Grieving the passing of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Most people of the world will remember where they were when they heard of the tragic news that Michael Jackson was dead! I was at a bank and I was having a conversation with the teller when another customer announced in a very loud voice that Jackson had died. I immediately stopped what I was doing and asked the lady when did he die? She said only half an hour ago. I then asked her how did he die and she replied he had a heart attack. And then I found myself overwhelmed with emotion - out there where the public could see my private feelings. I am not inclined to describe all the details of how it all ended for me at the bank. I can't remember the last time when I felt like I was hit with a tsunami of emotions over the death of a celebrity. I am not into celebrity at all. On the contrary, I don't even like the word. I was not a fan of Michael Jackson; I probably bought only two of his songs out of so many that I downloaded (bought) online over the years. I never followed closely his life story like his fans do. But from a distance, I did have an understanding of his very tragic and troubled life. Jackson probably never had a single year of peace and tranquility out of the 50 years that he was on the planet. Turmoil seems to follow him wherever he happened to be. Even when he went to one of the Gulf States to live there, he was being sued for breach of contract by one of the decadent 'princes'. Did Jackson ever have anyone whom he truly trusted, including members of his own family? It is hard for me to answer it because I never paid much attention to the details of his family squabbles. But something did go wrong when Jackson was a kid and that experience would haunt him for the rest of his life. I think it was Jacqueline Kennedy who once said that if parents get it wrong when raising their children that nothing else that they do right matters. I totally agree with that. The fate of children is determined during those early crucial years; if there is nurturing and love they would grow up to be well-adjusted adults, otherwise they are destined to be damaged goods for the duration of their life span. It is hard to assess who is telling the truth and who is not when the Jackson family opted to wash their dirty linen out in public. I could never understand family members exposing family secrets for all to hear and see. Why not engage the services of a therapist and let it out there within the confines and the privacy of the therapist's office?
A boy trapped in a man's body: That was indeed Jackson. It appeared to me that Jackson's brain never developed beyond the age of five. The kind of decisions that he made could only be expected out of a child and not a fully-grown man. For example: take that interview he gave to an English journalist where Jackson openly admitted to 'tucking in' in their bed children that come to stay with him at his ranch. What is a grown man doing with children? But you see, a guilty person would not have admitted to such an outrageous conduct. But to Jackson it was not outrageous but quite ordinary. And what kind of parents would allow their children to spend nights with strangers unattended and unchaperoned?
Relief: After having gone through those few hours of tumultuous emotional reaction to Jackson's death, I was then relieved that Michael Jackson wad dead. It would have been hard to watch him as he deteriorated and degraded as he lived the years in his 50's and 60's. He already looked like a ghost and further aging would have exasperated that haunting look! What the rest of us enjoy everyday of our lives that we take for granted is being a private citizen where we could go places without being pursued by paparazzi, where we could enjoy vacations, family gatherings, dinners unmolested by flashing cameras. That is priceless. Celebrities pay an immense price where they do not have the privilege to take a nice walk or enjoy a swim at the ocean without prying eyes watching their every move. I would never trade my private life for any amount of money or fame, the latter being something I would never wish to have.
Why I am I still grieving? It boils down to a racist society where Jackson felt that white was good and black was bad, white hair and white features were good and black hair and black features were bad. Black pride as lectured by the likes of Malcolm X are dead and the hair extension is a multi-billion industry. It is almost hard to find a black woman across so many continents who has not bought into the notion that attaching fake hair is the way to go in order to look 'attractive'. Look at role models: look at Oprah Winfrey, look at Janet Jackson, at Whitney Houston, none would be seen in public without the hair that they bought and attached to theirs. This problem does not affect only black Americans but even African women who live in the cities. Will there ever come a time when black people would go back to saying 'black is beautiful' and burn their fake hairs?
As I stated earlier, I am not into celebrities. So why did Jackson's death impact me in such a powerful way? It has to do with connecting to his tragic life and having a good understanding of what life for him was like. My blog is certainly a political blog and it was not out of character when I paid tributes to my heroes such as Malcolm X, Ali and others. But there was an exception when I paid tribute to Michael Jack on November 19, 2008. That link appears at the bottom of the links for that day.
Michael Jackson: 25 plus years since 'Thriller'. Honoring the genius but tortured soul of Michael Jackson. Here is 'Thriller' in its entirety. Enjoy!
How did Jackson make it on my blog, which is strictly a political blog? It is because of the way I described it above, that his life was a torturous one.
Iran: Michael Jackson through his death may have assisted the Iranian government from a well-orchestrated attempt to bring about regime change via 'mobs for hre'. Sleek and smoother operator Barack Obama does know how to recite what is written for him by his handlers. When Obama says something positive about any Muslin country, begin to worry and run in the opposite direction. During his speech in Egypt, it was astounding to hear him being complimentary about Iran which now stands as the numero uno country world Jewry would like to see disintegrate like Iraq. Obama would never have made it to the white house without Jewish blessing. So how did he dare to speak so favorably about a country that is so reviled by the very powerful Jewish groups? The simple answer is because that was a ploy! He knew well in advance about the chaos that was about to engulf Iran like a wild fire that was already paid for and planned for and he might have been almost assured of its success. So why not say nice words so that when the chaos erupts he would at lease appear not to have anything to do with it since in his speech he appeared to have a positive attitude towards Iran. The passing of Jackson may have brought so relief to the turmoil instigated by the west and those that pull its strings because by virtue of Jackson being an international phenomenon media attention has shifted to his demise. The predators were counting on the focus of the media on Iran to influence public opinion.
In Michael Jackson's honor and simply because I don't feel like bothering with posting news stories, I am only posting this message for the week of June 27, 2009.
See you next week.
Here is my tribute to Jackson posted on my blog on November 19, 2009
Michael Jackson: 25 plus years since 'Thriller'. Honoring the genius but tortured soul of Michael Jackson. Here is 'Thriller' in its entirety. Enjoy!