26 June, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Last night upon hearing the news that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital after a cardiac arrest, my first thought was, “If he dies, his children will be better off.”  I know that’s a terrible thing to think, but the thought just automatically popped into my head.  I’ve often thought of those children and what their lives are like.  I don’t think any child should have been allowed to live in the grotesque carnival that was Michael Jackson’s life.  I just hope somehow that his kids will have a more normal existence now, though given the options for custody I suppose the odds aren’t in their favor.  Who is there to choose from?  The Jackson family or the mother who sold them for cash.  Great options.

Michael Jackson seemed like a such a tortured, disturbed person to me that in some ways, it’s nice to think he is at peace now.  His life was really a tragic tale of the age of mass media.  A little boy from a dysfunctional, abusive family catapulted into international stardom to become one of the most famous people who ever lived.  All that fame and money and attention turned him, quite literally, into a monster.  How could it not?  He never really had a life outside of the cameras.  To me, that robbed him of his humanity, of his chance for a real, authentic life.  And so we saw a man who turned from black to white, from male into a sexless being, and from a normal, healthy young person into someone who did not even look human.  He was unable to embrace adulthood and lived a “Peter Pan” existence.  Even if he wasn’t a pedophile, he had an unhealthy attachment to young boys.  There is no way that Michael Jackson’s life was going to end well.  Perhaps he is lucky to have gone relatively quickly and peacefully.

It’s too early to know now what his legacy will ultimately be.  Already I see commentators and celebrities turning him into a saint, which is inevitable.  At the same time, it’s quite likely that many more details from his life (unpleasant ones) will now be published and circulated, thus tarnishing his legacy even more.  Who knows.  But nothing can take away the fact that Michael Jackson was incredibly talented.  I was a little girl during the Thriller era and I simply adored him then.  He brought a lot of joy to my life as a child and I enjoy listening to his songs now.  No matter what he became and what he did, he brought happiness to people’s lives with his music.

1. Comments RSS

1. Lucette Says:

   June 27th, 2009 at 2:26 am

   Agree with you that MJ is probably better off where he is now. That he had a really messed up childhood and ended up with a really messed up life.

   The only point is that the turning from black to while is his skin losing its pigmentation – there was someone else with the condition on TV a while back – and who theorized that it was the reason MJ started to wear one glove and then two. That said, MJ is one person who should have been kept far far away from plastic surgery.

2. Ken Says:

   June 27th, 2009 at 9:39 pm

   Anglofille: I predict those kids will be pawns in what will surely be a vicious fight for control of Jackson’s Estate. Even as I write (4.21 EDT) I am confident there right now there are lawyers trying to locate his will. Imagine the fun if he died intestate!

   I have to admit I’ve never paid much attention to MJ. “Thriller” was great, and he sure could dance (Fred Astaire was right when he said MJ had “angry feet”). I was too busy with my own life back then to pay him much mind. I was more interested in books and movies.

   I got interested when he started to mutilate himself. A sure sign of distress. I doubt Michael ever had anybody in his life who just loved him for himself.

3. KidsWizzerd Says:

   August 21st, 2009 at 3:57 pm

   I always wanted to visit the neverland ranch. So sad that I’ll never have the chance. Do you think the things they say about him are true?