General Question

sandystrachan's avatar

How do you feel that Michael Jackson is dead ?

Asked by sandystrachan (4417points) June 25th, 2009

I am in shock , speechless and really sad brought a tear to my eye , the guy was one of the best singer song writers

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136 Answers

Tink's avatar

He died?

nayeight's avatar

Where is your source that he’s dead?

DrasticDreamer's avatar

I can’t confirm that he’s dead, except on two websites that don’t seem too reliable. All the others say he’s still in the hospital.

casheroo's avatar

I haven’t heard that he died yet. I know he was rushed to the hsopital.
Personally I don’t see why so many people like him. I don’t like child molestors.

wenn's avatar

CNN reports him in the hospital, not dead.

sandystrachan's avatar

skynews.com its all over that news site

bonus's avatar

@sandystrachan First, I never heard anything about this and I am just now catching up on news. Surely, it would be news somewhere.

Second, what about the fact that he is a molester? I can’t really see past that any more.

Jackson 5 was definitely awesome though.

DrasticDreamer's avatar

Nevermind, he seems to be dead. How I feel about it? Nothing, really. No way to confirm that he was a pedophile, but there was a good chance, so I don’t really care.

sandystrachan's avatar

Its on TMZ.com am not sure how reliable they are .

Jude's avatar

I’m in shock, actually. I really didn’t care for him (because I do feel that he was a “Chester the Molester”). But, I was a fan when I was younger. He was a talented musical artist.

Still finding it hard to believe.

nayeight's avatar

I’m sad, Micheal Jackson is a legend. I do believe that he was the best musician of all time. Period. No contenders. If you don’t like the man’s music, you don’t have a soul!

Ivan's avatar

So far, no major news source is confirming that he is dead. Only TMZ is reporting his death.

sandystrachan's avatar

It’s also on bbcnews

Darwin's avatar

Micahel Jackson was an innovative musician and a very troubled man who had a very difficult childhood. I am sad that he should die so young (from my perspective, 50 is young) if he has indeed died. However, I am also sad that Farrah Fawcett died at age 62 today, and even that Ed McMahon died at 86 earlier this week.

Anytime someone who entertained us has been lost to death it diminishes us.

The Examiner says the official announcement is expected soon.

SuperMouse's avatar

Well he is living breathing proof of how bad parents can screw up their children. Don’t get me wrong, this man is (was) a pedophile and that is an abhorent, unforgivable sin, but with a childhood like his – being abused and forced to live out his parents’ dreams of stardom, this man never stood a chance.

Regardless of his character, he is (was) one of the most gifted singer/songwriters of our time.

eponymoushipster's avatar

CNN is currently showing he’s critical, but not dead.

jca's avatar

i found all the stories about his weirdness annoying – i felt he got away with molesting that kid because he probably paid off the mother, and all the stories of his plastic surgery just were so strange. however, i never would have wanted him dead. so today it’s farrah fawcett dead at 62 and jackson at 50. i wonder if jackson got into taking pain killers- he’s just so young to die. by the way my regular news WNBC is still not saying he died. TMZ is, and i tend to believe them in this case.

sandystrachan's avatar

Now they have changed it to coma .
But it still says on some channels he is dead
Only the US news channels say he isnt

eponymoushipster's avatar

are they shipping in 12yr old boys to aid in the recovery?!
too soon?

sandystrachan's avatar

@eponymoushipster Even tho i like his music, i laughed very loud CNN news channel shows a huge crowed of people so maybe it is true.
L.A Times say he is dead .

AstroChuck's avatar

Sad for his family and friends. The guy was talented as all hell, that’s for sure. 50 is too young.

rawpixels's avatar

He’s definitely dead

AstroChuck's avatar

I guess that closes out the death trifecta.

dynamicduo's avatar

Very sad.

Rest in peace, Michael.

chyna's avatar

Michael and Farah on the same day. Sad.

dynamicduo's avatar

CNN is confirming it independently at the moment, but two other sources have confirmed he has died.

eponymoushipster's avatar

i think he probably is dead, but they’re holding off. i mean, the story didn’t break for 3 hours. and now the “coma” thing. yeah, he’s bought the big Neverland.

syz's avatar

A very cynical part of me had the thought that this was a way of getting out of performing at all of those sold out shows in London. Apparently several of them have already been canceled due to “technical difficulties” and he’s missed many rehearsals. The last time he tried to perform live, it was an abysmal failure.

chyna's avatar

CNN is NOT confirming at this moment 6:33 p.m est.

Darwin's avatar

Jackson has had a number of health problems, including emphysema (which may or may not be the result of a genetic problem) and gastrointestinal bleeding, and these have been serious enough that he has had great difficulty finishing out his recent concert tours. It wouldn’t be surprising if some aspect of his poor health caught up with him.

pats04fan's avatar

no, farrah was yesterday, michael today. Yes, the trifecta, Michael, Farrah, and Ed.

eponymoushipster's avatar

@syz my sister said the exact same thing.

SuperMouse's avatar

The LA Times, KTLA and KTTV are all confirming that he is dead.

dynamicduo's avatar

Apparently his house has now been blocked off by police and people are gathering around his home (6:34PM EST).

Here is the LA Times news source which CNN is currently sourcing.

eponymoushipster's avatar

NBC Evening News just confirmed that he is dead

chyna's avatar

@pats04fan Thank you. For some reason I can not find when exactly Farah died, I thought it was today.

Ivan's avatar

Independent of his reputation, he was a talented musician. His death probably won’t have too much of an effect, except on all of those people who bought tickets to his show,

I’m pretty sure Farrah died today. I turned on CNN at 12:30 EST and they said it had just happened within the half hour.

AstroChuck's avatar

You know who I really feel sorry for? Farrah. This was supposed to be her day then Michael comes along and trumps everyone.

LanceVance's avatar

Already posted on some other forum. Farrah, you’re time is gone, time to go on spamming RIP for MJ.

Ivan's avatar

@AstroChuck

That’s what I was thinking too. This was going to be a day to talk about cancer research, and now all we will hear about is a washed up pop singer.

Jude's avatar

Canadian News (CBC) – it has not been confirmed.

chyna's avatar

@AstroChuck I thought that too!

syz's avatar

A friend and I were talking just the other day about the incredible effect of the “Thriller” album and video…...

It’s a pity that he ended his life as such a freak.

Darwin's avatar

Farrah’s official date of death is June 25, 2009, which is today.

“Fawcett, 62, died at St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica at 9:28 a.m. Thursday morning with her longtime love, Ryan O’Neal, and her friend Alana Stewart by her side.”

rawpixels's avatar

Michael Jackson, while incredibly talented, was a very disturbed individual. I believe he was a pedophile. He also had to have some serious emotional/self-esteem problems, based on what he did to his appearance. I do still feel bad that the man has died.

cookieman's avatar

From the Associated Press:
HERE

chyna's avatar

I feel that he was an incredibly talented person and I will always love Thriller, the moon walk, Ben, too many things to list. I hate that his personal life was such a mess.
May he rest in peace.

pats04fan's avatar

@Darwin It says thursday at 9:28 on your link!

pats04fan's avatar

@Darwin you even have it written right there!

nayeight's avatar

I’m sitting here listening to Thriller and getting really sad. He was SO AWESOME!

Ivan's avatar

@pats04fan

Today is Thursday….

chyna's avatar

@pats04fan And 9:28 is the time…

pats04fan's avatar

oh wow thankyou Ivan. I am off a day. hmmmm

chyna's avatar

@pats04fan Did you think it was Friday and you are already celebrating the weekend? :)

pats04fan's avatar

yuh i am. i guess i should save all that for tomorrow

bythebay's avatar

An amazing talent, a very troubled man. I feel very sorry for his three young children and his family. It is a terrible loss for them, despite his personal failings.

pats04fan's avatar

Jeff Goldblum TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kheredia's avatar

I can’t find anything else on Jeff Goldblum other than what was posted here. I really hope he’s not dead!!!

pats04fan's avatar

yuh, i guess we should wait on that.

filmfann's avatar

MJ was so entrancing to watch on MTV in those early years. He had many scandals, but he will be remembered for his music, for his dancing, for the shear ablity as a performer.
He was remarkable.

sandystrachan's avatar

@pats04fan Do you have the crosshair on him already, i thought that hit wasn’t due for a few days?

pats04fan's avatar

Was that supossed to be funny. Cause I laughed Dont tell anyone else, you hear

bythebay's avatar

@pats04fan: WHY do you keep tossing out Jeff Goldblums name?

noelasun's avatar

Michael Jackson was indisputably one of the greatest artists of our time.
This is such a shock. He died too early.

pats04fan's avatar

I thought it was friday…

pats04fan's avatar

No really, ivan had something about it, above

bythebay's avatar

This is on the bottom of the page Ivan linked to:
about this web site. (this story was dynamically generated using a generic ‘template’ and is not factual. Any reference to specific individuals has been 100% fabricated by web site visitors who have created fake stories by entering a name into a blank ‘non-specific’ template for the purpose of entertainment. For sub-domain info and additional use restrictions: FakeAWish.com)

Ivan's avatar

@bythebay

lol! At least they’re honest about it.

eponymoushipster's avatar

…and with that, tween boys across the globe released a sigh of relief.

BBSDTfamily's avatar

Saddened for his loved ones

sandystrachan's avatar

Wow CNN are slow they just announced it as official . He is dead why did they wait .

Supacase's avatar

:( He was incredibly talented. Amazing in his day, actually.

I have always been so sad about what he did to his life and how bizarre he became; it was very hard to watch someone with such talent and promise turn into a freak show and suspected child molester.

bythebay's avatar

@sandystrachan: It appears they waited to receive an official report from the coroners office; which was responsible.

pats04fan's avatar

Son of a fish I’ve been punked.

ragingloli's avatar

Good night, sweet prince.
He shall be missed.
The internet is mourning.

charliecompany34's avatar

i got a text from a friend that he was dead just minutes after i saw on TV news that he was not. some people seemed to have jumped the gun on this one. i only trust news as it is reported.

of course, now we know as i write this, that MJ is indeed dead, but texts and wires were saying it way before the actual declaration.

nayeight's avatar

So my mom came home and looked at me with this super sad face and asked if he was really dead. I said yes and she bursted into tears. She is still crying and this was 20 minutes ago. He was the first concert she ever saw when she was little and we own every single MJ album. She is really big fan and is devastated right now….

eponymoushipster's avatar

how long til the “Michael Jackson isn’t really dead.” theories start? i give it 3 days.

pats04fan's avatar

I say they already have

dynamicduo's avatar

One of my most cherished musical items is an old school vinyl album of Off The Wall. We played it so many times, every song. We also played it at double speed, Mickey Michael sounds so funny! :D Great times with that album, these songs will always have a place in my heart, and so will Michael and his troubled yet spectacular life.

I think I’ll go for a long walk with my iPod loaded with that album.

whatthefluther's avatar

Huge talent, great singer/songwriter…he was badly abused as a child, his life was a roller coaster ride of extreme highs and extreme lows and his celebrity status made him a public spectacle. He was almost certainly a pedophile, and there is no excusing that, but face it, the guy never stood a chance at any sort of normal, private life. From all I have seen over the years, I sense he was really a nice, quiet, shy insecure individual of tremendous talent, whose life was fucked-up at a very, very young age by abusive, celebrity seeking parents. It’s all too sad. But, musically the man is a legend and we are fortunate he left us so many incredible treasures.

SuperMouse's avatar

@whatthefluther back in the early 80’s I read a fabulous Rolling Stone interview with Michael Jackson. As the years went on and he morphed into – whatever he morphed into – I remembered that interview and felt sad for what he had lost and what he had become.

charliecompany34's avatar

@eponymoushipster oh wow. i was thinking the same thing. it’s called the tupac shakur syndrome. tabloids for weeks and months on end will say he really is not dead.

dannyc's avatar

I feel he is now less troubled and in a better place than he has been for 44 years, since he became a public figure..what an American tragedy. My thoughts go to the people who really knew him and loved him. I believe there were really just a hand few. If there is a God, may He have mercy on a man who really did “thrill” us. An icon.

MissAusten's avatar

This question was the first I heard of it, and I spent a while trying to figure out it if was true or not. It’s strange—I hadn’t thought of Michael Jackson much for the past several years, but a few days ago was showing my kids some of his videos on youtube. They got a kick out of the dancing. My husband and I had a whole conversation on how talented MJ was, and how strange he became over the years.

My first memory of really being “into” music is, of course, Michael Jackson. I remember sitting in the living room with my mom, holding a big bowl of popcorn and waiting for the “Thriller” video to premier on MTV. :(

According to my favorite news source, The Onion, Michael Jackson actually died many years ago.

La_chica_gomela's avatar

in total shock. i just can’t believe it.

casheroo's avatar

Yes, I do feel bad for his family and friends, but I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. Honestly, I can compare him to Chris Brown who just beat a woman, but I believe what MJ did was worse. I understand he had a terrible childhood.Then he should have been away in a mental facility.

willbrawn's avatar

The same as I did when he was alive. Dont really care.

eponymoushipster's avatar

i’m kinda hoping Comedy Central preempts something to play the Blanket episode of South Park, like every other channel is preempting it’s scheduled programming

seVen's avatar

Rest In Peace.

mangeons's avatar

Sure, he was a bad person, but I still loved his music. And maybe he wasn’t all bad, we don’t know him personally, really. He was also on tour in London at the time, I’m pretty sure, and I also feel bad for the people that really wanted to see him Live and didn’t get to. He was a great musician, so I still feel a twinge of sadness, despite how I hate child molestors, etc. And AOL news has officially reported that he’s dead… I think they said around 2:30 this afternoon?

Rest in Peace, kind of Pop, Michael Jackson, Child Molsetor, Master of the Moonwalk, whatever you want to call him. Rest in Peace.

irocktheworld's avatar

omifreaking god!!! i feel sooo bad!!! r.i.p michale!!!!
SOOO SAD….....=(

irocktheworld's avatar

thriller!!!!!!!
thrilller!!!!!!!!
yeah!!!!!!
R.I.P

Ivan's avatar

@casheroo

To be fair, he was acquitted. Also, he’s receiving a lot of attention because he was one of the biggest celebrities in the world not too long ago.

arnbev959's avatar

I don’t care. A thousand other people died today who were younger than him, and who were just as talented in their own ways. That’s the way things go. I didn’t know him; I can’t miss him.

chyna's avatar

Michael Jackson’s death also gets the attention off of the South Carolina Govenor that was cheating on his wife in Argentina.

irocktheworld's avatar

It’s super sad but super shocking also and it was all over mtv.

Ivan's avatar

@chyna

Good point. I bet he’s actually quite pleased that two superstars died today.

kenmc's avatar

It’s a terrible tragedy. A brilliant talent has passed.

I was sad to see so much bashing here.

1) He was never convicted of child molestation. AKA found not guilty by a jury of his peers (or about as close as you can get).
2) The only time he “paid someone off” in this context is when he was sued in a civil (not criminal, mind you) case during the first accusations.
3) I didn’t know tabloid fodder was so believable.

He wasn’t the most collected individual, but nothing other than accusations say he was a child molester.

This was a terrible tragedy.

I’m not defending the act of child molesting, fyi.

aprilsimnel's avatar

Well. I can’t say I was a huge fan of his, but this is a very sad day for his family. I didn’t expect him to die this soon, though. I thought maybe 30 years from now, or 25, but 50 is young! Poor guy.

eponymoushipster's avatar

interesting fact: when melted down for parts, Michael Jackson had a net worth of $2.4 mil.

wundayatta's avatar

I can’t say I’m too surprised. In fact, when I first heard it, I wondered if it was suicide. I don’t think any cause of death has been released, and the NYT mentioned that he had been having heart problems.

I think he’s had a sad life since Thriller. I think fame got the better of him, and he probably never had a genuine, safe moment in his life. Every attempt he made at normality just confirmed his weirdness. I actually feel more sad about his life than his death. I felt sorry for the guy. He may never have been convicted of child molestation, but you don’t get into that field of work unless you have real trouble relating to people of any kind. Sad life. Sad death. But he’ll be remembered for nearly ever for his music.

AstroChuck's avatar

I’ll bet Elvis has been waiting for this day so that he could kick his ass.

cak's avatar

I remember the 80’s when his popularity was so huge. The concerts, how amazing he was…then the whispers of child molestation, then the pay-off and a trial.

We’ll never really know what he did or didn’t do, but it sure did tarnish his reputation. I wasn’t a fan of his later music. I liked some of the Jackson 5 stuff and some of his solo work in the 80’s.

I find his life very sad. He was never close with anyone, never in a “normal” way. He didn’t know how to be normal. I can’t imagine how many people used him for his money and just tried to get close to him for his celebrity. He seemed like such a lonely person. His family life wasn’t even normal. He was so young, geez. 50 years old. That’s too young.

I am truly saddened by Farrah Fawcett’s death. She really fought hard. RIP Farrah. I remember wanting to be you when I was younger. I wanted to be an Angel! As a cancer patient, there is this guilt that always creeps up about surviving. Knowing the suffering and pain that a patient can go through, it’s heartbreaking. It’s so sad that Farrah and Ryan didn’t marry. I think it should teach people not to wait for the perfect time or wait for a certain set of circumstances. Don’t hold back, live life. Don’t wait to live.

cak's avatar

@AC thank you

kenmc's avatar

… It’s still hard to believe. I see that I have a new activity reminder and it says “MICHAEL JACKSON IS DEAD” and I think, “Not Thriller?!”

But ‘tis so.

knitfroggy's avatar

I had about 8 text messages on my phone when I went to my dinner break, each one telling me Michael Jackson had died. I felt very sad, and I shed a tear or two. I know he was a “weirdo” but, I loved him. Thriller was the first grown up album I ever owned. I saved money and went around the neighborhood selling little shamrocks and easter bunnies my grandma had crocheted to earn money to buy Thriller. I have a crap load of his music on my mp3 player that I listen to all the time. No matter what you thought of him, you can’t deny he was a talented person.

filmfann's avatar

I thought dancers were supposed to outlive the rest of us?
(doing my best to avoid the Are We Human or Are We Dancer joke)

dalepetrie's avatar

I’m kind of struggling to put it into words. I was no raving Michael Jackson fan, even back in the day, I mean, not in the sense that I’d sleep outside for 2 nights to get tickets to one of his shows 500 miles away or anything like that. I was 11 years old when Thriller came out, though…and I could not miss how it took the world by storm. At that time, I hadn’t really started listening to popular music yet…my dad has just never liked music, and my mom was into country and oldies. I never got country, particularly the variety that she listened to on AM radio in the 70s and 80s when I was growing up (now the pre-rock and roll era country, that was something else altogether). But I always enjoyed oldies, and certainly Motown was a big part of that. I knew the songs of the Jackson 5 and was fascinated when MJ had become a huge star with Thriller that this was the same person singing ABC and Beat It.

Essentially, Thriller was the album that got me and my friends, cousins, and other people in my peer group into popular music. I started to notice it was just everywhere. My mom’s sister’s daughter, about 3 or 4 years younger than me…I’d go to her house and we’d sit there for hours with her two older brothers, one one year older than me and one 3 years older than me, playing Atari and listening to Thriller on a continuous loop. Then there was my dad’s sister’s son, 3 years younger than me and friends of his 1 and 2 years younger than me respectively….I’d go to their house and play some other early 80s videogame system and listen to Thriller on continuous loop. I’d go to friends houses, every kid my age had a copy, knew every lyric to every song, pretty much listened to it nonstop.

There was something about that album. It has sold somewhere between 100 million and 109 million copies worldwide, and to realize just how incredible that is, not only has NO ONE else ever sold more than 100 milliion copies, no one else has sold even 50 million copies of a single album. The next biggest seller is AC/DC’s Back in Black, and that sold “only” 45 million copies. And consider that the album had 9 tracks, and SEVEN of them became top ten singles. Also consider that it is widely acknowledged that MTV was a struggling cable station until they played Billie Jean, THAT is what put them on the map. And so popular was he that even a curly haired, whiny voiced, accordion playing comedian who called himself Weird Al was able to ride his coattails to become a household name in his own right. Simply put, if you were anywhere from 8 to 16 when Thriller came out, then you experienced something the likes of which you will never see again, and the man deserves credit for that, no matter what he did before or after.

And part of Jackson’s appeal was not just what he created on that album, a sound that was all his own, but his unbelievable dancing abilities. He created dance moves that were simply mind-blowing, but he didn’t stop there. He harnessed the power of storytelling via the music video and went far beyond what anyone had ever even thought to try. And the real telling thing for me was how my parents and the parents of my friends and cousins reacted to him….not favorably. It really struck me that what I was seeing was the same as the folklore I’d heard regarding the early days of rock…my parents’ parents generation who were scared shitless by Elvis’ pelvis and the Beatles’ mop tops. And then he started calling himself the “King of Pop”, and why not? Your album outsells everything that’s every been produced throughout the history of music, then damnit, you can call yourself the King.

Now my understanding is that MJ was molested by an uncle at age 6. I’ve also read that the fact that he was practically born into the public eye, put out in front of all his older brothers who had years of experience on him, playing instruments, dancing, singing and entertaining…and yet here’s this kid, barely out of diapers, not just supporting all his siblings, but LEADING them. He worked non-stop, and it screwed him up, and put him in the position where his uncle, who was also a road manager, could twist his ideas about the proper form of love an affection. But we did not know all that in the mid 80s, when Thriller continued to be a phenomenon. The album was the best seller at Christmas in 1982, 1983 AND 1984…it just wouldn’t stop. Michael became rich and powerful, and for once, no one could question him…he was the undisputed master of his own destiny, and he earned it, he struggled to get there, and he had this amazing and unique talent unlike anything the world had ever seen.

Unfortunately, his inner child had never been fed, he had a lifetime of responsibility, and it was time to cut loose and do what HE wanted to do. He wanted a pet chimp. He wanted to take Webster to the Grammys. He wanted to sleep in an oxygen chamber. He wanted his own amusement park. And he could afford it. Now, based on all that has been written, it’s pretty plausible that he was also able to start satisfying some of his unnatural urges, being afforded the company of children whose parents would never suspect the King of Pop was a sexual predator…if anything he seemed to be sexless. And one of his biggest hits WAS after all about a woman who accused him of fathering her illegitimate child. Hell, the parents often saw Michael Jackson grow up on TV before their very eyes, you can’t look at that little boy singing A,B,C and think he’s going to rape your 12 year old…not possible.

But again, we didn’t know about any of this…we knew he was weird, and we knew weirdness seemed to follow him, from the white glove with which he repeatedly grabbed his crotch, to his hair catching on fire when Pepsi paid him like a billion dollars to do a commercial for them. Barry Gordy’s kid needed a little bump to get his Rockwell project off the ground, hey, we’ll call Michael. Everyone wanted a piece of him. He had to reunite with his brothers even though he’d left them in the dust to do a fairly unimaginative album which still sold gangbusters and produced a tour that people practically sold their kidneys to get into. Oh yeah, and the kids in Ethiopia are starving and the Brits all got together and sang a song for them….let’s get Michael to whip out a song for the US so we can do the same thing with our names of the day. Everyone wanted a piece of Michael. Then came Bad, which was another phenomenon…OK, only 30 million records sold, but very few have done even THAT. And the first album ever to have five #1 singles, beating the Beatles previous record. It was the album where he was able to assert the most creative control he’d ever had.

And he was whiter than before. He was tougher than before. And he had a smaller nose than before. The album was great, and it was everywhere, but it was no Thriller, and it began to be overshadowed by his weirdness. Still, most had to admit that he had added something exceptional to his already matchless list of achievements. But as time dragged on, his nose got smaller and smaller. His skin got whiter and whiter. By the time Dangerous came out, grunge was starting to take over the world, and Jackson didn’t help matters when he debuted a video which essentially contained about 10 minutes of him grabbing his crotch and beating the shit out of a car. Then he started to hang out with MacCaulay Culkin, yet another young boy on his arm everywhere, and people started to forget the magic spell he’d cast over a generation. The people whose kids were visiting Neverland did not watch MJ grow up with the Jackson 5, they grew up right along with him. His nose started to fall off. He began to wear surgical masks in public. Then it happened…a kid accused him of molestation.

Now, objectively, part of me said he was an easy target, if you were a gold digger and wanted to pick a believable target, who better than a stunted man child with his own theme park who liked to let kids sleep over? But his denial where he practically spat out the words was the classic behavior of someone who is guilty. And the fact that he paid the kid off, well if he was so innocent, this story basically ended him, he could have sued for slander and gotten that family exposed as a fraud, and it could have turned things around for him. But he paid the kid for his silence. And that was the day, as far as I was concerned, that Michael Jackson died.

So the news today is sad…we’ve formally now lost one of the most multi-talented people who ever lived. But he would never have had another Thriller. Hell, he would never have even had another Bad or Dangerous. He would ALWAYS have the undying adoration of a great number of fans who would have undoubtedly packed his concert performances in his upcoming “comeback”, but he was a has been, a nostalgia act. He was someone who despite his monsterous success would be forever thought of by the masses for his troubles, his eccentricities, his failings, despite the fact that his successes and achievements might never be matched.

So, yes, as I see it, Michael Jackson the entertainer ceased to exist 16 years ago, and Michael Jackson the possibly dangerously mentally ill freak took his place. He married Elvis’ daughter, he had kids (or in the case of the youngest, bought kids) who hopefully weren’t quite old enough for his tastes yet when he died. He began living a life of sheer lunacy, dangling babies off balconies…then yet ANOTHER kid accuses him of molestation….a kid he admitted to sharing his bed with on a TV special where he introduced us to his new son Blanket for Christ Sakes.

Jackson was fucked up at best, dangerous at worst. If he was hurting children, at least he won’t be able to do it anymore, and if he wasn’t, well then perhaps the at least is that he’s free from his own crazy mind. Maybe his kids will have another chance at a half way normal life now. Maybe the real truth will come out now….maybe they’ll find a sex dungeon where he had his way with little boys, or maybe a cloud of suspicion will always exist. But no matter what happens, he gave the world Thriller. And even though the guy who gave us Thriller ceased to exist 16 years ago, with him a piece of musical history died today. And even though I was always more of a rock fan than a pop fan, it’s those days listening to Thriller and playing video games that came to mind and brought a tear to my eye today. So I guess I feel that I loved him for what he was, hated him for what he probably was, and respect what he accomplished, and I can’t deny his status as an icon, whose music and dancing will outlive every last one of us. And I just have to close by saying, I don’t know how he did what he did with Thriller, but I’m glad I was there, that it was my generation that experienced that magic, and I thank him for that, even if I detested everything else about him.

minolta's avatar

I will always remember him well. Despite what everyone thinks. Rest in peace Michael. You are the greatest pop artist that ever lived, and will ever live. You will live forever, just as you had wished. Fly above the sky now, become the Peter Pan you always wanted. Thank you for your presence on Earth.

SirBailey's avatar

I was a big fan of his music. His music was part of my life so I feel a piece of MY life died. Farah was a part of my life when sex was becoming part of my life. Their death reminds me of MY mortality and it scares me, to tell you the truth.

irocktheworld's avatar

I fell really sad because i liked some of his songs and it said on my computer that he mite of died because he did drugs witch is very bad

but it might not be true because peopel are just guessing

Lupin's avatar

What a sad waste of talent… 1969 Ed Sullivan show before the days of lip synch and fake productions.

irocktheworld's avatar

I said already peopel i fell baddddddddddddd for the poor guy suffering with a heartatacck

SuperMouse's avatar

Michael Jackson co-wrote We are the World. I can’t be the only jelly old enough to remember how huge it was back in the day. Remember watching MTV for an hour to catch it then watching super closely to name all the singers? Remember seeing Dan Ackroyd up on the top riser and thinking WTF?

His was indeed a very, very sad life. He did make some amazing contributions to music and because he was in it, the world will never be the same.

eponymoushipster's avatar

@dalepetrie you’re struggling to put it in to words? looks like you overcame it…lol

irocktheworld's avatar

Im watchin mtv and his music videos are passing by every time i look and we’ll never
forget him! R.I.P!!!

bythebay's avatar

@SuperMouse: I totally remember doing exactly what you described, and also watching in anticipation whenever any of his videos premiered on MTV. He was larger than life in the music industry for so long; and his contributions were far reaching. His passing is very sad on many levels.

eponymoushipster's avatar

MTV played videos?!~

bythebay's avatar

@eponymoushipster: Back in the day, they actually did. I know, it’s hard to believe. The good ole’ days…

SuperMouse's avatar

Here is the Rolling Stone interview from 1983, Thriller had just come out.

Simone_De_Beauvoir's avatar

I was in shock for all of 2 seconds
then I figured ‘meh, we all gotta go sometime’
My partner said he died a long time ago
but before that kind of ‘social death’ he was talented

eponymoushipster's avatar

@bythebay yeah, i was around for the 80s, too. and people thought that was rubbish tv….

irocktheworld's avatar

I feel sad i liked his music

justn's avatar

Indifferent.

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