Well I'll just be damned, I've made a minor discovery. It's nothing new to many of you. Hell it's not even new to me, it's just that recently the idea has been verified into fact for me. What's the idea and the fact? When you tell the truth, the bare naked, cold and hungry truth, it causes more hate and fanfare than a very obvious lie. Sure we've all seen it before, been disgusted by it, haven't been surprised by it, or even been shocked at the lack of it. But when you see something happen in a way that reveals a pattern that applies directly to you, well then it hits home. And what is all this blathering about? Well the fact is that I have often thought that people respond to my writings with such strong dislike because they have their own personal issues, as well as a common like to dislike. So when I write something new I expect the hate mail and the strong contradictions to appear. 

I've been out of the writing loop for a while. Just recently has the urge and the ability to write anything constructive returned to me. For those of you who read, well thanks for hanging in there with me. For those of you who read and write, well hell I don't need to explain it to you. 

So in this rather detailed rant I'm going to address something that is in the forefront of mainstream America. Love it, hate it, either way you're getting the truth. Is it the only truth? Why hell no. It's just how I feel and I'm not soft selling my feelings for anyone. 

The Michael Jackson Rant

I was born in the seventies, and I like to say I really lived in the eighties. Needless to say, I was exposed to the gloved one pretty early on, and like everyone in the world it seemed, I was amazed at the man. No, I don't mind admitting that a poor ass country kid from Alabama was a Michael Jackson fan. Seems like a better question was who wasn't? I can remember some crusty old man sitting out in front of the pool hall next to the bank, chewing on something all the time, saying in a cracking old voice, "Yeah that Michael Jackson boy can dance like he ain' got a dam bone in his whol' body!" 

That doesn't seem all too amazing, til you consider that I often heard that same old man spout off a hundred different obscenities all ending in the phrase "All caus'a them dam niggers!" Being a white kid in a small southern town, either you were a racist or you weren't. I don't mind telling you, I'm not a racist, I'm a realist. It bothered me to no end to hear such as that, but at times I could certainly identify with the old man's frustration. And keep in mind, that old fart could call anybody 'boy' and pretty much mean it. I was vaguely impressed that someone so rooted in old hate for black people could openly and even willingly pay a prominent black man a compliment, right in front of his equally crusty colleagues. And even more so, they agreed with him. So my point is, early on I was aware that Michael Jackson was a talented man who somehow punched a hole, if even a small one, in America's racial barrier. 

The changes.

So after MJ had become a fixture in our collective pop culture did we start to see the changes. Sure, musicians are eccentric by nature. Pushing that particular envelope seemed part of the job. But MJ, well let's just say he was pushing alot harder. When news about Neverland hit the press, we all thought pretty much the same thing. "Must be nice to have that much money to throw around." Often times we said this while looking at our paycheck, which was at least twice as small as we thought it should be. Then the tabloids focused on MJ like no one else. It seemed like the man couldn't have a bowel movement without the press picking him apart for how, why and when. So in that respect alot of us thought "If I were in his shoes I'd act weird, too."

Then... it started getting beyond weird. The skin, for one thing. I have a unique perspective. When I was in grade school I had a classmate named Tina Buchannon. She was a black girl, and she was one of those kids who made friends out of everybody. I loved cutting up with her. Her mother, on the other hand, scared the living hell out of me. She had that skin disease, the one where her skin was colored with random splotches of white. Something about the pattern of those blotches of color in her skin made her face seem to come alive when she talked. Even the smallest word or motion and she seemed to be making horrific faces. So when MJ suddenly appeared chalk white, and a touch thinner to boot, I thought "Ok, I can see why" and quickly forgot about it. 

The money.

Ok, let's just put this out front. If you didn't know Michael Jackson was obscenely rich in his prime, well you were in the dark. And as his insane spending begin to reach its zenith, I think even MJ himself was convinced he was obscenely rich. Too rich to ever go broke, it seems. Buying things that were always thought to be above purchase became the norm for the ol' gloved one. Right around this time did small hints and allegations of financial woes began to surface for MJ. I'm pretty certain most of us thought the same thing. "He's got the money." Now in retrospect, a five year old can see how MJ was spending money faster than he was making it. You doubt it? Look at his global record sales from fifteen years ago, then look at them today. Hell, you can look on Ebay and see how he has devalued. 

The habits.

I'm not going to pretend about this for a minute, dammit the man is weird. Beyond normal "I want to be left alone" weird. If I were a young man in the center of his universe, with all his resources and notoriety, I would be absolutely smothering in pussy. After the novelty wore off I would no doubt see the light of day and hopefully come back to reality. Reality being a little more caution and some conservation. But MJ.... well he was petting Bubbles the chimp and playing with his own little zoo of exotic animals.  So he let kids - sick kids foremost - come to his personal Shangri-la for free. That is great and very kind of the man. It was and still is a very generous gesture. But..... after we hear he has children sleep in his bed, well that whole generous and kind shit starts to look like "Hey kid I'll give you a piece of candy if you'll sit on my lap." Can we fairly say that was his motive? Who knows? 

I don't think he had his little three ring circus built for the specific purpose of grooming child victims, not for a minute. What I do believe is that MJ is a man who has always and still is CHANGING and when the desire to be with a child in such a way developed, he had the perfect setup to indulge himself. Putting myself in the man's shoes, I bet I would be insanely cautious about everything. Imagine those crazy ass - and yes I did say CRAZY - fans of his, everywhere he goes. It seems that some of the habits he developed because of his crazy followers could be used as a disguise for other things. We see a brief clip of MJ ducking behind a door - well hell, we all think "Of course, it's Michael Jackson, he has to run and hide for some privacy."  Maybe I'm wrong, but I think he has played that card for all it's worth, and some very disturbing habits of MJ have started to appear obvious to us. 

The fans.

I'll get no less than a thousand hate mails for this next paragraph alone. Oh well, HIT ME. Most Michael Jackson fans are regular people. The ones who follow him like he's some kind of God come to earth, YOU PEOPLE ARE SAD, PATHETIC AND TO BE PITIED. Furthermore, I want MJ's fanatic fans to think about this, the people in the jury are every day people like ALL OF US. They have families, lives, friends and people they love waiting for them when this trial is over. In the mean time YOU ARE MAKING THEIR LIFE HELL with your behavior. If you believe MJ is innocent, then stay your crazy ass out of the court room and let the judge and jury do their jobs. Quit complicating the procedure. Don't you think when the jury gets sick of your antics they are going to be angry at MJ for it? After all it's his name you are screaming. It's him you all seem to worship. And call it what you want, it's worship. Maybe instead of showing up at the court house hours before the start of the trial each day, you should go out and try to GET A FUCKING LIFE.	If it's that hard for you, let me know. I'll burn you a few of my Prince cd's. Prince is eccentric too, but at least he can play any musical instrument like a madman, and oh, he likes PUSSY. 

The families of the children.

I agree with most of you when I think "What the hell were those parents thinking, letting their child spend the night with an eccentric, rich weirdo behind locked doors and barred gates in the first place?"  I agree that those thoughts are at the front of all our minds. It also led me to a sort of epiphany. It really made me mad, it did. I have seen cancer first hand. It's a fucking green eyed monster. It's a harsh, hungry snake mean son of a bitch and when you think it's going to relent, it comes back three times as strong. So I have also been through the whole long hospital ordeals so many of us have. You know what I mean. Up the elevators, down them again, over to this wing, wait in this room, stand in that line, wait on the phone for this insurance company, wait in another line for whatever else, spend days on end waiting for.... folks it just goes on and on. So my point? After a while it does certainly make things feel hopeless. 

Enter stage right.......... a man with endless finances who has taken an interest in your dying child's welfare. I can see how a parent who was distraught with fear and hurt would be blinded to the obvious by even the smallest sign of, you got it, HOPE. And that is why it makes me so damned mad. Am I excusing it? Why hell no. I still think it's foolish and odd as hell, but I can certainly see why someone clinging onto no hope at all is suddenly willing to let things like that happen. When you are faced with losing a loved one, a child no less, you're a hell of alot more open to suggestion. Desperation is, in its own way, just as mean a critter as cancer. It can certainly force your hand. 

I don't think it's right for the parents to let their children spend a single minute alone with MJ, but knowing how it feels to watch them slowly die, and believing the man holding their hand is the only one who can help, well I guess I can see why they would make such a terrible and obvious mistake. 

The worship.

It's clear as a crystal bell to me. MJ wants to be worshiped. He hopes the crowd of fans never goes away. Reality check Mr. Happy Pants, they are dwindling. And quickly, too. The ones that are left, well dammit man just look at them. More hate mail will come from this, but man oh man are they a poor fucking crowd or what? I still consider myself a fan of his music, but I won't chase his limo down the block screaming and tearing my shirt off. Maybe Weight Watchers could cop a deal with his fan club, run that limo around the block three times in a row, trim some of that jelly roll off his psycho fans. 

The music.

I admit it, I hear one of his older songs on the radio every now and then and I crank that shit right up. He has a few songs I think will always be classics, even if he were to rise to be the next Hitler. Why the Hitler reference? Well think of this, is either one more well known than the other?? So I like some of his music and sing along. I draw the line there, and I can not identify with someone who does not. Let's say you are a singer, composer, dancer, etc etc. I can appreciate you having a deeper appreciation for the man than I do. But give me one good reason to take it beyond that?

The race card. 

This just baffles me. In the eighties Michael Jackson single handedly knocked down racial barriers with his (then) squeaky clean image and snappy dance moves. He has sold just as many albums to white people as to any other demographic. ( I bought the album Dangerous just because of a sound byte on the song Jam, a really cool glass breaking sound - so there, I admit I helped pay for one of the doorknobs somewhere in Neverland ) Then, years later he sues Sony music for... you guessed it. Discrimination. Please, I mean really. I honestly thought he was above that. MJ got filthy rich standing on the shoulders of the entire world and America, black and white. 

And to black America, shame on you. Shame on you. Many of you don't care whether he is guilty or not, simply because HE HAS ALOT OF MONEY. Where is the outcry for a positive black role model when another MJ news brief comes on? Nowhere to be found. It seems the role model MJ once represented has been lost in a sea of ignorant "bling bling" and "Ye-yah!!" I think it's obvious black America needs more Shaquilles, Sean Combs, Michael Jordans and dare I say Maya Angelou? When a black role model falls there is an instant rush to cover any obvious wrong doing by pointing countless fingers at, you guessed it, white America. And why? When the collective shit hits the fan for a black celebrity, why is it so common to see white America blamed? Well that's simple. It's easier to put the blame on white America than it is to look within for the solution to the problem. 

That, by the way, is why I am a realist and not a racist. I say it as I see it. If you don't appreciate it, oh well you are entitled to. Personally, I think ol' P. Diddy a.k.a. Sean Combs should be commended for his Vote Or Die efforts. I admit, "Vote Or Die" sounds kind of harsh and juvenile, but when I think of the people he is trying to reach, I can see where it makes sense. Furthermore, where is black America while he is making this effort? Dammit man he's trying to encourage young black Americans to vote. Shouldn't he be uplifted and given praise beyond a token gesture? Now I didn't like the person he was rooting for, but I can definitely appreciate P. Diddy's efforts. He didn't get much credit for his effort, but if he were on stage wearing an obscene amount of gold, well then he would be the apple of black America's eye. I have seen all too many great black American role models overlooked simply because there was no silly show of excess involved. Take away the Lexus and the chains, the half naked girls, and where is most of black America? Changing the channel, that's where. 

Ossie Davis died recently, and I honestly feel a big part of intellectual black America died with him. To quote the man, "I love everybody". Why did I quote that? Well because his actions SHOWED it. Bill Cosby spoke the truth as he felt it, and he was pretty much hung out to dry. ( Mostly by people who were pissed because he was RIGHT ) Michael Jackson seems to be a prime example of black America looking the other way. I have many black friends, and we agree on this. Sometimes begrudgingly, but it's nothing a game of dominoes can't smooth over. 

The cohorts. 

Ok, so you're filthy steenking rich. You need alot of people to help you keep your affairs in order. That makes sense. So let's do this, a simple scientific experiment. Take a picture of each of MJ's close associates, aides, whatever the hell you call them. Put the pictures side by side and show them to any person over the age of eighteen. Anyone, regardless of age, color, ethnicity, etc. Nine out of ten will most likely say the same thing you and I did. Looks like a bunch of fucking thugs to me. Shifty looking, shady characters they are. 

The truth. 

I honestly, honestly hope MJ is innocent. If it's all an ugly lie then he should be vindicated. But what alot of his fans and followers haven't taken into consideration is this; Most people who believe MJ is guilty didn't come to the conclusion immediately. We've seen things over the years that make us ask questions, that raise concerns, and over time we've felt growing doubts about the man. In time a picture is painted with words, actions and images. If the man were proved innocent beyond a shadow of a doubt tomorrow, how many of us would be somewhat relieved.....but still think  "Damn he's just plain weird" ? So the doubt is most certainly justified. 

The kid.

What if everything stopped suddenly? The trial, the media coverage, the insane fanfare. What happens to the kid? Will his treatment continue? Will he be faced with another tumor? Why hasn't anyone in the ever present media mentioned his best/worst case scenario? Of course, there will be a few belly crawling scum bags who will eventually point the finger at the kid himself. Put yourself in his shoes. What is his best hope for day to day life? I would say at this point, a shit load of confusion, at best. I hope that he can scour a little hope out of all of this, and maybe some vindication. 

MJ's family. 

When someone close to us is accused, we want to believe in them. We want to trust them. So for MJ's family, well I truly feel for them. I think the entire Jackson family is living proof that enough money and attention can drive anyone just plain crazy. 

After the trial.

Face it, most of America is going to be sick and tired of the trial way before it's over with. If he's found innocent, then by all means let the man live his life. Just one condition... could he do it else where? I mean, damn. I'm sick of hearing his name. Give Neverland to the American Cancer Society and let his henchmen run the Wheel O' Fun for half of what he was paying them to kiss his ass. Move to some obscure country and be at peace with your bad self.  And if he's guilty, then he faces what any of us would. Let's hope. After seeing Scott Peterson convicted, some of my lost faith in the system was restored. Let's just see what happens. 

In closing. 

That's my two cent's worth. Some of you agree, some of you hate me. I have given some of you what you wanted to hear, and others, well I've pissed you off. Either way, at the very least I've given you what I feel is the TRUTH. Why are you reading my two cent's worth and I'm not reading yours? Well because I took time to share mine, that's why. And I encourage you to do the same. 

Now beat it. 

< Laughing insanely >