Michael Jackson the Man

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Michael Jackson’s spiritual advisor, called in to WGN News this morning and talked about how disgusting the Michael Jackson Death Spectacle is. Now, I agree with him on the one hand—this constant outpouring of grief has gotten ridiculous. It’s turned back on itself; it’s not about grief, it’s about going to a big concert or being a part of this giant circus.

But Rabbi Shmuley goes way, way too far when he says he’s horrified that people are mourning this celebrity icon and not the man who actually died and his “quiet acts of kindness.”

First of all, we only knew the celebrity icon; Michael Jackson went to insane lengths to hide the man from the public. Yes, all we knew was the insane “Wacko Jacko” image, but he did nothing to dispel that but occasionally raise a weak voice in dismissal. And you know, that’s fine. I don’t begrudge anyone their privacy.

But it would be inappropriate for me, someone who just liked his music and his dancing and The Wiz and Thriller to mourn him as a man. I didn’t know him as a man. I have no personal connection with him. But I did have a personal connection with some of his music; and like everyone’s personal connection with any music, it was a one-sided relationship. It was about a certain place and time, a reminder of a bygone time in my life that I keep with me but don’t revere, and music that, however much anyone tries to convince me otherwise, was good. Why should I mourn a person I never knew? I note the passing of a man who produced something that was a big deal for me when I was 7 and still remains a pleasant experience.

Mourn the man? The man was an accused child molester. I don’t know what “quiet acts of kindness” Rabbi Shmuley refers to. I don’t care. Michael Jackson, the man, was an intensely private, increasingly bizarre, pathetic caricature of a human being. That was his public face, when he wasn’t hiding it behind a sheet. I don’t know who this person is that black people are calling a black icon or an important figure in black history. That person only exists in their minds. I’m skeptical of any movement led by Al Sharpton, because they’re usually about more public exposure for Al Sharpton than anything else. Alicia Keys? Please. She once said in a Blender interview that she thought the entire child molestation charge (which was not the first time he was accused) was Michael being framed by the white establishment because white people want to tear down rich black celebrities. Which just shows you she’s not firing on all thrusters.

So no, Rabbi Shmuley, the man doesn’t deserve to be mourned by the public. He doesn’t deserve to have the kind of funerary games reserved for antique heads of state. The media’s obsession with reporting every single aspect of the long, unending, Leninesque display is tiresome and asinine. As I’ve said a few times, I note the passing of a recording artist whose work brings me joy. But seeing image after image of Michael Jackson nearly dropping his baby over a railing to a hungry crowd below because he’s too childish and immature and ignorant to know you can’t hold a baby that way… I’m not going to cry over the loss of a manchild whose inability to grow into adulthood led him to endanger his child and hurt the children of others. No way.