Have I Gone Insane? (Or Has Just About Everyone Else?)

Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson. For almost two weeks now, the death of Michael Jackson has been the only thing that matters in the world. Well, at least it appears to be the only thing that matters if you turn on the "news", listen to people talk in public or peruse the internet. I never would have guessed that Michael Jackson's death - or for that matter the death of just about any person in the world - would have gotten this kind of reaction. Unfortunately, this has gone way too far.

When the news broke that Michael Jackson died on June 25th my initial thought was, "That's too bad. That must be horrible for the people that were close to him." You would never believe what I did next though. I continued to live my life. In a way, I think it's what Michael would have wanted. In all seriousness, I was a little bit surprised that Michael Jackson died, but I was not shocked. Apparently, I was in the vast minority. I mean, from afar anyone could see the odd behavior and changing physical appearance of Michael Jackson. All of that has to take a toll on your body. Not to mention the stress that he had to endure over the course of years making music, performing, and being a part of the public spotlight. I knew that it would be a big news story that would be covered for several hours. I never would have imagined that it would be virtually the only thing talked about for almost two weeks though.

Why are we getting this kind of reaction out of the death of Michael Jackson? I realize that Michael Jackson was about the biggest musical "artist" in the world for two decades (sure, you could argue longer, that part doesn't really matter). Let's even go ahead and say that Michael Jackson made the best pop music ever created; fine, I won't argue that either because it does not matter because that still does not explain this magnitude of public reaction or volume of news coverage. I mean people all around the world are seemingly going into the streets to "celebrate his life." People are going to his house, his star on the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame, and who knows where else. They're all going there because Michael Jackson had a big effect on their life? I don't get how it could have possibly become this big. I am twenty-one years of age; from since I can remember Michael Jackson has been thought of as a weird person, who made great music in years past. Sure, I recognized what he did as a musical talent. I understand that. What has Michael Jackson been known for in the past fifteen years? He was thought of as weird. He was accused on multiple occasions of sexual abuse on minors. At the very least he admitted that he was did not feel it was weird to be the lone adult in the company of little boys. I will not judge Jackson, but can anyone question that there were news stories about his odd behavior over this time period? He was not really in the public spotlight in many ways, let alone positive ways. Let me say this much about Michael Jackson. He made extremely popular music that some people consider the best pop music ever. He was also odd, a recluse, and the butt of many jokes. So, again, when Michael Jackson died my initial reaction was surprise. It was a realization that his death would be a big news story. But, I wouldn't have guessed that every minute angle of his life/death would be investigated and people would be talking about his death as if the world had lost its last decent person. For many years now, my view of what most people thought about Michael Jackson was that he was a flawed person (sure we all are), who lived a weird life, and who did not have an overly positive image in the public sphere. When Michael Jackson died, all the odd behavior, all of the questionable actions effectively were forgotten. It's as if it the last fifteen years of his life never happened. Now I do realize that when someone dies many of their flaws are pushed aside so their life can be celebrated. But to outright act like none of it ever happened is mind-boggling. To act like Michael Jackson was a perfect human being who never had anything bad happen in his life that he MAY have been responsible for is the shocking part. Interestingly, I never heard anyone talk about Michael Jackson as if he was perfect until he died. I am not trying to criticize Michael Jackson or the life he lived. Sure, we all have our flaws, none of us are perfect. What I am trying to get across is that the people that are going to the streets and acting like the world's last pure person died are insane. Even if a person was as perfect as people are making Michael Jackson to be, it does not warrant this kind of reaction. This part of it has nothing to do with Michael Jackson. It has to do with the reaction that any person could have to the death of a person they really do not know or have not even met one time in their life. For people to have this big of a reaction to any human being dying that they have never met is shocking. People are treating him as if he was God.

The "news coverage" on TV is completely abhorrent. I have not been watching the "news" much since he died, because I cannot actually find news to watch. What I have been able to watch is 24/7 coverage about all things Michael Jackson. Basically every single second is devoted to Michael Jackson. What really is there to report after ten days and several hours of coverage? It's apparent that there is nothing else happening in the world. Iran, North Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Honduras, Russia and the United States of America, absolutely nothing is happening in those parts of the world. Absolutely nothing. There are no problems in the world except Michael Jackson is no longer with us. Shocking and sickening at the same time. I watched NBC Nightly News yesterday (7/6). You know what the news story was after the Michael Jackson coverage concluded? Any guesses? Six American soldiers died in Afghanistan. Am I the only one that recognizes that something is even a little wrong here? Media outlets have people stationed all over the country/globe just to cover his death and the public reaction to it. They have people doing stories about his pet chimp. It's insane. No one has to tell me that the news media is about entertainment and viewership these days, I already know that. But instead of just sitting here and saying, that's just the way things are, I'd rather complain about the disservice they are doing to society. It is their responsibility to inform people about the important events going on in the world and they do a pathetic job. Absolutely shameful.

Other Observation/Thoughts Include:

As many as twelve people committed suicide because Michael Jackson died. Seriously, it's too outrageous for me to have actually made up. It makes me wonder how someone who actually thought life was not worth living if Michael Jackson was not alive could have survived long enough to kill them self after he died. In this day and age it's really an unbelievably believable story. Story Here

My dad just told me that my uncle (his brother) had jury duty today (7/7). When the judge asked if anyone had any questions a lady on the jury apparently asked, "Can I wear my Michael Jackson t-shirt tomorrow?" I am not joking.

How could someone care about what is going to happen to Michael Jackson's assets or the custody of his children or any array of court cases that are going to take place involving Michael Jackson and his death? How can someone possibly be that invested in another person's life? None of us have any stake in any of it. At the most I could see how someone would want his kids to be put into a good situation. I hope they are put in a good situation as well, but I have no idea what a good situation is for them. Do you know why? Because I have never met nor do I know anyone who they might end up living with.

I was disgusted when I saw Joe Jackson, Michael's father, promoting his record company after his son died. Joe Jackson at BET Awards - 3:20 mark

Al Sharpton. How could anyone have even an ounce of respect for this guy? He deserves to be completely cut off from the public at this point. What is there to gain from anything he does or says? A couple of days ago at an L.A. church he called for there to be a National Day of Mourning for Michael Jackson. Really?! He also said that the post office should create a commemorative stamp in Jackson's honor and waive the five year waiting period that has only been used for Presidents of the United States. He also criticized the media's coverage of Michael's death. I did agree with that point until I heard that he was criticizing the media for painting Michael in a bad light and bugging his family too much. Again, really?! All I have heard is the news praising Michael Jackson as if he was a saint. I haven't heard a single person on the news criticize anything about Michael Jackson's life. Let's go ahead and assume that there are news outlets that are talking about some of the questionable parts of Jackson's life. Isn't that part of who Michael Jackson was? It's at least part of the discussion, no? Al Sharpton is one of the main forces responsible for Michael Jackson's death becoming a circus. It's a shame. Please, do us all a favor and go away. Story Here

Over 1.5 million people entered the lottery to get tickets for Jackson's memorial at the Staples Center. With this we have seriously entered Willy Wonka territory. Honestly, I could just imagine seeing one of those fools at Dodger Stadium skipping around the parking lot singing, "cause I got a golden ticket." You'll never see people more happy to go to a memorial.

Oh, how many people feel it was worth it for any human being to get a four million dollar funeral? And the taxpayers will pick up the tab too.

What happens to all of the jokes about Michael Jackson? From since I can remember people have been making Michael Jackson jokes. Now that we have proclaimed him above human, are these jokes off limits? My point here being that I never heard anyone act like Michael Jackson was a flawless human being until he died. What about all the jokes that were made about him? What about the people who made jokes about Michael Jackson and little boys who are now all over TV talking about how perfect Michael Jackson was?

I saw a "news story" on CNN's website about this group of people who found an image of Michael Jackson in the tree in their front yard. First of all, this is crazy. Second, what the image resembled was nothing close to an image of anything other than an ordinary tree. Third, one of the people looking at the tree compared Michael Jackson to Jesus. Well kind of, here is the exact quote, "To Stockton, Michael Jackson meant more to us than maybe Jesus did to some people. I think they are both about even. They're both icons." Oh. My. Goodness! The thought that there is one person in the world that actually believes that, let alone thousands, if not millions, is frightening. I have nothing else to say about this because I might have to be put into an insane asylum if I think about it for one more second. 'Jackson image' in tree?

There is so much public reaction and volume of news coverage that I could write about this for days. Like I wrote earlier, I am not heavily tuned into the Michael Jackson coverage for a reason. I think it's telling how much I can write about it without really being all that tuned into the coverage. There are so many levels to this event at this point.

In conclusion...

I have never understood why/how some people can be so invested in lives of celebrities. I mean at the end of the day, celebrities are people, people that we don't really know. We may think we know them, but unless we have spent any amount of time around them, we really do not know them as much as we may think we do.

Michael Jackson's memorial was today. It was probably the most coverage I have watched regarding the death of Michael Jackson. I have nothing else much to say beyond I feel bad for all of the people who were there because they were the true friends and family of Michael Jackson. The event that happened today was a memorial for a human being. The people who were involved in the service had real emotions. It's very understandable.

I feel bad for the people that knew and loved Michael Jackson. This has got to be a difficult time for them, as it is for any person who loses someone they know and love. I can even understand, a little bit, if there are people out there that didn't know Michael Jackson that feels somewhat sad that he died. What I can't understand is how people can act like this was a global tragedy and say that the world will never be the same.

My criticisms have little to do with Michael Jackson as a person. I did not know him, I will not judge him. I just do not understand how heavily invested people are in his (or anyone's) life. Especially considering that almost 100% of these people never met him. The thing I might find most perplexing about this, above everything else, is how I never heard ONE person, in my entire lifetime, talk about Michael Jackson this positively (or proclaim him to be as perfect as some make it sound) until after his death. NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. If people did feel this way about Michael Jackson, why didn't anyone ever convey those feelings? Why did they wait for his death?

Maybe I am wrong about all of this and I, in fact, have just gone insane. Maybe I am missing something. Maybe I didn't see any of the apparent vast amounts of outright love for Michael Jackson over the course of my life. Maybe that's true, but I can't remember too many times in my life when I have felt more right about my opinion on an issue/event.