Reasons Not To Mourn Michael Jackson -A Review

I must confess, I was not going to read the article by CaffeInsomeinnia entitled Reasons Not To Mourn Michael Jackson . I was saturated with TV broadcasts of Michael Jackson. I did see some of the memorial, the most touching part by far was Paris eulogizing her father. This is a good place to start at “#8 Mistreatment of his own children” from the Reasons Not to Mourn article . Few mistreated children stand on a stage in front of thousands of people; speak to millions for the first time in their lives and say, “Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, and I just wanted to say I love him so much.”

Also in that paragraph was the statement to support mistreatment, “Naming one of them "blanket".  Finding strange names stars call their children was easy. Calling them mistreated for strange name was another matter.  Tennis great Arthur Ashe named his daughter Camera. Actor Nicholas Cage named his son Kal-el, Superman's birth name. Actress Cher named her son Elijah Blue. Musician Bob Geldof and wife TV host Paula Yates have three daughters, Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom and the best one, Little Pixie.  Late actor David Carradine named his son Free. Who could forget Frank Zappa’s kids, son Dweezil and Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, and daughters Moon Unit and Diva Muffin?  You can look up the parents of Audio Science (son), Rocket Valentin (son), Racer Maximilliano (son), Rebel Antonio (son), and Rogue (son).  Get my drift – stars name their children whatever they want.  Blanket’s Real Name – Prince Michael Jackson II. Blanket is a nickname, a name of endearment that family members give each other.

Paragraph #2 of the article states “Potential Pedophilia - Was Michael Jackson abusing children?” No unless you don’t have faith in the United States justice system. If you don’t have faith in the system, you must be the perfect law abiding citizen. Michael Jackson went to trial, and was acquitted of child molestation allegations and several other charges in 2005. Child abusers that enjoy a happy life without jail time are Director Roman Polanski of Rosemary Baby’s and The Pianist fame. He was charged with having sex with a 13-year-old girl, but fled to France before the trial. Update on this story is 2009 Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he flew in for the Zurich Film Festival and faces possible extradition to the United States on the sex charges. Apparently, the U.S. has sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005, but the crime happened in 1977. Took nearly 30 years for Polanski to be sought.

A really famous star having sex with underage girls was Jerry Lee Lewis. At age 23, he married his 13 year old cousin Myra Gale Brown, before his divorce was final from his first marriage. One month later Myra gave birth to a son. Old Jerry was a bigamist, who was having sex with his 12 year old cousin. He was never arrested for any charge. The last person of note was Pee Wee Herman of Pee Wee’s Playhouse, a children’s TV program. He was arrested in 1991 for masturbating publicly in a theater. Next time he was arrested concerning an investigation into child pornography. Pee Wee pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obscenity charge. There were just too many child abusers to name for this article. You can read more at Famous People Having Underage Sex.

Vain Obsessions with His Looks #6 – Michael was really unique to be the only high profile person concerned about his looks! Actually, Michael’s first nose job was done because he had a well documented fall and broke his nose. His second nose job, also well document was to fix the first nose job. Just turn on a TV to see vain obsession – actress Linda Evans, sports writer Bob Ryan, Mickey Rourke, Nikki Cox, Donatella Versace, Swoozie Kurtz and Janice Dickinson. Even the not so famous have obsessions. Margaret King, spent $90,000 on plastic surgery for herself. A British mother she is encouraging her daughter to have plastic surgery.

What really was happening with Michael Jackson? Just perhaps Michael had Body Dimorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD is a negative obsession with physical appearance. Individuals with BDD show symptoms like to those who are diagnosed with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), thus the plastic surgeries, masks for himself and kids. He was not alone; find other famous people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

The reference to Michael’s debt is greatly exasperated, perhaps for a dramatic effect as an ending statement. Ed McMahon died at 86 days before Michael Jackson and just as broke. For all reasons not to mourn a dead person this article is sadly lacking. Taking apart just three statements shows Michael Jackson was not usual at all. For everything that was supposed to be so eccentric, there are hundreds of people with similar histories.

Michael Jackson had many noteworthy non-musical triumphs that are hardly ever mentioned.  Jackson suffered second degree burns on his scalp while filming a Pepsi commercial on January 27, 1984, in Los Angeles. A pyrotechnics accident set his hair on fire.  $1.5 million resolution was donated to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California, where Jackson received treatment for his burns.  The burn ward at the hospital was later named the "Michael Jackson Burn Center" to honor Jackson. Michael Jackson received an award for his support of drug and alcohol abuse charities from President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Jackson donated his $5 million share from the 1984 Victory Tour's profits to charity. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the single "We Are the World" in 1985. The profits went to help the needy in Africa and the U.S. The venture raised millions for famine assistance. During the Bad World Tour, Michael Jackson invited underprivileged children to the shows and donated to hospitals, orphanages and other charities. All of the profits from Jackson’s single "Man in the Mirror” went to charity.  Jackson was listed in the Guinness World Records because he supported more charities than any other entertainer or personality. More on Michael Jackson’s charity work can be found here.

We don’t have to defend Michael Jackson; there are millions of people to do that. Here are some of the quotes from people who could have kept silent: Actress Brooke Shields - "Whenever we were out together and a picture was taken there would be caption of some kind, and the caption usually said something like, 'an odd couple' or 'an unlikely pair.' But to us it was the most natural and easiest of friendships."

Singer and actress Queen Latifah - "Somehow when Michael Jackson sang, when he danced, we never felt distant. Michael was the biggest star on Earth."

Motown Records founder Berry Gordy - "The more I think about Michael and talk about Michael the more I think that 'King of Pop' is not good enough. I think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived."

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton - "I want to say to Michael's children, there wasn't nothing strange about your daddy, it was strange what your daddy had to deal with. He dealt with it anyway. He dealt with it for us."

Jackson's brother, Marlon Jackson - "Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone."

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/entertainment/5710436/quotes-from-michael-jacksons-memorial-service/

http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/paris-jackson-speaks-at-dads-memorial-service/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1883814/michael_jackson_and_his_ailments.html?cat=49

http://www.allmichaeljackson.com/charities.html

http://blog.charitynavigator.org/2009/07/michael-jackson-and-philanthropy.html