The Man in the Mirror

Michael Jackson died at the age of 50, a relatively young man. I really did not join in the fracas that has occurred since his death. The non-stop coverage is overwhelming. Michael Jackson had God-given talent. He created a soundtrack for a generation. He smashed records, broke down barriers and everyone my age has memories of his music and videos. No one can take any of that away from him.

As he aged he became what could only be described as bizarre. The surgeries that by the end of his life left him looking barely human, the attempted purchase of the elephant man, the unhealthy attachment to young boys, and a very strange marriage to Lisa Marie Presley. The list just goes on.

His memorial service was a star-studded affair that had some poignant moments. I did not watch, but did see some of the coverage on the news. I was really hoping that on Wednesday when I woke up the over-blown coverage would be over. Alas, that has not happened.

My mind keeps going back to the comments made by Attorney General Holder regarding race relations, how we are cowards. That may very well be true, but this story gives a good reason of why that may be. A lawmaker made a comment earlier this week about the never-ending round the clock coverage of the story and questioned why a child molester was getting all this attention. This brought out Al Sharpton and the NAACP. Rev. Sharpton did not call him a racist, but did go after the statements. The NAACP called him a racist. Many people across this country feel that he wrongly acquitted and he is indeed a child molester. At the very least, he had an unhealthy relationship with other people’s young sons. Only the people involved know what the truth is. The only thing that I know for sure is that he would never be with any young boy in my family. Sleeping with other people’s children is wrong.

Jamie Fox made an odd statement about how the black community shared Michael with the rest of us. The black community doesn’t share people with us anymore than we share white people with them. Entertainers are entertainers and the public will decide for themselves who and what they choose to listen to. This has become a racially charged topic for no reason.

The topics that we should be discussing are as follows: Where were all these people when he was being tried for child molestation? People dropped him like a bad habit. If these people loved and cared about him like they have been saying why were they not trying to help him overcome his obvious drug addiction? Shouldn’t we be talking about the downfalls of fame?

Michael Jackson apparently had it all. Wealth, three healthy beautiful children, and an incredibly successful career, and yet none of this seemed to fill him. He has been described as being a man-child and suffering from arrested development. He named his ranch Neverland, a tribute to Peter Pan. This is more than just irony; it was designed to be that way. Michael had been quoted as saying he was Peter Pan. He would never grow up.

Mr. Jackson was a very troubled man. The information coming out now about his very serious drug problems should not be lost in a discussion about race that just doesn’t exist. Young kids across this country dream about success and fame. This is a story for parents who push their children too hard to achieve stardom. The stories of how his father pushed the children and reportedly beat them have been well documented.

His death is very tragic. Watching his young daughter cry for her daddy was heartbreaking. Three children are essentially orphans since they have no relationships with their mothers. Losing a parent at such a young age is a horrible thing; and this is doubled for them since they were being raised by a single father. As tragic as this story is, it isn’t about race. It is about addiction. Addiction to fame, addiction to the adulation, and addiction to drugs and how an early death is the end result of these addictions is the story. It is a shame for his kids that Michael wasn’t able to look at drug addicted man in the mirror, maybe if he had Paris would still have her beloved daddy.