Michael Jackson: Person or Icon

I'll start with a quote i generated some days ago, "The more talented you are, the less human you become in the eyes of the public." Americans as a collective unit have to learn how to view talented individuals as humans and not icons. As i watched the Today Show this morning Matt Lauer asked Tommy Mattola, "What was it about Michael Jackson that allowed his fans to overlook his [controversies], Tommy Mattola simply replies "His Greatness". A friend told me they read a passage from the mayor of Gary, In where he referred to Michael as "the prince of peace", extremely hyperbolic talk as there is only one Prince of Peace. Once again our perception is distorted.

Jackson's passing was a startling and surprising occurrence but the overt displays of emotion seem rather ungrounded, and at the height of those missteps is suicide. We can't pretend to overlook the reality that Jackson was a troubled man, and with that said I can't say that i am completely surprised. Many different medications were found in his home, he dueled with anorexia, fought a lung disease, and we all were aware of the skin disease. Never does one expect death especially considering the dubious circumstances that surround Jackson's. Most of us did not know Michael Jackson personally, yet some have patronized the goodness and gifts that Michael munificently bestowed upon us, but i think it would have been more important for them to carry those burdens with Michael. One of my favorite individuals Michael Eric Dyson pointed out how Jackson identified a lot of the ideologies that tortured the African American community for years, many African Americans wrestle with the European standards of beauty, so much that we turn to surgery operations and wigs (weave). He was not "used" as a artist because that was his profession, however very few if any were heeding the Jackson's inward, yet outwardly visible lamenting.

People have taken tickets to the memorial to Ebay, in an effort to profit off of an enormously popular dead man, deplorable to say the least. The Today Show is giving the run down of proposed celebrities in attendance as if that matters, although the service is at the Staples Center, "this isn't a basketball game!" There was a lady that hitch-hiked a ride to the Staples Center and all along her trek i believe she spent $1400. How does she have money to make this trip but she can't afford transportation. I do not tell anyone what to do with their money; I would rather tell her you do not owe Jackson your presence at his funeral. You've essentially paid him by purchasing his music and supporting his career, personally you don't owe him anything because personally he gave you nothing. That may sound unwarranted as i do not know her life but we've had approximately 12 members of his fan club commit suicide and I pray that the number isn't understated. Redundancy usually creates deaf ears but, he was human just like you and I.

As i close my soliloquy I wish the Jackson family the best and hope that if there are any positives that can be extracted from Michael Jackson's death we pay attention to them. Most importantly, all I can hope for at this point is that he knew Jesus.