No doubt, like the rest of the world I was shocked to hear of Michael Jackson death last night. When I was young, MJ was by FAR my favorite musician. I had the glove and jacket to prove it. I grew in Stockton, CA AKA-the hood. In 1989 some lunatic shot-up a school in my neighborhood. MJ was there for our community as he flew down from LA to offer support.
Yet somehow, someway MJ changed…Yes he was tender, loving and caring…but he was also hurting from dysfunction. One day he was leading the charge on fighting global poverty, the next day he was being charged with hurting kids in unthinkable ways.
On one account, MJ deserves to be honored as a musician, performer and humanitarian. On the other hand, Update: he needs to be shamed he will never recover from his POSSIBLE actions towards kids and other off-the-wall activity-can you feel the tension, its thick, frustrating, mixed, and dirty. Actually, maybe this is how King David’s life was or his son Solomon or a slew of other biblical characters, broken, sinful, dark…and yet somehow God choose to use them in our fallen world.
I’m listening to Man in the Mirror as I write this, I can feel MJ’s passion and love and desire to make a difference, I sense the hurt and shame he carried in regards to his past and I hope maybe somehow he is resting in peace with Christ.
But, I also feel a desperate passion to live with character and integrity, to live in the “light” and avoid the “darkness” if at all possible. But, at the end-of-the-day we will have to all live with MJ’s brilliance, mystery, love and disfunction. A man who love, inspired and caused much pain. He truly is symbol of my generation, the so-called X-generation.
So I’m gonna choose to let go of the anger or hurt of the unknown, and remember the MJ I see in the video.
We have to be careful saying he needs to be shamed for possible actions towards kids. The possible word is key. Also, why should we shame someone. I can’t think of me having a right to shame someone, anyone.