So, yesterday afternoon my mom woke me up (I'm nocturnal again) and informed me that Michael Jackson was dead. Shocking to hear, since he was never on my "important people who might die in the near future" mental list, but I turned on the news and indeed, it was true.
Seeing all the stuff about how much he contributed to music, how shitty his childhood was, and how he was a hero to so many people, I kinda started feeling guilty about my past ragging about the guy. Yeah, he got a little weird in recent years, but so what? Can you really blame him after all the shit that he had to deal with, both from within his family and from the public?
It's possible that he molested kids. It's also possible that he was an alien surveying our planet (hence the moonwalk). But the fact is, we'll never know. The American legal system isn't exactly rational or competent, and one thing that everyone should be aware of is that few people are ever as bad as the media makes them out to be.
What we DO know, without any doubt, is that he changed the music world forever. That's what his legacy should be, not the tabloid garbage that so many of us relished in for so long. A musician. An artist. A goddamn pioneer.
I'll be putting the damn jokes to rest.
Rest in peace, Mr. Jackson.
*****
RohantheBarbarian
Whatever about my opinion of him as a person, he was one of the greatest performers of all time, and I had a lopt of respect for him in that regard. RIP MJ.