Saturday, June 27, 2009

And now, a break from our regularly scheduled programming . . .

I'm growing weary of all the relentless media coverage of Michael Jackson's life and death. I know it's a big deal. I understand that he was a hugely talented entertainer, an innovator in many ways. But holy crap, people seem to be elevating him to a god-like status now that he's dead. I don't even watch TV, but having a husband home recuperating from surgery means that the TV is on a lot, and that's what I see almost every time I venture into the bedroom: more coverage of Michael Jackson. The man (boy?) was a freak. Maybe he was a victim early on in his life, but let's not forget that he was accused not once, but twice of child molestation. And even if he was never convicted, I think there was enough smoke that to yell "FIRE!" was warranted. He certainly had an inappropriate fixation on children. It's just hard for me to feel very sad about his passing.

Farrah Fawcett died the same day, earlier in the day. Because she was dying of cancer, of course her death, while expected for a while now, touched me in a much more personal way. What I'm really sad about is that Michael Jackson's death is so completely overshadowing her death.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

yeh, i agree with you. there are people dying every day. people dying in iran, people dying in iraq. people dying for reasons we can prevent right in our own towns. yet it's not sensational. so the air waves are taken up by the rich and famous.

Anonymous said...

I agree. Enough already! And to completely ignore Farrah is almost mean of them.
Asha.

The Beers Family said...

I agree - there is too much of a fixation on all celebrities

Carla said...

I had the same thoughts, Lisa. But then I thought about something else, too. Farrah lived her life in the limelight and she also chose to suffer her illness, in the name of education and hopefully research funding, in the limelight. I thought that this was a wonderful way for her to use her Hollywood fame, for education. But, now, in the end I am also glad that her family is having an opportunity to mourn her great loss in a bit more privacy. So, in an odd sort of way, I'm glad that her loss has been overshadowed by Michael Jackson's.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree!

Brandie said...

I agree with everything you said. Glad to know I'm not the only one.

Darla said...

My grandmother died that same day. I wrote a blog about grieving on my myspace and some person on my friend list didn't read the actual content and thought I was grieving about Michael Jackson and she went on to say how great he was and how misunderstood. I felt like writing her back and saying, "No, I meant a truly good hearted and real human being." My grandmother became a mother at age 15 and later, when he was 17 years old, my uncle who was a football star suffered a head injury. He was in a coma for 6 months and when he came out of it, he had to re-learn everything. He was never perfect after that and my grandmother cared for him out of love until the day she died. She was an active mother (of 6 boys) for 70 years. (From the time of her first born child to the time of her death) She also partially raised my sister and I. I too get irritated hearing about Michael Jackson. He was famous but not so great as my grandmother, the guiding light of my life. That is to say, he was, in my opinion, a lesser being despite being famous.

~KC: said...

Farrah Fawcett’s death also touched me in a more personal level.