition does exist.

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I am deeply sorry he died. I admire him as an artist and I think his story of downfall is tragic. It seems like all the people at the top of the entertainment world get hit with some vicious force - Marilyn Monro is one example of many. Perhaps it is their success that makes them the target of hatred and envy of many who try to make them feel bad for who they are and bring them down.

"In early 1996, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a press release charging Jackson with antisemitism regarding lyrics in the song "They Don't Care About Us"

"For a number of years, Sony had been pushing to buy all of Jackson's share in their music catalog venture. If Jackson's career or financial situation were to deteriorate, he would have to sell his catalog. Thus, Sony had something to gain from Jackson's career failing."

"Jackson denied the sexual abuse allegations, saying that the sleepovers were in no way sexual in nature. Jackson's friend Elizabeth Taylor defended him on Larry King Live, saying that she had been there when they "were in the bed, watching television. There was nothing abnormal about it. There was no touchy-feely going on. We laughed like children and we watched a lot of Walt Disney. There was nothing odd about it."[123] During the investigation, Jackson's profile was examined by mental health professional Dr. Stan Katz; the doctor spent several hours with the accuser too. The assessment made by Katz was that Jackson had become a regressed 10-year-old and did not fit the profile of a pedophile."

"Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars. Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, 'I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight,' people would say, 'Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a damn word that comes out of his mouth.'"

Looking at Michael Jackson's videos, expressions and movement, I think he felt very intensely about life, had a very high capacity to enjoy life, had self confidence and was uninhibited to express himself in a degree most people can only dream of and never experience in a lifetime.

His music released such a positive energy into the world, nothing short of a spiritual giant can do that.

If he had a screwed up psychology, it was buried deep in his early years.

Seeing himself as a child is something I can understand and relate to; kids are innocent and happy, adults seem grim and dishonest. A person seeking to enjoy life can easily make the mistake of thinking that the source of joy is a childish spirit.

I think external factors had a lot to do with his detirioration. Had the world been a better place, I don't think he would have broke down like he did. I find his story tragic.

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Looks like the King of Pop is finally dead...Much like Elvis, it would have been nice to remember Thriller Mike., but unfortunately the last 15 years or so...Leaves you with less-than-consistent feelings about the guy.

I think this sums it up well.

He allegedly molested children. Nothing was ever proven...

Well, when you go around saying things like you shared your bed with little boys and played blindfold games, you kinda leave yourself open for speculation.

I will remember MJ for his great music and wonderful style of dance, but I will also remember him for being weird as hell and having a strange and probably inappropriate fascination with little boys. I pity him for never having a regular childhood and I place partial blame on his parents and the press for making him the freak he was the day he died.

As to his skin color and medical conditions, he's rumored to have had lupus, vitiligo, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and possible skin cancer, any or all of which could have caused or contributed to his death. (Much less his extraordinarily stressful life being the most famous person in the world, ever.)

And as a capitalist, I must admire the approximately 3/4 of a billion albums he sold worldwide. Not to mention everything else that goes along with that...t-shirts, white beaded gloves, red leather jackets, posters, concert revenue, etc. He probably did more with regards to capitalism in the music world than any other.

This video epitomizes the MJ I appreciate for his music and dance. If you're a Gen Xer, you've gotta remember this. I remember watching with my family and when MJ did the moonwalk, my dad exclaiming, "How did he do that?!" We were all thoroughly entertained. :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VASYhabHkM

Now it may seem so boring or has been, but at the time, no one had ever heard or seen anything like that. Good stuff.

I wasn't aware there was going to be an impromptu showing of 'Arsenic and Old Lace' here.

Oh, I love Carey Grant! :P

Edited by K-Mac
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kids are innocent and happy, adults seem grim and dishonest. A person seeking to enjoy life can easily make the mistake of thinking that the source of joy is a childish spirit.

I think external factors had a lot to do with his detirioration. Had the world been a better place, I don't think he would have broke down like he did. I find his story tragic.

Interesting...Ayn Rand talked a little about talent and sensitivity here:

...Talent does not survive all obstacles. In fact, in the face of hardships, talent is the first one to perish; the rarest plants are usually the most fragile. Our present-day struggle for existence is the coarsest and ugliest phenomenon that has ever appeared on earth. It takes a tough skin to face it, a very tough one. Are talented people born with tough skins? Hardly. In fact, the more talent one possesses the more sensitive one is, as a rule. ...

I'm not going to get into all the gossip and rumor mills about Michael Jackson because this is not a gossip site.

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Looking at Michael Jackson's videos, expressions and movement, I think he felt very intensely about life, had a very high capacity to enjoy life, had self confidence and was uninhibited to express himself in a degree most people can only dream of and never experience in a lifetime.

The facts are that he was incredibly self destructive ( he had countless plastic surgery and a bizarre lifestyle, he blew off his career), he surrounded himself with children (there is no doubt that he enjoyed being around and in bed with children-there's only some doubt about whether he actually abused them, because witnesses were paid off), and he died from drug addiction.

The speculation is that his music shows he was a great person. I disagree, I don't think his music was great. I guess the disagreement is the same as with the Susan Boyle argument I had a while back with her "fans", in another thread. Someone's singing really doesn't prove that they are great people, their life and actions do.

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