The Death of an Icon

I preface by saying that I have never liked or cared for Michael Jackson or his music. I never understood the big deal. People cried when they listened to his songs, and fainted when they heard his voice. Certainly, he was not a deity, but to the black community, he was akin to God, and, in some cases, God himself.

There is no doubting his legacy. Though I do not understand it, he is worshipped for being the greatest pop singer of all time. Apparently, he gave himself the moniker of "king of pop." I rather tend to think that such a sobriquet should be bestowed upon one by the general public, such as Aretha Franklin being the Queen of Soul, or Elvis being the King of Rock 'n' Roll. I should then like to fancy myself the "King of Comic Books," since I own nearly 40,000 comic books and related paraphernalia and I read comic books daily.

I never bought a Michael Jackson record, never cared much for his music, except the old Jackson 5 stuff from the early 1970's. I would even go out of my way to change the radio dial when his songs came on. I never wanted to give him my time. MTV played the fuck out of all his videos, and today, the day after his reported death, the Thriller video has been playing on continuous loop on every news source on the planet.

I remember the Thriller video from the 1980's and the already apparent changes Jackson was beginning to put himself through. The difference in the color of his skin from Thriller to Bad is jarring and sinister looking. In the early 1990's when allegations of Jackson molesting a boy came forth, I knew my suspicions of him were truly founded. I always thought he was freaky and creepy and that he was hiding something. Settling out of court for $20 million is as near an admission of guilt as can be found. If Jackson were truly innocent of the charges, he should have fought vigorously to clear his good name. The second occurrence in 2005 was more of the same, but suddenly, Jackson was destitute. I always surmised that his fortune was drained because he had so many people to pay off to get out of another sticky situation and bankrupted himself keeping mouths shut and judges happy.

His change from an afro-ed black kid to a white, straight haired living cadaver was a marvel to behold. He continuously denied having had any procedures done at any time, except for a tweak in his nose so he could sing better. He got lighter skinned as the decades wore on, his face undergoing so many transformations that, after a point, he simply stopped looking human and instead became a walking zombie. I hear pundits and Jackson sycophants say that he did what he did to himself because he never got to be a normal kid, and this was his way of showing the world that he was a Peter Pan-like man-boy, perpetually young and innocent. Child abuse allegations dashed that theory.

I don't know when he last put out an album, but I bet it hasn't been in at least a good decade or thereabouts. Jackson has been more known lately for his public antics and lawsuits. I wonder where all that money went, though? On Fox News last night, they said Jackson was in debt nearly half a billion dollars. How did he get that far in debt? Again, I suspect he burnt out his savings by paying off jurors and other officials during his last child abuse trial. There's also no doubt in my mind that he kept his dubiously talented family accustomed to a life of leisure and debauchery. They weren't making any money (Rebbie, LaToya, Randy, Marlon, etal.) and they figured they could put the touch on Michael and share in his vast wealth.

So, to those who worshipped Michael Jackson, sorry for your loss. To those like myself who never really cared for him, no big loss.

I have a feeling that his death is only the beginning of the revelations about Jackson and his life...