Michael Jackson - RIP [Discuss tastefully (no cruel jokes)]

The media, especially the entertainment media, is all about the negativity. They thrive on reporting the worst about people and never report the good... At least, not until they die. As I said, it's just like Princess Di. One week they want to take away her title as Princess, the next they want to make her a saint. He was a great entertainer (Michael Jackson), but yeah, he was weird.

I didn't mean just the media.. I can't seem to find the Michael Jackson thread from last month. I doubt anyone in this thread is from the media but they weren't around, before he died, talking about how great he was.

Ok, I know. I waited a LONG time to start a topic on Michael, but now that he's been gone for a while, I think it's finally time to share my thoughts, and hopefully begin a meaningful, thoughtful conversation about him.

My very first memory of Michael Jackson was when I was a little kid (sometime between 2-4 years old), and I first saw his Thriller music video on a tape that my dad recorded off of MTV. Other videos on the tape were "Jump" by Van Halen, "99 Luftballoons", some Heart song, and "Come On Eileen". But it was that Thriller movie that made me watch the tape over and over and over and over again. It did so much for me. First, it made me a fan of horror films. Second, it made me really appreciate music in general.

After I saw Thriller, I was a bona fide Michael Jackson fan. My dad would play his tapes and I would do my best to try and dance like Michael Jackson (to this day, I haven't perfected the Moon Walk). Billy Jean was one of my favorites to dance to. When I saw his Moonwalker movie, I actually kept trying to do that thing he did when he leaned all the way forward and came back up. I can't count how many times I fell trying to do that!

Then there was "Bad." I was a little kid, so I didn't know any better, but after seeing the video for Bad, I really thought Michael was gangster. I wanted to get that black jacket and run around parking lots, kicking things and tagging all over the place (although I never actually did).

Later on in life, I learned about his start as a **** in the Jackson 5. Hearing his voice as a kid, to this day, brings out emotions that I still can't define. I guess if I were to describe it with one word, I would say, "exhilarating."

Then came "Heal the World", "Black or White," and "Remember the Time." Heal the World taught me when I was a kid that there are more people in the world than my family, friends and I. It raised my awareness about how much of a toll we take on the planet we live on, and the people and other living things we share it with. Black or White confirmed my own feelings that people are people. I remember one day, my mom told me, "If I ever catch you with a black girlfriend, I'll disown you as a son." To me, she might as well have spit in my face and kicked me in the balls, because to me, racism is despicable and a true shame to humanity. Remember the Time was just a really cool song with a REALLY cool video. Arsenio Hall was still big back then, and to have Magic Johnson on top of that just made it an instant classic in my book.

I could go on and on about Michael's music, but it's not my true aim for this topic. Granted, you can't really mention him without mentioning his music; but that just affirms my overall perspective on the question I am about to ask you: How much do you really know about Michael Jackson?

I'll never forget the first time I heard about the allegations on Michael. It blew my mind, and it came in the form of one of many sick jokes: "Why does Michael Jackson shop at (name any department store)? Because ****rens' pants are HALF-OFF!"

Call me crazy, but I never got to the point where I was certain that he truly molested those ****ren. There are good points on both sides of the argument. He DID sleep in the same bed as the ****ren. That much we know. But what else do we TRULY know? To tell the God-awful truth, almost EVERYTHING I've heard about the whole mess of a situation were word-of-mouth. I will list the rumors I can think of here:
1. Mackauley Culkin was one of the **** he molested.
2. One accuser mentioned a birthmark on Michael's scrotum that Michael actually has.
3. When Neverland Ranch was raided, they found a "kiddy-porn dungeon" (whatever that is) on his residence.
4. He was never convicted, because he always paid-off the accusers.

I'm sure there's more. I'll list them if they come to me.

Another thing: Michael's death. I want to know the who, what, where, when, why and how just like everyone else. But I think it's absolutely DISGUSTING how magazines and tabloids have cashed in on his death. Since his death, if I had bet you all 1 penny each that I would see a photo of Michael Jackson each time I walked into a grocery store, I would be filthy rich by now. To this day, he is all over the place. Sure, some magazines commemorate his career, but they sure picked the perfect time to sell their $13.99 special edition issues!

I dunno. I'll stop here for now. Let's turn this into a real discussion. If anyone could offer any proof to any allegations, that would be a good start. But even if you can't, discuss your opinion openly, and I beg of you, respectfully.

The thing about rumors is that you need no evidence to start one. I heard he was replaced by an alien after the Pepsi commercial accident, or was that an episode of Robot Chicken? The point being, if he did possess pornography of under aged persons, he would have been charged and convicted of it. He couldn't "buy" someone off in that eventuality. And if he molested Macaulay Culkin, don't you think his greedy parents would have sued Michael Jackson for millions? I don't know what really happened in the molestation cases, just like I don't know what really happened in the Kobe Bryant **** case. Just because Michael Jackson is weird people tended not to believe him, and likewise, just because Kobe seemed normal they tended to believe him, even though there was a lot more evidence against Kobe than against Michael.

Seeing that he was never convicted and is now dead, maybe it's time to move on and respect his artistry. He gave a lot to the music industry and its fans, and it's a shame that he put himself in situations that affected his reputation. But now that he's dead, there are more important things for us to worry about.