Legacy

We all know Michael Jackson passed away. He is loved by many for leaving a huge artistic impact on generations past and many generations to come. His death marks the passing of the "King of Pop" and the end of a pop era. He will always be remembered by many, for many different things. Some choose to remember him for his music and artistic abilities, while others choose to remember him for other reasons.



I recently read a status thread on Facebook regarding how newsworthy his death is. Some of the hateful comments from this thread are listed below:

"back from the field...yay. With so much piracy, terrorism, and killing in the world how is Michael Jackson's death remotely important?"[the context of "field" refers to a military deployment]

"back to the field in 11 hours. XML. Btw some 14 kid invented algie driven power source that emits o2 decreases co2 and produces food but apparently fox news is too busy making sure everyone knows michael Jackson died to tell the world about it"
(relating the story of zero co2 emissions = an ignorant understanding of liberal appeal.)


"So he could sing and dance. What kind of contribution to society is that? In the end he was still a sick old man that got away with molesting children and was as anyone who has eyes to see with can tell is a freak of nature. When it's all said and done he sacrificed nothing for the betterment of mankind and made no great addition to our legacy as a country besides grabbing his crotch and dancing. He deserves none of this attention and it could be better spent on something worthwhile and not just on the current armed conflicts but news anywhere"

He "got away" with child molestation because the parents of the victims settled out of court. This is more a reflection of the hypocrisy of our legal system, and a bad decision of the victims parents. Never doubted Michael was crazy as cat shit. However, he still made amazing music that has touched millions of people.

I found an interesting and equally scary fascist quote on the MJ hater's Facebook profile from a 1998 historical fiction novel called "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield:

"War, not peace produces virtue. War, not peace purges vice. War, and preparation for war, call forth all that is noble and honorable in a man."
(undeniably fascist because Spartan culture was fascist)

Is an artistic lifestyle not honorable or newsworthy? I believe the opposite is true. We have many mediums to receive news on a daily basis. Television, radio, internet, and many other options exist to meet the needs of the public. Hopefully, with this many outlets for information in our great country, we can quit complaining about bad news. Television is entertainment and media. There is always room for improvement, and I would love to rely more on television broadcast networks. Take it with a grain of salt. I am not expecting too much in the way of journalistic integrity from a large corporation(s) looking to control as many forms of media as possible.

Why are current affairs even remotely related to the passing of a music legend? Why is Michael not considered newsworthy? Blame television networks for bad news reporting. Don't disrespect a legacy because you don't like the music, or character of the entertainer. Perspective is everything, widen your scope and nothing is even remotely important.

I don't care about pirates, policing the world, or "terrorism". The arts and culture are important to me. Propagating ignorance, hate, and denouncing art sounds like a life filled with fascist ideals, loneliness and boredom. But i guess if you don't like Michael Jackson you must be a pretty boring person anyways. He did a lot more than "grabbing his crotch and dancing". He sold the top-selling album of all time, invented a music genre, brought awareness to many issues, and left behind a catalog of amazing records. People need to stop and look at the "Man in the Mirror".