Take The Second Star To The Right And Straight On Till Morning

RIP Michael Jackson

The following piece I have written is probably not the most coherent but I wrote my thoughts down as the came, in a jumbled mess, and is my reaction to and feelings on the life and death of a legend.

The Breaking News

For the last nine hours, since 11pm last night, I have more or less sat in the exact same place doing the exact same thing; reading updates on the internet and watching live news coverage trying to comprehend that Michael Jackson has really died.

It was just before 10pm GMT when I read some Twitter updates reporting that he had suffered a heart attack at his home and was in cardiac arrest. I immediately checked the legitimacy of these claims on a few reputable US news websites and found out that it was true. Even then I had no thoughts that he would die. I automatically just expected that he would recover. I had the start of the ten-o-clock news on in the background and the reports obviously hadn’t reached them yet, it was only during the latter half of the news that it was announced.

Again, at no point did I worry or consider that Michael Jackson would die and I had put the sad news of his illness out of my mind whilst I watched the concluding part of a programme, not checking the internet, so in ignorance of the reports that were emerging that Michael Jackson had died. In fact I now know he had died just moments after I had watched the news team first announced his heart attack, 22:26 GMT.

Immediately after my programme had finished a special news bulletin flashed up on my screen reporting his death. In shock and disbelief I took to the internet and immediately verified the news from several sources. Some people were still unsure if it was true, as not all news sources had confirmed the story, but I had read enough confirmed reports from enough trusted sources to know it was true and I was surprised at how shocked and sad I felt. I’m no Michael Jackson super fan but I have always enjoyed his music and always felt a certain sympathy and sadness for him and for what was obviously a troubled life.

The Media and Michael

News reports have rolled through the night, desperately finding people connected to Michael Jackson to phone up or drag onto the television for interviews. Early on the BBC rang a clearly distressed Uri Geller who was finding it hard to speak and it seemed rather distasteful and insensitive. Other news outlets have taken the distaste further, publishing pictures of Michael on a stretcher as he was carried to the ambulance. At this time he could only be classified as dying or dead, because although he wasn’t actually pronounced dead until much later we know he was not responsive to resuscitation at this point, and the press seem to think this is an appropriate picture to show. It is not and I am not even going to bother naming the sites who have published these pictures.

This comes after Michaels brother Jermaine asked the media to respect his family’s privacy at this time, unfortunately I doubt all news agencies will respect his request, just as they had at many times shown little respect for Michael Jackson when he was living. Since the age of 5 he was in the intense public spotlight and as he became a troubled adult the media were there to stick the knife in and revel in his flaws and the worst periods of his life. This was a man who was clearly troubled, subject to monumental amounts of emotional pressure and none of that seemed to matter as long as the ‘Wacko’, ‘freakshow’ Jacko stories kept rolling.

Accusations of Child Abuse

As far as the whole ‘Wacko’ thing goes and the allegations of child molestation this is basically my opinion. Michael Jackson was a terribly troubled and lonely adult, some of his close friends such as Uri Geller have confirmed that he felt incredibly lonely. He had never had a real childhood and if everything is to believed he in fact suffered an abusive childhood. Barely out of infancy when he was on stage performing with his brothers, a child superstar who would never be able to live a normal life. The stresses and memories of his missing childhood seemed to have haunted him into adulthood and had him labelled as a ‘weirdo’ because he spent his efforts and his fortune trying to create a real second childhood for himself and more sinister allegations because he enjoyed the company of children.
Unfortunately we live in an age where men are afraid to approach a distressed child for fear of being accused of anything untoward. It is seen as unnatural that a grown man would want to spend time and play with children and that is very sad. For somebody who was very childlike and enjoyed childish pleasures it seems very natural to me that he would want to spend time with children, sharing with them the enjoyment he missed as a child and the company of those who are not as judgemental or intentionally cruel as adults. Michael Jackson was in a vulnerable position. His fame and fortune made him an easy target and in 1993 he was accused of molestation by 13 year old Jordan Chandler and his father Evan. At the time Chandler was recorded as saying “If I go through with this, I win big-time. There’s no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever.. .Michael’s career will be over”, interestingly the mother of Jordan denied any wrongdoing by Jackson and multitudes of children who were also friendly with the star denied any foul play.

What I always found most telling was that Jordan Chandler and his father were happy to settle for a financial payout, yes it was a large one but to me in a case of this nature surely you would want to bring the accused to legal justice not just profit financially? What would really be more important if you believed your child was molested; a massive financial payout or seeing the person responsible convicted, imprisoned and unable to re-offend?

The media backlash against Jackson was huge and undoubtedly had a hugely detrimental effect on his already bruised mental health. Many took his settlement as an admission of guilt, others point out that Jackson simply wanted the stress and horror of it all to be over without the added endurance and publicity of a lengthy trial, his health already fragile due to the devastating allegations and media assault.

Ten years later another boy, Gavin Arvizo aged 14, accused Jackson of similar offences. Despite his friends leaping to his defence and even a psychiatrist, who spent many hours examining Michael, claiming he did not at all fit the profile of a paedophile, the media attack was once again in full swing. His relationships with children were ‘unnatural’. Jackson was clearly even more vulnerable to this accusation than he was before. He had already suffered from media bias and had set a precedent of giving an inordinate amount of money to his accuser. This time, however, the case did go to trial without the huge settlement and Jackson was found thoroughly innocent. A victim himself of others greed and selfishness and a cruel media circus. This trial affected his health further, putting intense stress and emotional strain on the star.

I have no doubt that Jackson was innocent, he was a victim. Those who refuse to believe this should consider the fact he was proven innocent. The general saying is innocent until proven guilty. In Michael Jackson’s case it seemed to be guilty until proven innocent and then still thought of by some as guilty.

Changing Faces

Back to the whole ‘Wacko’ side of things. One thing that captured media attention was the changing appearance of Michael Jackson, with his face altering dramatically and his skin lightening unnaturally over the years. Jackson did admit to just two facial surgeries but it seems highly likely that more took place to cause his startling appearance. My question is which doctor performed these? And why did they not say no? The skin lightening that began in the early 1980′s was attributed to treatment for Vitiligo, a condition which causes depigmentation of the skin and makes the sufferer sensitive to sunlight. Sources said that the treatment Jackson was using for his condition further lightened his skin and the makeup he used to cover patched made him seem even paler. Others claimed Jackson was simply bleaching his skin. I would say that if you look at music videos from the mid 90′s HIStory era that he does not look unnaturally light or too badly affected by surgeries at this point, although still very different from the younger Michael. He was still as good looking as the young boy and young man that he has been, although it seems that much of the past 15 years of this point had brought a great deal of mental and physical suffering for the star.

He was most likely blighted with body dysmorphic disorder that made him feel the need to change himself and to perhaps escape from the adult he did not want to be. Some of those around him obviously indulged and allowed his dramatic physical changes and let his emotional problems continue. Instead of sympathy or understanding the media mocked ‘Wacko Jacko’ for these physical changes and treated him as just some ‘freak show’, not a sensitive vulnerable human being with feelings and emotions.

Continuing Controversy

Much more controversy followed Michael throughout his life, concerning everything from his children to his pet monkey. Anything that played into the whole ‘Wacko Jacko’ media show was reported. The whole charade is summed up nicely with this quote from the man himself,

“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.”
—Michael Jackson

Death

At this time it is still unclear exactly how and why Michael Jackson died and what caused the suspected cardiac arrest that killed him. Rumours are rife about a painkiller dependence that became fatal. It seems true that Jackson was reliant on some painkillers, due to past injury. It would be likely if excessive painkiller use were to blame that some form of liver or kidney damage will probably be found. Others cite extreme stress and pressure as the cause for Jacksons untimely death. Either way it seems that stress and pressure are really to blame. After all is not an addiction to painkillers a reaction to intense stress and pressure in itself? Whatever defeated Michael Jackson is not yet clear but I would speculate that a lifetime of physical and emotional pressures definitely played its part.

Legacy

What we should remember about Michael Jackson is that he was the ‘King of Pop’, immensely talented, even as a young child and a global sensation. He made amazing music, songs that touched many people worldwide, from different backgrounds and ages. He pioneered the way for black stars on MTV and made what some considered to be just ‘black music’ mainstream and accepted. He was also a trailblazer where music videos were concerned. Thriller was its own, immense, production which will forever remain one of the best music videos of all time. What should also be remembered is that he was a loved son, brother and above all a father to three young children who are now missing the most important person in their lives. With any luck his children will be spared the media glare that their father was subject to and be allowed to live the childhood that Jackson was himself denied.