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.

Not So Friendly Fire

I don’t want to put it like this but…another NY police officer fatally shot by one of his own. “The slain officer, Omar J. Edwards, 25, who was assigned to patrol housing projects and was wearing plain clothes, was shot in the arm and chest after a team of three other plainclothes officers in a car saw him chasing a man on East 125th Street between First and Second Avenues with his gun drawn” , states Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Alright, Im about to map out some important details and we are going to break this occurrence on down.
-Officer Edwards was chasing a man, which usually indicates one has been done wrong by the person they are chasing, except extreme cases of senseless violence. The man he was chasing had broken his driver side car window and was rummaging through his car.
-Three officers got out of their vehicle and confronted Edwards (off duty officer), according to the NYTimes article.
-Two of the six shots fired solely by Andrew Dunton hit Edwards: one in the arm and one in the chest, as stated above.

Lets extrapolate from what we know. If there are three officers and two men running, it should be relatively easy for them to apprehend both. If they did obtain both men, which appears to be the case as the potential thief has been questioned as well, I find it hard to believe Edwards didn’t tell them that he was an off-duty officer. Also why did all three officers confront Edwards, as if he was the only person involved, its not logical and really doesn’t even sound symmetrical. They did give the details in chronological order but if all three approached Edwards how did capture the other man…did he wait around? I find this last detail to be the most intriguing, why did Officer Dunton fire SIX shots and the other two officers did not fire a single shot. These officers are trained and all it takes is one shot to impale someone. It is also hard to imagine him in a great deal of danger, if none of his fellow officers fired a shot but he had time to fire six.

I don’t know the up to the second latest but this investigation should yield some results, fast. The motives and/or details don’t line up to me and I’m sure that I am not the only one. I am not a cynic nor am I a conspiracy theorist, but Edwards was black, and if you recall, 25 yrs old. Officer Andrew Dunton is…you know it…white. We shall see how the details iron out but these NYPD officers have got to get better at diagnosing situations. I understand the vastly meticulous and highly pressurized nature of the job, but this one seems like a stretch. Particularly if they are labeling this an accident, as Mayor Bloomberg reassures "The only thing that can come out of this is to improve procedures so perhaps it doesn’t happen again," the mayor said. "We all know policing is a dangerous job and accidents happen when people have guns in their hands, even legal guns in this case which they are authorized and trained to use." I wholeheartedly agree with that first sentence if it turns out to be accidental. But im wincing and scrunching my face right now and for good reason.

Little Brother

Recently i had another friend from high school pass away, as i sprawl on the floor listening to my headphones with my brother behind me on the couch i am reminded how delicate life really is. You'll know why its important that my brother is behind me later. Many occasions we are reminded of the proverbial saying "tomorrow is not promised", but i get a funny bone feeling in my gut when i hear those words, I indeed embody that saying if that is humanly possible. I have had 5 H.S. classmates die (i believe) since i graduated a mere six years ago. My heart rumbles whenever i get the news and without reservation I am immediately struck by the power of God.

See, for those that are formerly unaware I was stabbed in the heart, 2 years after graduating from H.S. I additionally was wounded with a slightly collapsed lung as well. The approximate 30 mins that i lay on the ground have the strongest replay value in my mind even through this day. As a relatively young man it is hard to assess the plenary value of that proverbial phrase, although you mentally understand what is said. Experience is the best teacher. If you want to put your current situation in perspective think about your past, if time is an issue think about when you were 7 and 22 seemed like light years away. You made it and now you don't know where the time went. Think about how smart you thought you were at the age of 16, and think about how smart you are now. So for me i think about those critical minutes when i laid upon the legs of my brother and grasped at consciousness over and over, however was barely able to hold what i reached for (my body shakes even now). Consciousness was handed to me only by my brother who rattled my shoulder consistently and implored that i open my eyes. Nonetheless as i drifted in and out the events of my childhood and past replayed in my head so vividly as if i had watched myself grow up (YES, that really does happen!). As I peacefully accepted the reality that i was on the cusp of death, I was reminded in the form of my little brother to "Live". This is not a commonly shared experience but for me i think about how alive i thought i was then and compare it to how alive i am now. Have you ever felt life? I have and it feels amazing, especially the first time my two brothers came to the hospital and cautiously entered the Intensive Care Unit with blatant trepidation where i was battling, and with no words said, each one of us cried as we were overwhelmed with the feeling of LIFE.

Everyone has a purpose and you can rest assure that you are not leaving here until your purpose is fulfilled. Some may think that i am too young to do life reflections but Brian Wallington has a long road behind him.

The people we may know that pass away are our "little brothers" that remind us to live. We all know the delicacy of life but as we lay on the ground and go through the motions sometimes we need someone to rattle us and say "open your eyes, and live".