Michael Jackson was the king of pop music and his pop music is great. Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. He was born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana and had a distinct singing voice. A new Jackson album a new Jackson appearance was a pop culture event.

Surely, you won't make jokes about Leslie Nielsen.

I'd accuse the media of this alright, but the "public"? That's us - 100's of millions of people. I would say the vast vast majority of them/us didn't care a huge deal about either of the two things. Certain very vocal groups popped up for both, but I wouldn't consider them in any way representative of the rest of us.

Not in this lifetime, and don't call me Shirley.

While I definitely think of MJ as a complex, very screwed up individual (and I do think he did the nasty with at least one kid who slept over at the Ranch), that didn't stop me from repeat playing Off the Wall and Thriller on a near constant basis when I was in junior high. As much as I hate to admit it, I was around for the original releases and you couldn't get away from MJ love at that point in time. Nor would I have wanted to. Those two albums defined a period in my life (much the way Siouxie's Hyaena defined my high school experience, and Joy Division's Substance and Bauhaus' Singles, Volumes 1 & 2 defined my early college years) that I look back on with much fondness. Of course, at that age, I had no idea about MJ's peculiar predilections or the possibility that he was a pedophile. He made great pop music that I loved to dance to, and he was a moonwalking genius on stage. That's all that mattered to me. I still think he was a great pop musician and dancing genius, but one that I wouldn't worship these days as I did in junior high, knowing what I know about his personal life. A lot of great entertainers are very screwed up people, and he definitely falls into that category.

If a funny one comes up, I won't refrain. However, that's extremely unlikely.

Fair enough. The media however, sickens me.

:thumb:

Exactly the response I wanted.

I think that was made clear when he was alive when people talked trashed about him and most comedians made money off of telling Michael Jackson jokes. Michael Jackson had to go through alot of ish in the public eye when he was alive and sadly even in his death which is not that much of a surprise because he was a big celebrity but why cant the man rest in peace? If it aint necessary to hate on him then why waste time doing it? Michael Jackson was the greatest ever and thats really the only thing matters. All this other mess doesnt take away from it.

This Is It was a pretty good indication of how much of a big heart Michael Jackson had. Sure, some accusations were forced upon him in his lifetime, but if you see the way he acts on stage and to his stage mates, he seems to still be smiling, and enjoying himself.

You are insinuating that because he's a great pop star he has the right to I don't know... molest children. To me, I think the fact he maybe was raping kids is something that very much does matter. He could be freaking John Coltrane, and it'd still matter.

:banghead:

Honestly, what? Of course when he's doing a show he's happy. What do you expect him to be doing? Pissing on the audience, and kicking his stage hands in the nuts?

I think the problem was that people are disturbed he may have been molesting children. The fact he privately had children constantly in his quarters, that weren't his, is a little bothersome. The fact he represented the symbol of somebody possibly having just enough money, and power, to get away with anything he wanted to I think is the issue we're covering.

Letting it rest in peace is not the point. It's the fact that if he can do it, it leads to the possibilities other rich, and famous people could buy their way into getting away with the same thing. I'm not saying he did, and I'm not saying that I have enough evidence to go either way, but the possibility should be scrutinized heavily in both death, and life.

I mean, just because he wasn't as dumb as Roman Polanski to film it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. If Polanski didn't take pictures, we'd never know.

However, I do agree that I'm annoyed at the duality. That the press so swiftly changed it's tune after he died. If you're going to spend a decade laying in on him for being a scumbag, you don't turn around and revere him after he dies. Besides, Micheal Jackson jokes were annoying as ****. Way too predictable.

Nobody EVER makes a Gary Glitter or Pete Townshend(a man CAUGHT with child porn on his computer, and completely weaseled out of it) joke. Pete Townshend, for example, is a phenomenal musician, but I'd NEVER say that the man should not be in jail, and when he dies, I'll freely call him a scumbag no matter how much I love The Who.

I don't think he ever molested any children. Innocent until proven guilty anyone? He was acquitted both times and it's obvious if you examine the cases at all that it was exploitation. If you're accused of something that doesn't make you guilty. That's the difference between our "civilized" legal process and the witch hunts of Salem.