the book<\/a> kindof sucked.<\/p>\nAnyways, instead of discussing the crappy book, we ended up talking about Michael Jackson while the news played quietly in the background. It was a surreal moment, to say the least. Breaking News! Michael Jackson has died. Breaking News! We have Randy Jackson (no relation, that I know of) on the phone. Breaking News! Michael Jackson’s body in a helicopter. Breaking News! Michael Jackson’s body in a van (not in a van down by the river, that I know of). Breaking News! We have no idea what to talk about, so we’re just going to show the same 12 clips from our archive.<\/p>\n
What is it about the death of Michael Jackson that resonates so strongly with so many people? Well, you don’t sell 50 million copies of an album without picking up a few fans along the way. And the man was a living train wreck. That’s bound to garner a few gawkers.<\/p>\n
For me, the fascination is in watching someone who had so much talent and potential literally disintegrate over the years. It’s a sad sort of fascination. A melancholy sort of fascination. A bit of a voyeuristic sort of fascination. The man was undeniably talented. He was reportedly extremely smart. And he was robbed of his childhood and spent the rest of his life trying (completely\u00a0unsuccessfully\u00a0and disastrously so) to make up for it. He became a\u00a0caricature\u00a0of himself. He may or may not have done some truly horrible things to some vulnerable boys.<\/p>\n
I don’t know where I stand on Michael Jackson. It’s not my job to judge him. But I feel for a boy who was horrifically abused by his father. For a man who went from the King of Pop to becoming a freak show. Who tried so hard to make people love him again and who only made them angrier. Who built up the playland that he never had as a child and then lost it all. \u00a0Who was so uncomfortable in his own skin that he felt the need to transform himself into… well, I don’t know what he transformed himself into. But it wasn’t pretty.<\/p>\n
RIP, MJ, RIP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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