(UPDATE) King of Pop Michael Jackson Dies

[PyroZombie]

That is the single most creepy picture of Michael Jackson i have ever seen.

 

[Gather]

For what he gave to the world; I will watch the TV specials and hope that your CD Profits soar.

Very long rant that is likely copied and is certainly bias giving yes and no statements of unclear events.

Reported for the possible copying and the length. If you want to say something about his life then do it, don't carbon copy an essay here.

Shall we report all the posts related to the argument then?

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Am I a horrible person for not caring at all?

Only if I am

 

[barryween]

Unfortunately, he's dead.

Now wait 14 seconds...

Another person just died.
Really, someone dieing isn't too crazy regardless of their abilities. He was old, and he died.

(I bet someone has said this already but) Old!? What are you, 10? He was 50! That's not Dieing age!

 

[0p3rati0n]

MJ is becoming the new Elvis. If you know what I mean.....

Here's what I think of MJ

Music=good
looks and personality after a point= *starts twitching*

 

[kingcat1]

Am I a horrible person for not caring at all?

same mate i didnt like this music and his 'hobby' well...

 

[Octorok]

Anything I would have to say has already been said before, and probably better than I could put it. People who claim that they don't care - have some goddamn respect. The man's dead. He had a messed up life and a bad childhood. It doesn't matter if he went a touch nutty towards the end, he was a massive influence in the world. He was third most famous person ever, behind Jesus and Elvis. No matter whether the courts were right, or whether random speculation is right, he's dead. Let him have a little dignity, and show some respect for the fact that he died at fifty.

Personally? I don't have a wave of emotion at his death. I do not giggle with glee and yell "Good riddance" either. But it does affect me, because a major part of the world is dead. R.I.P.

Why should these people care? They didn't know him. Who are you to assume that because they don't subscribe to public hysteria that they are somehow glad he's dead?

Also, where did you get the idea that he was the third most famous person ever? What about Jesus, Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jnr and so on. In any case it's irrelevant. Does the widespread knowledge of a person someone make their life more worthwhile than the lives of others? It's not like he did anything significant to further mankind. From what I saw he made a lot of money and spent it mostly on himself and his pursuit to maintain a perpetual childhood. He didn't lead a people from repression, he didn't save lives through political activism, not in a way that the great people named above did.

Why do you think he is a major part of the world? Perhaps he was a major part of your world. His best years were well behind him. Yes he was a fantastic performer, I don't doubt that for a second. Does this mean his life is worth more than the thousands of other people who die everyday? No.

I feel sympathy for his family, and it's sad that he had what seemed to be a largely miserable life but I didn't know him and I'm not going to pretend that it has a big affect on my life. Does this mean I lack compassion? No, I'm more concerned with people who live under poverty and oppression, these are the things that the media should address, not the personal matters of the Jackson family.

I never said that they were glad he was dead. Not once. And there is a difference between not subscribing to public hysteria, and being an ass. They are posting to say that they don't care, a stupid act in itself, but they are declaring that they don't care if he's dead. In a sense, I don't. It doesn't affect me at all. I never liked much of his music, and I never met him. However I acknowledge the fact that he's dead with some respect. When all is said and done, he deserves as much respect as anyone else. If you read in the paper that someone has died, do you just say "I don't care"? If you do then that is extremely sad, but I'm assuming you're not a complete ass, and feel sorry for them. Acknowledging that death is sad, no matter who has died, is just common courtesy, and it is very disrespectful to those who will miss the one who has died to not even acknowledge that their death is a sad occasion.

I actually said that he was third most famous behind Jesus, so putting him in your list of famous people is redundant. That fact is taken from a worldwide survey, from 2006. It took thre years to complete, but they polled a staggeringly vast number of people, and Jackson was third, behind Jesus Christ and Elvis Presley.

His life wasn't more worthwhile than anyone else's nor did he do anything to further mankind. However he was still a human and deserves some respect and dignity now he's dead. Those people you mentioned are all great figures among humanity, but are they're lives worth more than anyone else's, because of what they accomplished?

Are you really asking why Michael Jackson was a major part of the world? Seriously? I'm not even answering that, it's so damn obvious. Regardless of what he accomplished or did, he was very famous and a talented musician.

He wasn't a major part of my world, I'm too young to have really seen him in his prime anyway, but he was a major figure.

His life is worth just as much as anyone else's, including Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela, mine or yours. But we cannot mourn every one of the thousands who die daily, but we can show some compassion for them. Thing is, they're different from a celebrity. Not because they're life was worth anything more or less, but because we know who they are. It's that simple really. We have heard of them, know a bit about them, and know who they are. From that we show sadness that they are dead.

Your final paragraph corresponds with my views in places. His death does not affect me, but I have sympathy for his family and the fact that he didn't lead a very long or happy life. I care about poverty and death more than I do about Michael Jackson, however, his death will affect a lot of people more than me.

And this is big news. Don't just say that people die each day, because this is obviously different. He has had a gigantic impact on the world, far greater than anything that the unmourned by the media may have done. This isn't just the personal matter of the Jackson family, as his death is such a major news report. And the media aren't going to talk about this for months to come, it is just a big event. If anyone else famous died, they'd report that too. Whereas such things as poverty, famine and death are given monumental media attention, because they are constant problems, as oppose to a singular event such as this.

 

[PartyMonkey]

Everybody Dies...I suppose like everybody poops!

But yeah I like his music and stuff...but he was FREAKIN' WEIRD!

 

[NeonZombie]

He was great in his prime

 

[Uncompetative]

Very long rant that is likely copied and is certainly bias giving yes and no statements of unclear events.

Reported for the possible copying and the length. If you want to say something about his life then do it, don't carbon copy an essay here.

Don't Report something you haven't read. I cited the source from which it was taken, so shut up.

I have every right to post something so enormously long, given that it balances all the snide remarks that have dominated the last 10 pages.

Also, your comments are dumb, but I can see where they come from. What you fail to appreciate is that the Media feel responsible for bringing about his death. Geraldo Riviera and Diane Dimond are not the only ones to blame. Jackson could have paid off the debts he ran up defending himself against an extortionistic unconstitutional civil action by suing the Tabloid media that had libeled him, but he didn't want to spend the rest of his life in court.

You said:

It's time we stood up to this bizarre behaviour and challenged people on it, we are the majority, not the minority. If you care about people dying where were your cries at the massive loss of life during the genocides in Africa? Where are your cries over the thousands of people murdered each day through war, terrorism, state violence and so on. Where were your cries over the needless deaths through disease and starvation in the third world. Showing compassion for one man while ignoring the world does not a moral person make, put things into perspective.

...and I am happy to accept that you hold this idealized notion about "how the world ought to work". You are not wrong in thinking that too much of a fuss is made about Celebrities (in life and in death) within the mainstream News media. However, if you were going to Autopsy the whole affair, you could observe that it was an entertainment website www.tmz.com that got the 'scoop' (which is fair enough as it is a legitimate celebrity news story in which they are expected to specialize), but then the LA Times reported:

"Pop star Michael Jackson was rushed to a hospital this afternoon by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics.

Capt. Steve Ruda said paramedics responded to a call at Jackson's home around 12:26 p.m. He was not breathing when they arrived. The parademics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told The Times."

...not going as far as TMZ until some time later. At this early point there was no formal confirmation that Jackson was even in the hospital and no statement had yet been made by the Jackson family. CNN and MSNBC and Fox reported upon what little they knew (not seeming to trust or credit the source they had used which was surely TMZ, presumably as it had scooped them and they didn't trust the source entirely) however, this didn't stop them from spreading an internet rumor about the death of Jeff Goldblum (not true). Then it became an unverified claim of Jackson's death which was picked up here in the UK, on rolling news channels Sky News and BBC News 24. The Wikipedia was in a lot of flux with over 500 edits, at one point claiming that he had been savagely murdered by his brother Tito with a microphone cord. Twitter went into meltdown and Perez Hilton's blog struggled to deal with the number of viewers seeking confirmation and detail. Now, you could reasonably argue (from your point of view) that the "mainstream" non-celebrity/entertainment media made too much of the story

... all the Newspapers this morning had it as the headline, when they could have relegated it to the Entertainment section and had either:

Obama lobbies for Clean Energy

Nine die, eighty injured in Washington Train crash

President of Ingushetia wounded by assassin

Riot police repel mourners from grave of Neda Agha-Soltan

...instead. However, that isn't the way the media operates. They know that a lot of paper's circulation and TV advertising revenue will come from a big Celebrity story. It is human interest, often scandalously titillating (such as in the cases of Heath Ledger or Michael Hutchence) and, most importantly for TV, there will be plenty of pictures (i.e. they get to show old Michael Jackson pop videos, rehash the trial, reinvestigate his childhood, it is a whole sick industry). The average person (as far as the media think of them) can't "connect" with a story about a bunch of protesting Iranians as they have been told by Bush that the whole country is part of an Axis of Evil for the last few years, so the media seize upon the tragic death of an attractive young woman and push the human interest angle of Neda's story.

In short, don't expect the media to provide breadth or depth - if you really feel irritated about the Jackson hoopla, don't blame him for dying, blame the media for building him up, tearing him down, making him into a target for extortion, falsely reporting the trials, continuing with the smears and jokes after he has been acquitted, indirectly financially ruining him and consequently forcing him into a comeback tour when he really ought to have been taking it easy, instead go off and create your own no celebrity fluff news website repeating important Global and Socio-political news with a historical background to each story, timelines and interactive maps. It could be good.

 

[Samurai Ralan]

Very long rant that is likely copied and is certainly bias giving yes and no statements of unclear events.

Reported for the possible copying and the length. If you want to say something about his life then do it, don't carbon copy an essay here.

Seriously, you should add some pictures or intermissions for beddo in the future, think of his poor brain. So many words make him sad.

 

[Baldry]

Its sad that a chap died but you know 100's upon 1000's of people die each and everyday, but then again it is a MJ so you know we have to be kinda sad

 

[ScarlettRage]

Poor bastard..I think it's better this way. The man had gone places nobody should ever go.

agreed
for our own sanity

 

[Therumancer]

I was a fan of Michael Jackson once, but didn't care for his newer stuff, and am one of those who personally think he turned into a monster. For me any real empathy I felt for Michael died when he decided to settle in those child molestation suits, an act which financially ruined him. From where I am sitting the only reason to do this would be to avoid jail time, since without a clear cut victory these settlements ruined his reputation and kept that spectre on him.

I've always thought that Michael Jackson would make a good subject for a horror game, especially if you exagerrate what he was involved in by going into "what we didn't know". There is the whole occult aspect to him also since I believe he was accused on hiring some voodoo guy to curse someone once upon a time. He also sort of looked like one of the undead after all that cosmetic surgery.

At any rate, if I had to make a GUESS as to what happened I'd think Michael Jackson committed suicide, the timing is uncanny. At 50 it seems unlikely he'd have a heart attack, and it occurs to me that by going now with an upcoming tour, and a new video game in the works, that he'd be going on a high note for his fans, his death perhaps catapulting his works to legendary status much like Elvis.

Despite how all this sounds, I WAS a fan once. Right now I do not know what to think. I'd be upset if it wasn't for all of the contreversy over the young kids, and all the wierd stuff people were finding like hidden pervo throne rooms behind secret panels.

>>>----Therumancer--->

 

[Jsnoopy]

haha he will be touching little boys in heaven now......actually probably hell now that i think about it......

 

[Deleric]

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. Sucks the way he was treated for the last years of his life.

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

-snip-

Heh, and here I was about to jump in and pretty much say what you just said.

It's exactly what's going on. Posting 'I don't care' is just you trying to be purposely non-conformist. If you don't care about a thread, don't post. Every death is a bad thing, if there is a car crash, it's bad, it's not just 'oh well people die every day'. There is not respect for the dead any more, and I'm still positive that if Metallica, Paul McCartney or Pink Floyd all died in a plane crash, you would be plastering 'R.I.P to great legends' all over the place.

I saw more respect in a thread about someone who had just lost their dog, than I have here, and it's sickening. He was a cultural icon either way, his death will be news, just like other people dying tends to be news. You might not like him, but at the very least show some respect for the dead. Get over yourselves and stop the piss poor attempt at being cool.

Perhaps it is non-conformity but is it right to expect me to feel the loss for a man I never even met that I would have for someone I care about?

I wouldn't expect posts like 'Oh god, why?' however I would expect a level of respect for the dead, not 'this is hardly news' or 'whatever, I don't care'. There is no need to post things like 'I don't care' in such threads, it's a disrespect. If you really didn't care, you wouldn't post.

I would probably mourn the passing of someone like Nelson Mandela or Mark Thomas, Shami Chakrabati because to me their loss would result in a darker world.

True, but once again, it's not really about mourning, it's about paying respects. If someone has died near me, I have no clue who they are, but I'm not going openly say 'oh well, whatever I don't care'.

It's not that people had more respect over the death of a dog but the fact that they were giving their sympathies for a fellow Escapist. If one of Michael Jackson's family or friends written a post about his passing then we would mostly all be giving our deepest sympathies to that person. However, none of us knew him so other than personal sympathy for him and his family there's not much point in us expressing a pseudo-emotional attachment.

No doubt, that was really a half argument I slipped in there for the sake of it. It's not really a pseudo-emotional attachment, it's just a (yes, I'm echoing it) level of respect I'm reserving for an accomplished person who has passed. I've seen threads about factories exploding (I think it was a cheese factory or something similar) and the OP either made some kind of joke about it or expressed his apathy, and people criticised him and said 'people died, you're horrible' etc. I for one still think to my self rest in peace, he will be missed by those who loved him. But I guess that's just me, maybe I'm just an overly sympathetic and empathetic person at times.

 

[CatinHat]

It was time for him to go after the big hand left the little hand. I lol at yahoo news with 2 main head lines about him, not like there is a flu pandemic going around, war in the middle east, North Korean, Iran, or the many other main news items.

He died long ago...

 

[Adam]

I can honestly say I didnt expect this to happen. I know im in a minority here but im actualy sad that ol' Jacko bit the dust. Why? Cuz he did Thriller...nuff said I think. Ive been a fan of his earlier music ever since I heard it, 80's jackson, the good old days. R.I.P King of Pop