I will never believe that Michael ever hurt any child. I believe both instances were cases of extortion on the part of greedy people. If I were a parent who truly believed my child had been molested, there isn’t enough money in the world that would make me go away. I would not accept any amount of money and would not be satisfied until the person was in jail. I question the motives of anyone who would accept anything less than a conviction and prison time.

In my opinion, the crimes committed were by the parents who put their children, and Michael, through such turmoil.

Michael never had a childhood and was abused by his father. He was eccentric and did odd things that many of us may have viewed as strange. He even made mistakes in judgement by allowing children to sleep over. He had plastic surgery which left him looking nothing like his original self. None of us may ever understand that. I saw an interview yesterday where it was suggested that as he aged, Michael saw his father’s face when he looked in the mirror, and did not want to look like the man who had abused him as a child.

No one can know what Michael’s personal life was like for him or what he felt or thought about. We only know what is put before us and we draw our own conclusions. What I do know, is that it is unfair to judge someone when we don’t know all the facts. No one ever proved that Michael molested any child. And while no one proved he didn’t, I choose to believe that his actions, while inappropriate by most people’s standards, were innocent. I believe Michael was sincere when he told us he did nothing wrong. Michael would not be the first person who’s life was essentially ruined by false accusations of child molestation, and I’m sure his will not be the last. I am reminded of a line from the movie “Pretty Woman”: “The bad stuff is easier to believe–you ever notice that?”

What I also know is that Michael Jackson was a phenomenon. His musical genius combined with his gift of dance will never be equaled. He is the ‘Elvis’ of my generation and brought many moments of joy to my life. His music got me moving and, his music was moving. I will never forget him and will always be a fan. Rest in peace, Michael–you’ve earned it.

Sadly, seems his many troubles seem to have continued into recent days, with all kinds of health issues — making preparing for the new proposed tour terribly difficult, looks like.

Well, I don’t seem to be able to do a link. So here’s the url to a Brit story:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6585015.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2

Lu Jun 25th, 2009 at 9:23 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVJscGa5vbc

This just made me boo hooà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ This is so heartfelt and personal. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m teary-eyed.

Wow, just wow!!!:(

My first exposure to the Jackson 5 was on local television programs, but they appeared on American Bandstand in 1973. MTV began broadcasting in August, 1981. Madonna and Michael made that cable network a hit with all the kids. My children did watch Thriller and later danced to his music (as did I).

Michael was not a brave person. May he rest in peace while we celebrate his music.

just bringing this over from twitter

DavidArchie:

Ah, I can’t get over MJ. I know everyone’s talking about it but he deserves the respect. I hope people will appreciate what he’s done.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he had been voluntarily castrated in order to keep his voice childlike.

If I let musicians personal lives affect my sadness of their lives or my love of their music, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d have no favorite musicians because I figure all celebrities, for the most part, mess up their lives in one way or another.

I agree, completely. But messing up one’s own life (or even the life of another consenting adult) is one thing. Messing up the life of a child is something else again. That is inexcusable.

Having said that, I also agree with smartcookie, who pointed out how many of MJ’s problems were rooted in the pressures placed on him at such a young age and the lack of any childhood. He was essentially stalled in some Peter Pan-like limbo status, and from what I’ve read, his father was fairly abusive towards him when he was younger and under his father’s control. So as much as I believe that we’re all responsible for the actions we take as adults, I’m not blind to the fact that there were contributing factors helping to shape the adult he became, which is why I feel conflicted.

Not conflicted over his death, mind you. He was a human being and his death is no less sad than any other. But I’m conflicted about how much sainthood should be conferred upon him for his undisputed and enormous contributions to the world of music. For me anyway, in this particular case, I find it difficult to separate the man and his music. I will readily acknowledge his musical genius and give him his due there. I cannot, however, completely erase the other side of his story.

I couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t answer that one. He didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t change anything in my music world.

I actually do think Michael Jackson did change pop music in two specific ways. I just was curious what everone posting about how he changed music forever would mention.

Ironically, I think both things he changed were, IMO, bad directions for pop music even though he was fabulous in using them.

The first was his redefining pop music as incredibly processed and overproduced, really not intended to be played live, but instead to be played as the soundtrack for dance performances. He was so talented, he could pull it off, but I blame him for Brittney Spears and Auto-Tune and lip-synching.

The second was the whole music video thing. That would have happend with or without him, but he certainly played a role in moving pop music away from music and into playing characters in videos. Again, terrific stuff when he did it, but an overall negative influence. I blame him for Brittney Spears.

This just made me boo hoo… This is so heartfelt and personal. I’m teary-eyed.