The Untouchable Michael Jackson

I once thought of giving Michael Jackson a hug, but celebrity had put him outside of my reach. I believe that’s what killed him in the end.

By: Rebecca Walker | Posted: July 7, 2009 at 7:39 AM

Dave Hogan/Getty Images

But then the nose narrowed too much, and the ever-lightening skin grew hard to stomach. The lawsuits began to surface, one after another, and then the trial and the faces of the young boys with sorrowful tales of abuse. I sat transfixed before the television and trolled the Internet for sordid news. I watched, ridiculed, judged and tried to hold on to the unsullied image of the man I met. But the stage had been set. Michael’s life was already one giant Rorschach. I sat on the sidelines with my popcorn, projecting hope and desire, fantasy and fear onto his increasingly frail body, waiting for the next set.

I will not forget the moment I heard Michael Jackson had died. I was driving on an island road, with rows of sugar cane on either side. The sun was bright and yellow and hot. I pulled over onto a patch of grass, in shock and disbelief. Michael Jackson is dead? I kept asking my husband over and over. Dead? I groped to put it in context, to read the moment, to see what it meant for him, but perhaps more important, what it meant for me. A part of me was dying, I decided. The part that hoped Michael could survive the tremendous burden he carried, that I carried. The part that held the memory of his precious innocence: my precious innocence.

That night I watched one of Michael’s breathtaking performances of the song “What About Us” on YouTube. In the beginning, Michael emerges from a giant earth, surrounded by children and proceeds to build the song to a feverish pitch. The lyrics ask all the right questions: “What about sunrise? What about rain? What about killing fields? Is there still time? Did you ever stop to notice, all the blood we've shed before? Did you ever stop to notice, this crying earth, this weeping shore?”

As the song soars toward the crescendo, Michael asks again and again, “What about us?” “What about us?” People in the audience scream and weep. At the end, spent, victorious and miraculous, he gathers the children, and they walk slowly back into the giant earth at the center of the stage.

Initially, I was speechless, overwhelmed by his mastery of his form and the power of his message. And then, without thinking, I turned from the computer and said out loud, “What about us? What about him?”

Because that’s the real story, isn’t it? It was always all about us. Who came with that level of passion and commitment on Michael’s behalf? Who offered their lives to him the way he offered his to us?

But even in the question, we glimpse the conundrum. We use his death, as we used his life, as a mirror. There is no room for Michael. It is still, tragically, all about us.

Perhaps that is Michael Jackson’s final song, his parting gift. We must have a bigger heart, a bigger vision.

It’s not all about us.

Rebecca Walker is the author of Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence.

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Posted: Sunday, August 23, 2009

I never knew I'd grieve this hard this Summer.

Deborah French

I personally do not believe Michael was a child molester, there are many who disagree with me and equally there are many who do not. It is perhaps not this, however, that is the issue. If one takes the view that Michael did harm children, did the treatment he received at the hands of Tom Sneddon and a collusive hostile media which engaged in the kind of ferocious fact-building that is now de rigeur, actually achieve any real rehabilitation for Jordan Chandler or Gavin? Or was the unprecedented destruction that was brought to bear on Michael actually an excercise in intent to harm? Sneddon spent millions of dollars searching the world for children to testify against Michael in a criminal trial and could only find one family. The credibilty of Evan Chandler, a known fraudster, who mistreated his own wife and Jordan himself, went on record stating that his aim was to ruin Michael's career and get as much money as possible. Speaking for myself, there isn't enough money in the world that would compensate me for the abuse of my child. It is perhaps a little known fact that Michael himself did not want to settle the case but had wanted to fight it. Who knows whether the events of 2005 would have even happened if he had. His mental and physical health had deteriorated to such a degree in 1993 that Elizabeth Taylor and Michael's lawyers advised a vunerable and frail Michael to settle, telling him they couldn't guarantee a not guilty verdict. Michael had waived his entire fee from the Dangerous tour to give to the Heal The World Foundation, but he had to cancel it 2/3rds of the way in to deal with the allegations. He was under enormous pressure from Pepsi and the promoters to pay back lost monies and was also dealing with his own addiction to painkillers and the agony of trying to prove his innocence. Put together with the context of Michael's lost childhood and the unquestionable truth of his legendary, peerless artistry, then suddenly we are talking about a tragedy of epic proportions. So when we're reading articles or opinions like mine or watching the news; know they are cold retellings of something that, for Michael, was his life. He lived it. Everyday.
Could any of us do the same and leave behind the glorious legacy he did?

Posted: Sunday, August 23, 2009

I never knew I'd grieve this hard this Summer.

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Posted: Sunday, August 23, 2009

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Posted: Saturday, July 25, 2009

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This was a beauitfully written article portraying how just a moment of meeting his spirit touched you profoundly.

P.S: I believe lyrics you quoted are from one of my favorite songs -"Earth Song" and not "What About Us" - but the meaning is the same. Again thank you for this article. Thank You. =)

"What about sunrise? What about rain? What about killing fields? Is there still time? Did you ever stop to notice, all the blood we've shed before? Did you ever stop to notice, this crying earth, this weeping shore?”

www.lyrics007.com/Michael%20Jackson%20Lyrics/Earth%20Song%20Lyrics.html

P.P.S I'd recommend everyone taking a look into his ballads because at the same time you're taking a look into the man and not just the myths and magic he created.

Posted: Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Untouchable Michael Jackson

I once thought of giving Michael Jackson a hug, but celebrity had put him outside of my reach. I believe that’s what killed him in the end.

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The Untouchable Michael Jackson

I once thought of giving Michael Jackson a hug, but celebrity had put him outside of my reach. I believe that’s what killed him in the end.

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Slate

The Big Money

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