This may be heresy

[novapsyche]

However, I believe Barack Obama could have occurred without Michael Jackson. The success of the latter is not causally tied to that of the former.

We now return you to wall-to-wall coverage of Michael's memorial.

Comments

[goodbadgirl.livejournal.com]

Rev. Al Sharpton just said the same thing.

It is good food for thought. Especially for me who had no relationship to pop music or culture as a child and only knew Michael starting around the molestation accusation time..... I am having conflicted feelings and also realizing that I can't possibly understand what he meant to so many people because of my whiteness and early lack of relationship to his music.

I don't think it's heresy at all. I appreciate the thought.

Also - his daughter brought me to tears. That was heartbreaking.

[kittenkissies.livejournal.com]

:O

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

*laugh* I know, I should be burned at the stake.

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

Music has always figured prominently in my life, and MJ was a major influence early on. I was eight when the video to Thriller came out; my friend had the VHS tape of the making of it, and we watched it over and over. We even bought MJ trading cards. My cousin had a replica of his jacket and I was so envious. I was watching the Pepsi commercial when it went awry. I had Thriller on tape, and I listened to it so much that it started to warp through wear. I remember distinctly when there was a "battle" between MJ and Prince as to who was biggest in black music (circa 1984).

In short, I had many good memories of MJ to balance out the negative ones, especially in the wake of his death.

As for the memorial, I agree so much that his daughter was compelling and hard to watch. I thought that Brooke Shields' retrospective of MJ would have been the emotional highlight, but I was very wrong.

[goodbadgirl.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have spoken with many friends recently who had the same experience with MJ. People who've told me about wanting the jacket and wearing the glove. In many ways I am sad to have had no relationship to music as a child. It's hard to catch up as an adult....

And while I don't have the emotional response to his death that many are experiencing I'm glad for the additional perspective. And I feel tremendously bad for his children and his family who clearly loved him unconditionally - well, his siblings at least. His father seems problematic to me, but again - I'm no expert.