I Am So Annoyed

It has now been nearly two weeks since Michael Jackson died. During that time, the media has had an inexplicable fixation on this aging and bizarre rock star who hasn’t performed in more than a decade.

I live on Hayvenhurst Avenue, just a few blocks from the Jackson family compound. Since jackson’s death, the LAPD has had the street blocked off 24 hours a day, so that other residents have to take serpentine detours to get to their homes. While law enforcement escorts Jackson family vehicles in and out of the area, LAPD squad cars and parking enforcement units are detailed to man the barriers on each end of the Jackson’s street day and night. Railings have been set up along the street so that gawkers and tourists can meander past their home and stare at the large black gate that prevents them from seeing anything inside the estate. This morning, the day of the memorial at the Staples Center, we were awakened at 6AM by the sound of several helicopters hovering over the area in a fixed position.

With apologies to Michael Jackson’s ardent fans, these activities are not worth the expense and inconvenience they have cost the tax payers of this city. Jackson was a world-famous entertainer and human curiosity, not a head-of-state or major benefactor of our city. Until he announced his ill-fated “This Is It” comeback, he hadn’t even been in the news for several years. It is rather startling that during these difficult economic times the city of Los Angeles has decided to participate in the sycophantic idol worship of this individual and, without voter consent, devote substantial resources to helping this very rich and reclusive family mourn their son. For once, I would like to see the city protecting and preserving the privacy and tranquility of the community that we ordinary mortals live in.

You do know that you live in the entertainment capitol of the world, right?
And you also state that MJ wasn’t a major “benefactor of our city”. Have you really thought about the number of people in LA that benefitted(and continue to do so) from the artists that live and work there? The entertainment business is a part of the economy of Los Angeles. If it costs them $4,000,000 to help with his memorial, I’m pretty sure that is a drop in the bucket compared to the cash people in around that area made when he was entertaining. If you can’t deal with that, then maybe you need to relocate.

While I mourne like the rest of the world, the passing of a musical and dance genious. I am more saddened by the attitude of the world in whole at the persistant focus on the allegations made against Michael. The man was found NOT GUILTY by a jury of his peers of ALL accusations made against him. There, in my mind, is NO WAY Michael would harm a child when, he himself was a child at heart.
Remember, this is a man who had no childhood as we know it. So therefor he lived his life as an innocent, childlike man. A Peter Pan if you like.
Think of all the good he did for the starving children in Africa, The kids with the HIV Virus etc. People should stop focusing on the negitive aspects of this mans life and begin remembering all the good intentions and hopes this man had for humanity in general. He believed we could achieve anything as a race if we put our mind to it, maybe the whole world should start thinking more like Michael did when he was alive, then, the day might soon come when we can indeed. . . “Heal the World !”
Rest in Peace Michael, another one of my childhood heroes has just left me. Goodbye Michael, Goodbye.

To JohnRJ08: I do not blame you one single bit for feeling the way you do for obvious reasons.

If somebody’s hovering helicopter would wake me at 6 am, I would be a living b….ch to live with and rightly so ! That is an invasion of privacy and violates the “Quiet Enjoyment” rule of the real estate code for property owners in the immediate area ! Did you know that ?? Go head and research it, then SUE the city of Los Gayangles .. em . .Angeles … for the booty, if they have money available to p…s away and finance this shindig, then surely there is enough money left over to pay claims for sueing property owners on a “Disturbance of Quiet Enjoyment” Rule of the Real Estate code ! Its worth a shot, give it one .. and good luck :)

Garry:

Unless I’m mistaken, he never went to a trial, nor did he ever have a “jury of his peers”. My understanding is that he reached a financial settlement with the parents of the children involved, which is why so many people feel that he was simply able to avoid jail because he was wealthy. Or is there another reason why he inexplicably moved to the UAE or wherever he moved to that was out of U.S. jurisdiction???

I like his music and have several of his CDs, but while the news media would give the impression that the entire world is mourning, I think you’ll find (if you take an objective look/walk on streets and talk with people) that although most people are sad that he’s passed, they think the media focus is way overblown and most people do NOT see him the same way all the screaming fans in LA do. Where was all this admiration when he was alive? This has been a self-feeding media frenzy, and it has certainly convinced me that the news media are truly out of touch with the majority of the American people. But thank you, Michael, for your music…it was good.

I can see why you are annoyed, but just because MJ is getting headlines, doesn’t mean other news isn’t being covered.

It’s just a little lower on the headline totem pole.
Thing is — those issue will still be there tomorrow — we’ll all be able to catch up.

MJ will not. Sadly, he is gone from our physical midst - though his spirit and music and fancy footwork and pure heart….live on (thank you Jesus!)

In some cases, you are right - it is dangerous idolatry and that is wrong.
Even MJ said himself, many, many, many times — his writing and movements came from God and just flowed through him.
He was the conduit and refused to take credit.

I, for one, do believe in celebrating what he brought to us, which transcended his natural gifts - and that is — his pure heart, love of children and care for all mankind.
We’re taking out time to celebrate a magnificent life — someone who used their God-given gifts for good.
(If only a fraction of us could do the same….imagine how much better off the world would be). That IS cause for celebration.

These other issues will have their turns as headlines, rest assured.

This is the nature of the “news cycle”.
Blessings!

Thank you Larry for setting the record straight. Did it click with anybody that the reason for the comeback tour was because he was broke and in debt ? A big part of the reason he was in debt was his “pay-offs” to the families with the children claiming molestation charges.

I too, like so many grew up with Michael Jackson, his brothers, sisters, and the wonderful music. Michael was an amazing artist. He was a great dancer who coined the moonwalk but I seem to remember another king, the original . Elvis. He was the one who started certain dance moves that gave him the nickname Elvis Pelvis.

I loved Michael and his music. As a mother I will forever question the validity of the many molestation charges. This was a man who not only caused his own dimise but due to his “security” reasons had no working phones in his home. I seem to remember hearing the mother of the last molestation charges say they couldnt even make a phone call to get out of his ranch.

I pray for Michael and know he is in a much better place. I pray for his three children too. Hopefully their veils are off forever and they can have a somewhat normal childhood, the very one that Michael wished he could have had.

And last but not least I pray for his supposed abused victims. There lives still have to go on. If the accusations are true, then today was the biggest slap in the face to all victims of abuse! The glorification of a pediphile. What has become of this country?

Unfortunately it’s always about making money these days .

The guy was not a child molester. If you think so, then prove it. If he had been, he’d have been convicted. He was guilty of terrible judgment and acting inapproriately, but others knew they stood to make lots of money off MJ, and did.

Yes, there’s a lot more real news out there after this all dies down, and none of it is good. But this is a break from all that, and an opportunity to celebrate the life of someone who many of us adored. And, yes, we do have a problem here with idol worship. It’s absolutely pathetic. And the media is at least part of the problem. And parents. And people that don’t know anything (and gee, how can they, when all they see on the nightly news is murder, mayhem and celebrities).

And Sarah Palin, OMG. Speaking of people who don’t know anything. And someone get her a dictionary and thesaurus, please. Those don’cha-coulda-hopin’-thinkin’ sentences of hers drive me to madness. I thank Katie Couric every day for those interviews.

I do agree. It was a circus. Seems like Michael Jackson’s promoters and his father, Joe Jackson, came up with the gimick of taking Michael to the Staples center at the last minute. I am sure money will come their way from this. Probably a DVD of the event–specially packed-signed by family members. In fact, Michael probably was not even in the casket. They did that to throw off the media. They left the funeral home with an empty casket so they could move Michael to where ever they wanted. Hoping the media would follow the EMPTY one to the Staples Center. I am sure it will come out in the next few days. Joe and the family have their eyes set on making money and I think they will play out this memorial thing as long as they can.. Guess who will make the London tour and he other 49 concerts. Michaels family members doing a tribute to Michael. Shame on them . Let Michael rest in peace. Hopefully they are not going to carry Michael and his casket to London for the concert. How odd that the whole family left the Staples center and the casket and hearse were still there. Shows that it was just an empty casket at the Staples center. If Michael had been in the casket–they would not just have all left afTer the SHOW. I don’t think anyone would be that thoughtless.

Did ABC News really say “Stapleton” Center? Wow, you’d think with all the Laker games they show, they’d know it’s “Staples” Center.

I have mixed emotions. I love MJ’s music. But there is a cloud that hangs over him for me, even today, because of past abuse charges. Regardless of whether or not these charges are true, I do believe that there is too much attention being focused on him and his demise. It is the essence of hero worship and that bothers me.

He was only a man - a talented one, yes - but a fallible man just the same. I believe that so many people born in the early 60s- early 80s are so devoted to MJ because his music provided part of the soundtrack of our “wonder years”. And for recording artists, MJ’s work provided a blueprint, a template, and an artistic benchmark, which may be why they are so awestruck. But let’s consider this, the only one worthy of worship is God alone. He created all of the gifts, talents, and ablitties that resided within the man.

If you want to mourn, mourn the loss of innocence that occurred when charges were first brought up against MJ. Mourn the sin sickness that exists in this fallen world. Mourn the sinfulness of our own flesh. And rejoice that God has sent His one and only Son - Jesus Christ - to save you and me from that sin if we chose to trust Him!

I agree that this “circus” is ridiculous. MJ was a great entertainer, not someone that saved millions of people and one of the greatest human beings to live for the past 500 years. The world, in this case, Americans, need to get a grip! Idol worship like this is very sad. I shake my head when I see people who never knew the man crying and carrying on like idiots over his sad life and death. Yes, we lost a great entertainer and no disrespect to MJ, people! Get a life! Anyone remember that there are people all over the world dying of hunger, repression and wars. Why don’t we have a huge memorial for those people? You may not share my opinion but I think we as a society have a lot of growing up to do!

MJ not a child molester because he was not found guilty of those charges? I guess that means that you also believe that O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake are innocent of their respective murders–that John “Teflon Don” Gotti never broke the law until he was finally found guilty in 1992–and that Al Capone was never involved any mafia related criminal activities, only tax evasion. Are you really that naieve?

I find fault in our news media for ignoring REAL news during the past 10–11 days, just as I blame them for abandoning REAL news when Anna Nicole Smith died. What on earth did she do to deserve the attention her death received? I am profoundly disappointed in the major news networks for sacrificing their mission to present important world news in preference for network ratings. I thought Entertainment Tonight and People Magazine were designed to cover the celebrity drivel. Apparently, the major news networks can be lumped into the same category as ET and PM.

I agree! Even if I were a MJ fan (which I am not) I would be saying the same thing which is: enough is enough!

Besides, the whole thing is rather hypocritical, don’t you think? All of this celebration and glorifying of a man who, when he was alive, was treated as something of a joke by the media?

I think some people do not understand what happened in Jackson’s trial. He was NOT declared “innocent”. He was “not guilty”, which means that the prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had molested children. However, if you know what happened in the trial, you are aware of the enormous amount of circumstantial evidence against jackson that went far beyond “bad judgment”. People should also remember one very telling detail about the case: Jackson didn’t sleep with young girls. He slept exclusively with young boys, and the huge settlements he paid out were to the parents of boys.

Jackson constantly spoke about how he “loved” children and that everything he did with them was an act of “love”. This is the theme of the Lambda Society, which endorses sex with minors because sex is the surpreme act of love to young children. Is this why Jackson showed his young visitors sexually oriented magazines and gave them wine?

When you add the fact that he acted and looked like the host of a day-time kiddies show, and built a home that was more of an amusement park, you see all the trappings of a wealthy pedophile who wanted to make his home a magnet for kids.

Now, did Jackson do all this because he never had a childhood? Well, none of his six siblings seemed to develop his attitudes, despite being raised in the same household with the same brutal father. They all have families of their own, and didn’t have to pay a homely surrogate $8.5 million for the use of her womb, then pay a second surrogate for a third child.

Obviously, nobody has any hard evidence that Michael Jackson ever acted inappropriately with young boys, except for the families that Jackson paid millions to for their silence. But, if you’re objective at all and you make a list of the things Jackson said and did, you have to be in total denial not to suspect him. Why would someone pay out tens of millions of dollars to silence families, knowing those settlements would be leaked to the press, if they were innocent of any wrongdoing? And why would a person who had been accused of child molestation continue sleeping with young boys despite the urgings by his closest friends that he stop? The answer is summed up with one word: compulsion.

Pedophiles, which are routinely men who feel an attraction to young boys, create a world around them that looks as innocent and safe for children as one can imagine. They go to great lengths to earn the trust and even the love of the families of their victims, often being seen as a benefactor and trusted caretaker. This was Michael jackson’s pattern of behavior for nearly two decades and it was what caught the interest of law enforcement before his arrest.

One can be a fan of Jackson’s music and recognize his substantial talents without throwing skills of perception and common sense out the window. It is not a sin, nor is it illogical to suspect or believe that Michael Jackson was a pedophile. And there is no wrong time to talk about it, despite the complaints of sycophantic, overly emotional fans.

Sorry but all these folks defending MJ saying that he wasn’t a child molester because he was never “officially” charged is just wrong.
If your male neighbor, male cousin or uncle said he slept with kids in his bed and they were usually all male, we would call the cops quick fast and in a hurry.
Why does MJ get a pass?
He gets a pass because he is childlike and acts like Peter Pan? MJ needed to grow up and get over it.
No adult male needs to sleep with boys in his bed!!
I love kids too but they have there room and I have mine.

Well said, JP! MJ may have been a great entertainer, but American society has elevated him to near god-like status. He was just a man…what makes his passing any more tragic than that of any other person whose names, face, and good deeds you will never know? Yesterday’s memorial was just one more piece of the 24-hour media circus that has erupted since his death. I’ve seen numerous photos of the “lucky” lottery folks who won tickets to the memorial…they’re all grinning from ear to ear, looking more like they won the real lottery than in any state of grieving. And how long is the media going to continue playing the clip of his daughter saying her few words? Yes, losing a father is difficult…I, too, lost my father at a young age. But Paris’ supposed “impromptu” and “heartfelt” sentiments came across (to me anyway) as sounding forced and rehearsed. Every other clip of her from the memorial shows her smiling, singing, playing with her purse, almost distracted or bored. Am I the only one who thinks that was planned so the media would have the perfect sound byte? Before people start attacking me and calling me names, I am not heartless nor speaking ill of the dead…just ready for the world to get on with life.

I was a fan of J when I was a kid in the 80s but as my musical tastes changed/matured I no longer cared for his music but still respected it and his fans. I was upset and questioned the allegations against him. He was accused the first time which was settled out of court and then the second time acquitted. Just as easy as it is for those to assume he was guilty it is just as easy to think that maybe the accusers did have monetary motivations even though we do not like to think such things when it relates to child molestation. The fact is that we, who were not involved in the actual events, just do not know and probably will never know the truth.

I’m so happy to find a place with well spoken people who see past all the emotional blather of fans and media. I couldn’t imagine these actions taken against someone such as, lets say Adolf Hitler. People don’t talk about how Adolf was beaten as a child, growing up in a poor family of 6 children. How he was a decorated World War I veteran or how he was a charismatic man who loved his country. You don’t hear much about how Hitler lead his country out of depression and oversaw the greatest industrial and civil improvements Germany has ever known. Why? Because he murdered so many Jews. Now please don’t think I am comparing MJ to Hitler. I’m merely trying to expose how asinine it is to deny MJ’s questionable dealings. To me it is akin to those who say the holocaust never happened. It is, as MJ was so fond of saying, ignorant.

ps. I’m tired of hearing Michael Jacksons music on the radio.

It’s a clear exposure of how American media works in which the business models revolves around revenue streams and not true “journalism” as they would even attempt to call it. I predict with the continued proliferation of the internet and sites like these those outlets will slowly fade out and people will see that they were a lot of smoke and mirrors in the first place. Just a suggestion but look how ludicrous the Nielsen Media Ratings are nowadays. I would love to see how they “calculate” viewership data and “extrapolate” that into a broad audience…. It’s bull if you ask me..

Hmmmm…I guess I’m the only one that doesn’t think there’s enough MJ coverage. Since his retirement (I can’t bear to say the other word/phrase), I have been in a serious state of depression and am actually to see a therapist next week whom I hope will prescribe antidepressants.

But, anyhow, I LIVE for MJ coverage, now that he’s no longer with us. I only turn on the TV hoping to see more more more. I wake up earlier than usual to watch GMA and Today for MJ info, I hurry home to catch Extra and Insider for MJ info, I stay up late to catch Nightline’s MJ stories, and I barely get anything done @ work, as I’m scouring the web for MJ. If it were up to me, I’d have MJ 25/8!

I guess I’m also the only one to notice that MJ’s 1st accuser ADMITTED THAT HE LIED! And the only one to wonder why any parent would take money if they really feel their child was abused; I know I wouldn’t! But I would have certainly let any one of my offspring spend the night w/MJ when they were younger…and my oldest came out the closet 3 years ago!