Time For Us To Start With The Man In The Mirror
August 29, 1958,7:33 pm: Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana to Katherine Esther Scruse and Joseph Walter Jackson.
He’s the one who reached the greatest heights of fame and success ever known to mankind. His career as a defining artist and performer has spanned generations that earned him the honor of the ‘King of Pop’. The otherworldly smoothness of the Moonwalk. The fierce,electrifying zeal of Billie Jean and Beat It. The dance floor ecstasy of Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and Don’t Stop 'Til You get Enough or the infectious muse of ‘In The Closet’; his creations never failed to enthrall us.
When I mention ‘earn’, it’s because he undeniably achieved every bit of his success and opulence by sheer hard work and dedication. The Price of Fame, he had to pay for challenging the inimical conventions of a conformist civilization was however, not at all a facile one. At the time, when Jackson had reached the peak of unimaginable super stardom; eradicating social barriers and breaking every single record to become ‘the biggest selling artist of all time’ was when the mainstream media and the tabloids had become increasingly sadistic towards him. The false allegations that ultimately destroyed him resurfaced yet, again after ten years of his passing.
Recently, the deposition video of Wade Robson went viral that further proved, how terribly we have been duped by their graphic accounts of alleged abuse. Robson claimed in Leaving Neverland that his abuse had started when he was left alone with Jackson while his family had gone for a trip to the Grand Canyon. This was also the version that he had included in his book draft,he was secretly shopping before going public with his accusations and filing a multi million dollar lawsuit against the estate. In his amended complaints however, he asserted that his family was still at Neverland when his alleged abuse had started. Mike Smallcombe, author of ‘Making Michael’, excavated the 1993 deposition transcripts of Joy Robson where she mentioned the whole family accompanying her to Grand Canyon including Wade. She confirmed the same during her 2016 deposition as seen in ‘Lies of Leaving Neverland’.
Why did she resort to lying in front of the camera? How come Dan Reed didn’t examine the accusations of his prime subjects before he decided to come up with his 4 hour documentary with staged re-shoots, multiple timeline discrepancies and provable lies and the media paying absolutely no attention to these loopholes in their stories? It’s exhilarating to me, how the social media advocates refer to Jackson as the powerful one, and how he supposedly got away with it. What’s power basically in this case? His right to presumption of innocence being denied while the blatant ignorance of the fact that he was vindicated in a court of law, the documented evidences in support of his innocence not being taken into consideration or examining the other side of the story with due diligence or the cynical remarks being hurled at his family and the estate. By now, the depth of the investigatory input in his film is as transparent as distilled water;when the credibility of Wade Robson and James Safechuck crumble into pieces once brought under the microscope. What’s astonishing in all of it? The silence of the mainstream media, most importantly the US based publications who otherwise are on the forefronts of the lynch mob against Jackson but going crickets once the grave inconsistencies and blatant lies are being discovered.
Similarly, in 2005 with the media yearning for a conviction,that they completely overlooked the NOT GUILTY verdict as I highlighted in my previous article,how they had even started covering on the conditions under which Jackson would have been made to live in jail. Charles Thompson described this abashed vendetta surrounding the trial as one of The Most Shameful Episodes of Journalistic History stating, “It’s not until you find yourself digging through the newspaper and re-watching hours of TV coverage that you truly understand the magnitude of the media’s failings. No doubt, there were publications and TV stations that overly favored the prosecution” Does having your house raided by more than 80 sheriffs in your absence or being stripped searched equate to power? Or is it that getting ridiculed for suffering from a hereditary skin disorder and third degree burns synonymous to what we call as ‘powerful’? It’s rather an oxymoron.
In 1985, The Sun, a British tabloid came up with the slur Wacko Jacko, to demean the artist that was linked with a racist background. “Jacko Macacco” was the name of a famous monkey used in monkey-baiting matches at the Westminster Pit in London in the early 1820s. Subsequently, the term “Jacco” or “Jacco Macacco” was Cockney slang to refer to monkeys in general.” ( Joseph Vogel, How Michael Jackson Made BAD). Comprehensively, the derogatory slur was not just a nickname but more of a motivation to drag down Jackson and his enduring legacy as the most powerful black man with a massive global impact, not at all conventional for a white supremacist society. Every aspect of Jackson’s life was being ridiculed- be it his skin losing pigment due to vitiligo or him owning a pet chimp, there was simply no way the tabloids wouldn’t craft a hysterical report about almost everything associated to him.
In his speech against racism and media bigotry at the Sharpton’s National Action Headquarters of New York on July 9, 2002- he dauntlessly spoke out against the unscrupulous press and the tabloids,”They manipulate our history books. The history books are not true, it’s a lie. You need to know that, You must know that! All the form of popular music- from Jazz to Hip Hop, to Bebop,to Soul; you talk about different dances from Cake Walk, to Jitter Bug, to Charleston, to Break Dancing. All these are forms of black dancing! These things are very important but if you go to the bookstore down the corner, you won’t see one black person in the cover! I’m here to speak for all the injustice.”
The media’s obsession with Michael Jackson and the concentrated efforts to have him ‘muted’ or ‘cancelled’ is not just a ‘flat-earth’ theory but something which is contrived and it’s not at all difficult to see through the propaganda once we have our eyes as well as our minds open, specially the last six months since the release of Leaving Neverland.
The most conspicuous deception from Dan Reed’s end is his recital that his film isn’t about Michael Jackson. By his own admission, he was looking into something big and investigative that would have the power to engage audiences on a global scale. What else could have brought him this magnitude of widespread attention?
At times, they don’t even try to hide their obvious motives. Last year, just before Jackson’s 60th birth anniversary,the media was up with yet another attempt to dethrone his studio album Thriller, which is the biggest selling album off all time when reportedly The Eagle’s Greatest Hits was certified 39x Platinum by RIAA. It was as if a feast for the media outlets and some of them made sure to reflect it in their reporting. USA TODAY tweeted with a very misleading headline,‘Sorry, Michael Jackson. The Eagles now have the best selling album of all time’.
Firstly, RIAA only certifies and manages album sales in the US and is no global authority. Thriller has sold more than 70 million copies in pure sales worldwide and has over a billion streams on major streaming platforms.
Moreover, RIAA couldn’t explain how they added the extra 9 million units to The Greatest Hits despite their pure sales and streams being considerably less than Thriller by a great margin according to Chartmasters and SoundScan data. Thriller regularly charted on the catalog chart and the Billboard 200. and not the Eagles. Most importantly, Thriller’s sales were revised in 2016 and it was certified 33x Platinum.
Michael Jackson purchasing the ATV catalog and owning the publishing rights of the Beatles still has the white liberal media bitter about it. In a recent controversy of Taylor Swift losing her publishing rights to Scooter Braun, a complete dissimilar situation of Jackson buying the catalog was brought into the picture, making him the bad guy who stole the Beatles’s rights to their catalog. Of course, it’s another circumstance when Paul McCartney too bought the publishing rights of other artists. The Beatles had already lost their ownership in the 1960’s and was being owned by white corporations but the issue starts with a black artist possessing them.McCartney was given the opportunity to bid for his catalog which he had declined. Jackson, with the consent of Yoko Onno acquired the rights. The hypocrisy is unreal.He even allowed Little Richard to own back the rights of his songs. The excellent businessman that he was, he purchased the catalog from Holmes A Court.
Leaving Neverland was added as a last minute entry for the 2019 line-up in Sundance which completely over shadowed the existence of the documentary ‘Untouchable: The Harvey Weinstein Story’ which too was set to be screened at the festival on the same day as that of Leaving Neverland. Till date, there has been no detailed coverage or opinion pieces from the so called journalists and reporters regarding this, when on the other hand Kew Media Group distributed kits and materials to publications around the world and made them use the exact copy paste material for LN’s promotion.
Meanwhile, a documentary on Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scandals and who was branded a sex offender after he was convicted for 13 months in 2008 with marvelous privileges, was scrapped off because apparently it was ‘too-distasteful.’ Queer, Hollywood didn’t think that a documentary which aims at a defenseless man who had this thing called ‘power’ with graphic paedophilic content was distasteful. In 2003, Vanity Fair concealed the allegations against the 66 year old billionaire as Graydon Carter, the editor of the magazine at that time declined to publish them. According to Carter, Epstein attacked him and the sources and made frequent visits to the Vanity Fair offices. However, the same year Maureen Orth was allowed to publish her infamous voodoo article on Jackson and at the same time, making false claims for which neither Orth nor the magazine ever issued an apology. Then there’s Harvey Weinstein with his highly sophisticated complicity machine who commanded his spies and associates;who discovered his secrets to say nothing. When the investigations into Weinstein’s alleged abuse made it to headlines, AJ Benza, a former New York Daily News gossip columnist,supplied his PR team with salacious stories about Michael Jackson to divert from the allegations made against him over the decades.
The extent of the deplorable approach of the tabloids for a vindicated man is on another level, while they have absolutely no say when it comes to the living predators.
Ava Duvernay has many sides- *one that joins the forefronts of the MeToo Wave without respecting the due process, *one that adopts the presumption of innocence and *ignores the multiple allegations against her partisan because she’s a fan. It depends on the atmosphere of popular demand which side of hers she decides to exhibit.
Some prospects got more vivid when Oprah celebrated her 65th birthday with David Geffen and her wealthy pals on his yacht, watching Leaving Neverland and it was intentionally published online to incite a reaction.
Did I mention Oprah’s friendship goals with Weinstein? We can’t expect ‘After Untouchable’ from her, can we? This only validates the fact of Jackson being used as a PR machine to deflect from the abominable scandals of the Hollywood world. I hope, by now my fellow friends can finally draw a clear distinction between the ‘powerful’ and the ‘target’.
Oprah Winfrey has her experiences with sexual abuse allegations that were being made against her father by a college student that she damned them in press statement as ‘unsubstantiated.’ Later, she settled a civil suit with the complainant.
If anything, the media is never a true representative of our actual views and opinions but are more directed towards pushing their narrative. Don’t fall for their faux concern. In 1997, Michael Jackson fought an actual pedophile in court and won over him. The man was Victor Gutierrez, a self-admitted NAMBLA member whose book ‘Michael Jackson Was My Lover’ is the primary script for Robson and Safechuck’s allegations. Am I supposed to buy that their motive is to curb pedophilia and not to promote Dan Reed’s theory of ‘a child engaging in a pleasant sexual relationship with an adult’?
The lyrics of ‘Is It Scary’, can’t be more appropriate when you come across the detractors on social media with their vile interpretations and fantasies.
‘I’m gonna be exactly what you wanna see, so did you come to me to see your fantasies performed before your very eyes.’
By no means, do I intend to dedicate a significant part of this piece to them but their social media engagements is a perfect testament of how humans love to take pleasure in the downfall of anyone who’s successful and thrive on their misfortune. It’s like to orchestrate the dragging of Jackson in the court of public opinion for their personal satisfaction and projection.
The saboteurs can’t get enough of it- trolling online with cruel and hurtful anecdotes ,attacking his children or mincing their words for clicks
Then there’s Dan Reed making Islamophobic statements against fans and at the same time scorning at Jackson’s skin disorder.
Are they dogged by their inner envy and hatred? Probably yes. Media loves to capitalize and such online activities serve them as a staple fodder.
In majority of the online polls, a substantial number of the voters have been in support of Jackson’s innocence but only for them to report the complete opposite. The most recent controversy ignited by the mainstream sites was on whether to keep Michael Jackson’s name on the Vanguard Award. Polls as well as the red carpet celebrities were heavily aware of the tarred credibility of the film.
Missy Elliot, who was awarded with the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award this year acknowledged it by thanking him in her acceptance speech. MTV wasn’t pleased to witness the happenings, that they decided to remove the part of Missy’s speech where she eulogized Jackson. This is plain violation and censorship of expression of free speech and it only adds to their history of racism against black artists- a barrier that Jackson obliterated, thereby, paving the way for today’s artists and became the first black entertainer whose revolutionary music videos were played by their network on heavy rotation, to put them on the map.
Dave Chapelle,in his new Netflix special addressed the lies of Leaving Neverland thus,making it clear that he doesn’t believe the two men. For years, comedians have been given a free pass to throw jokes on Jackson.
Except, when Chappelle did the opposite despite knowing the consequence, fake advocacy has started taking it’s form.
This is the latest attempt of CNN, trying to deny the most unquestionably evident statement.
Robson, Safechuck and Reed were quick enough to make a statement. “I just want to reach out to other survivors and let them know that we can’t let this type of behavior silence us. Together we are strong,”said Safechuck. My sincere question to Robson and Safechuck; Where was this advocacy during the time when you both could have easily come forward and empowered the survivors by sending the perpetrator to jail? I understand and sympathize with the dilemma of victims of abuse to come forward but at the same time, they don’t exploit the sentiments and the sensitivity of this subject like these men. Robson didn’t think of empowering victims when he was shopping for a book deal demanding millions in return or filing his lawsuit under seal in hopes of receiving a silent settlement from the estate, did he? None of them had their conscience stricken when they enabled their alleged abuser in court. Their lawyer went on to harass Jonathan Spence to have him as a part of their lawsuits despite his denial, or the portrayal of Brett Barnes and Macaluay Culkin as potential victims without their consent and their refusal to remove Brett’s name from the film despite his requests, considering a legal action. Is that advocacy for survivors? I wonder why they lament about their voices supposedly being suppressed when huge media corporations, the #MeToo wave and ‘believe all accusers’ squad are on their side. None of R.Kelly, Weinstein or Epstein’s alleged victims have been provided with the platform that they have been granted-including a Billboard Photo-shoot and a playlist on Spotify.
Leaving Neverland has 5 Emmy Nominations despite it’s flawed credibility while Surviving R. Kelly was not nominated even under the category of documentaries. Untouchable? Highly doubtful if the Emmys are even of aware of it. Their silence on the tons of discrepancies in their stories is again deafening. If critical thinking and reasoning refers to ‘silencing’, it simply implies that the justice system and the courts, a jury that presides over a case for hours by meticulously deliberating on both the sides is equivalent to ‘victim shaming’. We’re living in an era where wanting to hear the both sides and upholding the principle of presumption of innocence is deemed as unacceptable. The world still hasn’t learned it’s lesson from the fateful examples of how innocent men and their lives can be destroyed by unsubstantiated allegations as in the case of Central Park 5, Carl Beech’s victims, Emmet Till or Johny Depp. False accusations of abuse, in fact, make it difficult for real victims to be believed with opportunists hijacking the integrity of significant movements such as TimesUp or MeToo. Our ability to relentlessly search for the truth has been heavily constrained. It’s unacceptable to apply logic or scrutinize an allegation. Anybody who says ‘let’s examine the evidence' is labelled a bigot. And no innocent, falsely accused person has any right to a defense. The accuser’s ‘truth’ is more important - even if it’s a provable lie.
Truth matters to both- to us as individuals and to society as a whole. Truth and accuracy is also one of the basic fundamental pillars and the cardinal principle of journalism. According to the Society of Professional Journalists,‘public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity’,that is ideal journalism is free of any prejudices or personal convictions. The foundation of true journalism therefore, is deeply rooted to nothing but the TRUTH.
The state of today’s journalism, however, unfortunately is more about personal opinions rather than substantial facts and corroborated evidences. Striving hard for the veracity of reported details and ensuring that they have been checked is a far cry. The concept of ideal journalism is a mere ideology and sadly, is nowhere to be found in reality. Astonishingly, the 21st century is the era of ‘opinions’ , especially when it comes to Michael Jackson.
Diane Dimond deserves a notable mention whose one of the best sources was Victor Gutierrez. Yes, the self admitted attendee of NAMBLA conference. Either way, it’s the benefit of hers that counts and not the actual truth. She was ready to jump on the suitable bandwagon, whichever in demand. We all know, which of the either cases suited her the best.
Part of the #MeToo climate means those who ask questions about the credibility of "victims" are condemned by the masses. If their idea conflicts with the ideology of the masses; they’re forced to stay quiet or suffer the consequences of having a different opinion.
Another perpetuated narrative that needs to be addressed is whether to separate the art from an artist. While for some, art maybe just a superficial form but creativity is that aspect which reflect the spiritual principles of the artist. Art has it’s abode in the heart and speaks to the heart of the ones embracing it. Likewise, Michael Jackson expressed by the means of his art. For him, the music he created was a divine gift to him from God and that he was an instrument of nature. His artistic manifestations reflected values like beauty, creativity, honesty, generosity and his aggression against social ills such as racism, bigotry and brutality faced by the human race. His lyrics also give us a deeper insight to his personal experiences. His studio album HIStory is indeed one of the most autobiographical with songs like Childhood and Stranger in Moscow, where he confides about the hardships and the difficult times he had gone through.From raising his voice against systematic racism and police brutality in They Don’t Care About Us ( also by including the footage of Rodney King being mercilessly harassed by cops)to calling out the racist organisations such as KKK in Black Or White and giving a befitting answer to his critics. His art got more unapologetic and vocal with time. Tabloid Junkie was his take on the plight of tabloid journalism that sensationalized and fabricated untrue rumors while in Money, he brilliantly put forth that ‘it is a good master but a bad servant and that people would go to any lengths for money.’ ‘Why You Wanna Trip On Me’, was his take on the press and the rumormongers who were preoccupied with his life and affairs when there are bigger problems and issues of utmost importance on this planet such as world hunger, disasters, illiteracy and corruption and that they need to ‘Stop Trippin’!
There are also some interesting and exhilarating analogies of his detractors, worth mentioning, basically with their own interpretations on songs such as Man in The Mirror or Pretty Young Thing with sinister attributes. How can anyone ever perceive a song like Man in The Mirror and misconstrue its message from what it actually is? Doesn’t that reveal a lot more about themselves? Moreover, the songs that they choose to give their expert analysis on are the ones not written by Jackson. You never see them discuss about the songs that he actually wrote like Scream, D.S, This Time Around or the ones that reflect his honest and sincere emotions.
While Dan Reed is going rounds in the media normalizing pedophilia, Michael Jackson was voicing his concern over child sexual abuse and to put forward a helping hand to whoever in need. He proposed a Universal Bill Of Children’s Rights in 2001, during his speech at the Oxford University-
THE RIGHT TO BE LOVED, WITHOUT HAVING TO EARN IT.
THE RIGHT TO BE PROTECTED, WITHOUT HAVING TO DESERVE IT.
THE RIGHT TO FEEL VALUABLE, EVEN IF YOU CAME INTO THE WORLD WITH NOTHING.
THE RIGHT TO BE LISTENED TO WITHOUT HAVING TO BE INTERESTING.
THE RIGHT TO BE READ A BEDTIME STORY WITHOUT HAVING TO COMPETE WITH THE EVENING NEWS OR EAST ENDERS.
THE RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION WITHOUT HAVING TO DODGE BULLETS AT SCHOOLS.
THE RIGHT TO BE THOUGHT OF AS ADORABLE (EVEN IF YOU HAVE A FACE ONLY A MOTHER
In concluding he stated, “From this day forward, may a new song be heard. Let that song be the sound of children laughing. Let that new song be the sound of children playing. Let that new song be the sound of children singing. And let that new song be the sound of parents listening. Together, let us create a symphony of hearts, marveling at the miracle of our children and basking in the beauty of love. Let us heal the world and blight its pain. And may we all make beautiful music together. God bless you and I love you.”
Jackson composed ‘Do You Know Where Your Children Are’, in the 1980’s about the horrors of child sexual abuse and sex trafficking of children. Unlike Reed, who’s way more vested in his idea of ‘children anticipating sex with adults’. It’s child abuse, not consensual sex Dan! No one is a pedophile apologist here.
‘Hollywood Tonight’ was another composition about the story of a teenage girl who was lured by the limelight of Hollywood but eventually came in terms with the agonizing reality of the haunting paparazzi and fame.
His stage performances were another means to impart the ideals of world peace and love.
He used the platform of the Super Bowl Halftime show to raise awareness for his newly established Heal The World Foundation which provided essential aids to unprivileged children all over the globe such as medical and educational assistance as well as fighting the evils of poverty, drug and child abuse and for being the voice of the voiceless.
In 1994, he also paid for the life saving surgery of Bela Farkas, an orphaned Hungarian boy who was in urgent need of a liver transplant.Through his foundation, he also arranged for a liver and took care of his medical needs for more than decade.
An example of how Jackson was very passionate about his art is how he got the inspiration to co-write We Are The World with Lionel Richie. He locked himself in the dark corners of the studio, trying to feel the pain and the sufferings of the destitute in Africa and he skipped even the American Music Awards to focus on the goal that mattered to him the most. The charity single raised over $60 million and the proceeds were donated to United Support Of Artists for Africa which helped to feed and relieve the starving people in Africa, where around millions had lost their lives when the country was in the grip of a devastating famine in 1983–1985.
After the September 11 attacks, at the World Trade Center, Jackson was one of the first to let his art and creativity be put into action for the cause. He with other well known artists came together to compose ‘What More Can I Give’, which he intended to release as a charity single. 17 years after the release of We Are The World, Michael Jackson was still dedicated as he was on healing the world with his talent and his gift of music.
His artistic brilliance was way ahead of his time. Today, we are in the grasp of intense environmental concerns due to massive man-made interference and intervention. Fires have been raging catastrophically throughout the Amazon Rainforest for more than a week now with no worthwhile measures being taken to put an end to this severe destruction of our world’s most vital ecosystem, when Michael Jackson divulged his concern about the rapid environmental degradation due to deforestation and the drastic human activities as well as the disastrous implications of wars and cruelty against animals way back in 1995.
The woke mankind chose to turn a deaf ear and only now, his words are more realistic and relevant than ever- ‘What about nature’s worth? Do we give a damn?’ Sting, the lead singer of the wave rock band ‘Police’ called the song ‘a pile of crap’ and that he wouldn’t write a song like Earth Song. Of course, you can’t create something which you don’t believe in and as I’ve mentioned earlier on here, people are envious of the gifts others have when they don’t possess the fortune or the ability in themselves- Human Nature, isn’t it?
In his lifetime, he helped children and families victimized by mass shootings or calamities. During his tours, Jackson made sure to put a smile on the faces of the less fortunate by paying visits to hospitals and orphanages or donating concert tickets for free.
His Neverland Ranch was open to the world and was equipped with special arrangements and trained staff to look after the chronically ill children, so that they could equally enjoy their presence in the ranch even in his absence.
Conrad Murray had secretly recorded Michael Jackson on May 2009, when we was under the sedation of propofol,that the doctor was administering at the time- same as what Evan Chandler had done by injecting Toradol into him for his severe headache.The tape was revealed when Murray was on trial for his wrongful death and was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. He talked about his desire to build a Children’s Hospital while being in a vulnerable state of half-consciousness.
"Elvis didn’t do it. Beatles didn’t do it. We have to be phenomenal. When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, I’ve never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. I’ve never seen nothing like this. Go. It’s amazing. He’s the greatest entertainer in the world. I’m taking that money, a million children, children’s hospital, the biggest in the world. Michael Jackson Children’s Hospital. Gonna have a movie theater, game room. Children are depressed. The -- in those hospitals, no game room, no movie theater. They’re sick because they’re depressed. Their mind is depressing them. I want to give them that. I care about them, them angels. God wants me to do it. God wants me to do it. I’m gonna do it, Conrad."
"Don’t have enough hope, no more hope. That’s the next generation that’s gonna save our planet, starting with -- we’ll talk about it. United States. Europe. Prague, my babies. They walk around with no mother. They drop them off, they leave -- a psychological degradation of that. They reach out to me -- please take me with you."
"I’m gonna do that for them. That will be remembered more than my performances. My performances will be up there helping my children and always be my dream. I love them. I love them because I didn’t have a childhood. I had no childhood. I feel their pain. I feel their hurt. I can deal with it. `Heal the World.' `We Are the World.' `Will You Be There.' `The Lost Children.' These are the songs I’ve written because I hurt, you know, I hurt."
What TV makes,TV can destroy. What media makes, media can destroy. But, Michael Jackson wasn’t and still isn’t a product of the media hype and it’s the reason why they’re struggling to annihilate his influence and following.
One of the most accurate descriptions I’ve read of Michael and his treatment in the media which goes like this: "His existence was like blood in the water for sharks". As sad as it is, but true. Almost everyone wants a piece. Foes, acquaintances, pseudo-friends. Nobody could say it better than Phil Collins,”When children see Michael Jackson, they see a human being. When adults see him, they see money.”
If we were to define Michael’s legacy, we would all agree that his massive catalog, his historic performances and world tours, his anthems and social justice lyrics, his creative, cutting edge short films, his iconic dance and wearable art would all be on the list.
A decade has passed since Michael Jackson’s untimely demise yet, here we are confronted with the lies, misconceptions and tabloid gossips. I also find it interesting, how the media is eager to find out ‘who the next Michael Jackson is’, when they couldn’t get enough of slandering the man to this day.
Michael Jackson is the perfect example of an American Icon, the American Dream, and an American Tragedy. His life story either brings me great awe and inspiration, or great pain. His ENTIRE story is important to American History. Especially, what he went through being accused.
Michael Jackson was deprived of his basic right of being a child during his childhood and is another reason as to why he cannot be compared to any random Joe down the street. He was investigated more than any common individual and till date, I’m yet to see one incriminating evidence that he ever harmed a soul, let alone a child.
Apparently, he couldn’t hurt a bug.
That suppressed unfulfilled child later came out slowly as he was growing. His child like nature & innocence were only his natural balancing acts which he couldn’t live during his childhood. That made him appreciate and cherish every minute creation in nature –be it the view of a sunset in the horizon or a butterfly, the artist in him could see the beauty in every aspect of life. Despite attempts to tarnish his name and legacy, his contributions to entertainment and altruism prevail.
As we celebrate Michael Jackson’s 61st birth anniversary, we thank him for his everlasting influence on music, radiant, soulful voice, astonishing dancing, and great songs of truly passionate emotions, powerful courage, and eternal love. It also calls for the need that we finally we look into the mirror and rekindle the zest in ourselves to reach out for the truth and apprehend the timidity within us that we allowed ourselves to be swindled by the powers that control the masses, leading to the condemnation of a man who taught us to combat with these very forces. It’s not about just defending him at this point. It’s about protecting the basic human rights and to preserve the dignity of law and justice. We can do far better than joining lynch-mobs or become the flag bearers of cancel culture without assiduous research
‘I’ve never felt that people should feel they are better than others, simply because they happen to possess a larger share of material items and monetary wealth than others less fortunate. I believe in sharing, assisting and just lending a helping hand to people’
