Michael Jackson: On the Uneasiness

Above: Michael Jackson fans gather in front of Detroit's Motown Historical Museum to celebrate the artist's legacy. Credit: The Los Angeles Times.

Prompted by a friend's comments in response to my post, "Michael Jackson: We Want You Back," I want to respond to the troubling pieces of Jackson's story.

First, the pedophelia charges. I'm thoroughly confused by it. On one hand, I see how such deplorable acts are downright likely. On the other, I'm so far from actually knowing any details of any of the cases that to presume his guilt from my distant vantage is irresponsible. I get that the criminal justice system favors the rich, and so Jackson's acquittal on all charges in 2005 isn't satisfying to many. And yet: innocent-until-proven guilty is a standard to treasure. It's possible, after all, his relationship with the children was entirely sexless--as Roger Ebert puts it in his great eulogy for Jackson, the man seemed stuck in a pre-pubescent point of life. I don't know. I just don't know. And so, I'll default by not presuming his guilt.

Though, my lingering discomfort is complicated by my awe before Jackson's  brilliance, his gifts from another world. This sort of ambiguity isn't new: one might be awed before the legacy of Thomas Jefferson even as one knows that he was a slaveowner and probably a rapist.

Such human complexity bewilders us. We know it's there--we're all living examples of it, for god's sake--and yet we hide from it. You'd think I'd be more ready: I spent years working with the Prison Creative Arts Project, with writers and artists who had done horrifying things, and I came to count many as friends and to enjoy their creative talents. The difference with Jackson is that the drama plays out on a scale that's as outsize as his talent. But we must hold on to the principle: we and our complex human minds can hold two seemingly contradictory ideas at once, the Jackson who gave us great gifts of music and joy and love, and the Jackson who at the very least didn't keep healthy boundaries between himself and children. Human beings are many things at once; let's not pretend we are only one thing or another.

Another troubling piece of Jackson's story: his seemingly fanatical surgeries that can't help but evoke self-hate. I like the response of Tammy Johnson in "Michael Jackson's Mark on a Black-or-White World."

In the end, as someone who believes that music has a power that transcends it beyond mere hobby, when I think of Jackson, I feel grateful. All the Detroit radio stations have been playing all Jackson, all the time, since the news of his death, reminding me of the quality of even lesser-known songs, to say nothing of his mammoth hits.

Folks in front of the Motown Historical Museum in Detroit last night, hundreds of them, sang together to "Man in the Mirror;" hundreds of others in Chicago's Grant Park rocked out to "Billie Jean;" in Harlem, they grooved to "Rock With You" and "I'll Be There." Someone shared one last dance for Michael with a small crowd.

All over the globe, strangers were inspired to sing and dance together in the streets, loudly and with joy, and there is almost nothing that would catalyze us well-mannered people to do such a thing.

Nothing except Michael Jackson.

And for this, I'm grateful to him.

UPDATE: Hunter at the Daily Kos has an interesting article on the uneasiness about MJ: "A Dismembered Soul."  It leaves one to remember the meaning of the word "tragic," a word far overused. A "tragedy" isn't when bad things happen to good people: it's when a great person carries the thread of his undoing within himself, within the traits that make him great.

Thanks to Mike B. for the link.

Comments

[Channing]

Thanks for posting our video!

On the subject of MJ-as-pedophile, one of my friends witnessed and snipped this FB comment thread: http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1210085/mj2.PNG
(My friend is the last commenter in the thread)

It made me realize that I'm out of the loop on how some people perceive Jackson. And that I'm out of the loop on how those people perceive a lot of our shared world, for better or worse.

[WESLEY]

MICHAEL.... VC MORREU ASSIM COMO VIVEU, BRILHANDO COMO UMA ESTRELA ENCANDESCENTE, E O BRILHO DESTA ESTRELA NEM MESMO A MORTE PODE APAGAR, NEM O TEMPO PODE FAZER ESQUECER, A CRIANÇA ESPECIAL QUE POUCOS VIAM EM VC. SERA SEMPRE ETERNAMENTE POP....BRASIL DF

[Rebecca Stahl]

Speaking of Thomas Jefferson: http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/time-wastes-too-fast/

[Chris]

If the media wants to talk about heroes, they should talk about singe parents raising a family on one income--not a mentally imbalanced pederast who got kids drunk, brought them to his bed, and molested them. Good riddance. A body of music doesn't excuse your sins.

[insurance phoenix az]

I think that people do forget that he was acquitted of those accusations.

[Doreen Ambrose-Van Lee]

Gloved One, Loved One
(For Michael Joseph Jackson)

My heart is heavy, as I watch news footage of you gliding across the stage and gyrating your pelvis,
At this moment in time this is bigger than the Duke, man, this is bigger than Elvis!
Though you made your living with words, today there are no words to express the way the world feels,
Right now there is no need to go into your discography
because it encompasses valleys and hills.
But where do I begin, should I start with your amazing solo
career or should I start with the Jackson 5,
When you were just a cute little boy,
On stage you were talented and outgoing,
Yet off stage you were introspective and coy,
In the 70's, you put the world into a trance with your 'fro and bell bottomed jeans as you did the robot,
Michael, you had everyone at your feet because when you danced and sang you gave all that you got!
Nat King Cole was a merry ole soul as he sat perched up against mama's old
wooden phonograph next to Billie Holiday, Roberta Flack and the Jackson's Destiny album,
Lord, have mercy you all grew up to be mature, sexy and handsome!
I am old school and I remember coming home from school putting on your albums,
These were the days before CD's, MP3 players, Limewire and IPODS,
Goodness, listening to your music was heaven sent directly from God.
Ooh wee, or should I say 'hee hee hee' about that pulsating falsetto,
That reached every country, mansion, island, barrio, prison, hut, igloo, reservation, trailer park, suburb and ghetto.
As I sit here typing and watching youtube I see you doing your world famous 3 point spin,
That you delighted audiences with in every song from 'Enjoy Yourself' to Billie Jean to 'You Can't Win.'
You were a great admirer of the legendary James Brown,
It warmed my heart to see you at an award show holding his crown.
You ruled the 80's with a glittering iron glove,
Moon walking into the hearts of millions Moving as gracefully and as freely as a dove.
Newborns coming into the world already know your name,
Ailing grandparents in their last days know the same.
You are Gary¹s finest but the world dubbed you the 'Gloved One.'
Michael, your legacy is HIStory, DESTINY, OFF THE WALL, VICTORY, TRIUMPH,
INVINCIBLE, BAD and most definitely a THRILLER.
You are the King of Pop the 'Man In The Mirror!
You 'rocked our world¹ for over 40 years.
You gave us such memorable songs as Who's Lovin You, Gotta Be There,
Heart Break Hotel, Butterflies, PYT, Billie Jean, Earth Song, Can You Feel It, She's Out Of My Life, Working Day And Night, The Girl Is Mine, Say, Say, Say, we 'Remember The
Time' you told us that 'We Are The World' and to 'Ease on Down The Road.'
You sold out football field stadiums and integrated MTV music videos!
Back in the day we wore your buttons and donned white socks and penny loafers,
Now here we stand today in shock and sadness but we know your pain is over.
Michael, we miss you and though you said 'Heaven Can Wait', 'You Are Not
Alone', and "I Can't Help It, "Human Nature' is the reason that 'I Just Can¹t Stop Loving You'.
You were a great humanitarian a sensitive human being,
Who came to earth and completed your journey now you can have eternal rest,
The world loves you 'Gloved One' but the Lord truly knows best.
We 'Never Can Say Goodbye¹ to you 'Lovely One.'
WE LOVE YOU, MJ.