Lucia

de Vernai

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July 1, 2009

Let’s Be Honest About What Michael Jackson Was

Over the past few days it has seemed like I am one of the eight Americans who are not “deeply touched” or “devastated” by Michael Jackson’s death. Scanning radio stations for something other than public radio’s This American Life and weight loss program ads, I came across a station taking requests from listeners for a Michael Jackson tribute. 

A sniffly woman called in to request her favorite Michael song that changed her life. She could not remember the title of it. No matter what part of the country you were in, Clear Channel programming on that day was even more predictable than customary and the same emotions filled the airwaves everywhere.

Undoubtedly, there are some true Michael fans out there, but their numbers pale in comparison with the folks who appreciated his contribution to music but could not ignore balcony child dangling and criminal charges, or “Billie Jean” fans like me who weren’t a twinkle in their parents’ eyes when Thriller came out 25 years ago.

Thirteen Grammy awards, 750 million albums sold, 13 number one singles. Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, an incredible performer and a cultural force. But that Michael was gone long before doctors at UCLA pronounced him gone. For most of my lifetime, Michael Jackson was no more a symbol of pop than he was of family dysfunction, substance abuse and accusations that would not go away.

When reflecting on the life of a public figure, must we force the blinders on for the sake of not disrupting the often self-gratuitous pity parties held at bars capitalizing on the junior prom memories that the occasion brings? Michael Jackson’s life was not one-dimensional: We cannot set boundaries to confine him to some of the choices in his career or personal life.

Ignoring the disturbing and often macabre aspects of Jackson’s life only so we can peacefully enjoy “Man in the Mirror” is selfish, not respectful. Separating what we are comfortable with from what we’d like to forget is especially important when someone passes away, but let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that it is out of respect for the deceased. 

The Michael Jackson bandwagon was not so full when he was on trial for molesting a 13-year-old boy, or getting sued by the King of Bahrain or allegedly spending $60,000 a month on prescriptions. Now the same publications and public figures that called him “Wacko Jacko” are paying their respects to the King of Pop?

Truth is, we have been losing Michael for years as his health, financial problems and mental state turned him from Invincible to the butt of Neverland jokes. The time to cry for Michael and give his family support was long before he was in the coffin.

It’s grotesque to see how many of those who didn’t care about Jackson while he was living flesh and bone have the need to sob now that it makes no difference to him. Let’s pay our respects by staying honest to what Michael Jackson was to us in his lifetime, even if it gets advertising or 15 seconds of fame on the radio.

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