-
sonja 09/10/2010 10:27:00 AM
I'm not really sure how to feel about your article...partially because you make a lot of references that seem kind of out there, but also because it's not clear how YOU really feel about Michael Jackson - the man, the artist, the innovator, the humanitarian. It's like you're treading the line between personal opinion and social commentary. There are points where you definitely jab at Michael and seem to join/believe the media's negative portrayals of him over the years. To take your closing question - Which Michael Jackson do I want back? Any and all of them because they are all one in the same. Of course as any artist, his crafts (music, dance, film, creative writing, visual arts/drawing/sketching) developed over time. His heart grew bigger even as the world became his fairweather friend. He gave love and time and money even as journalist chipped away at his character and reputation, thus damaging his pocket book. The problem comes in when people try to look at Michael with our eyes, but you can't see divinity like that - you've got to use your 3rd eye and your heart.
-
W. Goldsberry 07/29/2010 4:58:00 AM
It is so unfortuante that we as a black people feel that we have to tear our own down if they step beyond what we consider to be black music. As a black man and a black musician, he is important to our culture. To try to take that away is nothing short of cowardice. When are we going to stop playing into the hands of the very mass media that we claim to shun? Michael's body of work speaks for itself and we as a people should be standing by him 100%. I guess that this writer, like so many, feel that we threw him a few tears when he died, now we should join the rest and tear him apart. Michael never wanted to be just a black artist. He never wanted to be just an r&b singer. He wanted to sing for the world. And that my friends he did. Yes, he did quite well. Yes, Michael had many controversies during his life. Many of those blown way out of proportion by a crazed media. Regardless of what many may say about the changes to his face and skin, as far as the press was concerned he was just another black man. A black man who became to powerful. They wanted to tear him down. Good heavens, the man couldn't even fart without the press there to give their spin as to why he farted. I am not saying that Michael was perfect. He was far from a saint, but he was one man who brought change to the music world and to the world itself. His humanitarian efforts around the world are stunninng. We as black people need to wake up. We need to stop debating about Michael and accept him. He was our icon. Noone was like him and noone will ever be like him again. We need to start thinking for ourselves. Music is music. We should not let anyone try to take him away from us just because his music changed at various points in his life. He grew; grew more than most entertainers ever do. He wasn't afraid to spread his wings and try new things. His genuis will never be duplicated. Black people come on. Wake up!
-
07/29/2010 4:39:00 AM
Why don't blacks just admit--and then say you're sorry--that you were wrong about Michael's skin. That it was, in fact, vitiligo, an emotionally devastating skin disorder that Michael did his level best to deal with. Why don't you just admit that you were wrong about so many things about Michael, and then say you're sorry, instead of using psychobabble to excuse yourself for your ignorance. Why don't you just say, "we didn't appreciate him near enough when he was here, and now he's gone, and we're just so, so sorry." Just say it. You'll feel better.
-
J. Leone 07/29/2010 3:43:00 AM
Well, it's been a year since Michael Jackson left us. Now, with autopsy results, we can put to rest all your doubts about him wanting to be "white". The autopsy confirmed he had vitiligo even though he always said he had it, but is was just more convenient, and more lucrative, for journalists to write that he hated being black than to accept his word. Sensationalism sells, doesn't it?
Mr. Tate, you mentioned watching Jackson's interview with Oprah Winfrey. If so, then you had to hear Michael say he was proud of his race and to be a black man. He explained about his vitiligo and how sad it made him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Vitiligo is a devastatingly disfiguring disease- especially for an individual with dark skin. It is bad enough to have this condition, but then you have a person who is front and center on the world stage- and continually attacked by the vicious media- what was he do to? Go on stage with blotches of white and pink skin all over his body?
His long-time makeup artist, Karen Faye, explained the difficult situation she and Jackson found themselves. She said that, at first, they tried to go with dark makeup to cover the white places on his body; however, the disease became so advanced, that he would have had to wear full body makeup all the time. Who would want to live like that?? I don't think any of us would want to deal with that every day of our lives.
He also had Discoid Lupus which can cause disfigurement. When you have Lupus, you cannot be exposed to the sun- hence the ever present umbrella he carried. The press made him out to be a weirdo because he walked under an umbrella. Like so many things in his life, there were explanations, for the reasons he did things. People just didn't care to find out the truth- it was more fun to speculate.
You mentioned the plastic surgeries and his changing his nose. He was teased, harassed and embarrassed by his father and brothers. They called him "big nose" and Joseph Jackson asked his small child, "Where did you get that big nose? You didn't get it from me!" Now, who is ashamed of their race?? Just add Joseph's comments to his physical abuse and you have a little child who is damaged emotionally and physically.
As far as dating white women. It seems to me to be a very common thing for black men to be with white women. Why is Jackson singled out? Michael didn't see race- he saw the person and these are women he cared about. He loved Elizabeth Taylor and Brooke Shields because they had all been child stars. They had a connection, and a deep understanding of each other and what they went through- giving up their childhoods for fame- that we could not. He didn't see race as an issue of whom to love- obviously you and others do. I believe this is your reverse racial prejudice- not Jackson's.
As for planning to get white children, as a black man, you should have seen many examples today, and through history, of individuals of mixed race who have "passed" as white. Genetics is a complex process. However, whether or not they are his children, biologically, has nothing to do with his being their father. He was everything to them. Their maturity, poise and intelligence which was evidenced when they accepted their father's Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy’s. These children didn't just happen to be this way, it shows the kind of parent Jackson was to have raised such children.
It amazes me that people seem so preoccupied with the parentage of his children. Would you go to someone's house and say, "You know. Your kids don't look like you. Are you sure they are yours?" Of course not! It is intrusive and highly improper to question such a thing. Why shouldn't Jackson be given the same courtesy??
Lou and Tate: This is for you. Michael Jackson was not a pedophile, and I have facts to back up my opinion. He was a man who never really grew up in many ways. He spent his whole life isolated by his fame and did what he could to build a world for himself where he could have a childhood again.
He felt that the reason God put him on this earth, was to use his music and his dance to save the children of the world. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records for donating the most money of any celebrity- over $300 million dollars. The United Negro College Fund was just one of recipients of his desire to help those of his race.
Read the GQ article, "Was Michael Jackson Framed" by Mary Fischer. It is online. It will explain how there is strong evidence that the 1993 charges were nothing more than extortion.
The book, "Redemption" by Geraldine Hughes will also enlighten you about this case. The woman that wrote it, worked in the office of the lawyer obtained by the boy's father, Evan Chandler. She was privy to conversations between Evan Chandler and the attorney. She heard Chandler talking about extorting money from Jackson and wrote this book because she wanted the world to know that Jackson was not guilty of the charges leveled against him.
The Los Angeles DA, Tom Sneddon, brought the evidence to TWO grand juries and he was turned down both times for lack of evidence. He proceeded to hunt Jackson for the next ten years- even enlisting the FBI, who, after 10 years of investigating Jackson found zero credible information to accuse him of anything.
The only reason Jackson settled the case, was because he was advised to do so by his insurance company, Lisa Marie Presley, and his advisors. They told him, give Chandler what he wants- money - and get on with your life.
The DA had manipulated the law so that a civil case (extortion filed by Jackson) could be held BEFORE a criminal case. Therefore, the prosecution would be able to know the defense's entire legal strategy. Jackson was between a rock and hard place, so he followed the advice he was given. We saw the trauma he suffered from the 2005 trial. I wouldn't want to go through such a thing if I didn't have to- would you??
The most damning thing to me is that Evan Chandler, his ex-wife and her husband took Michael's money and never said another word. If your child had been sexually molested over and over, as he claimed, but his son denied, would any amount of money make it right? I think not.
Unfortunately, this decision caused a shadow of doubt of over Jackson's life until his death and set up the basis for the 2003 charges- that Jackson was an easy target. The family that accused him, the Arvizos, were eviscerated by the defense team and proven to be nothing more than opportunists trying to jump on the Michael Jackson gravy train.
In 2003, Martin Bashir, did a documentary called "Living with Michael Jackson" which led to the charges filed against him. Bashir is the worst of hack journalists. He edited the film footage to make Jackson look sinister and evil. Jackson, being the highly intelligent man he was, wisely had his own camera men videoing the interviews.
The difference between the actual conversation and the edited version shown on TV was as different as night and day. After the hatchet job by Bashir, Jackson released the full video footage called "Living with Michael Jackson- the truth. The Footage You Were Never Meant to See". You can find this on Youtube.
He was found innocent of ALL charges in 2005. Read the book, "Michael Jackson Conspiracy" by Aphrodite Jones. She believed Jackson was guilty until she spent every day in the courtroom and saw for herself that there was no evidence and it was merely a witch hunt by the same DA, Sneddon, who was still determined to get Jackson- even if it took lying and deceit to do so.
Jackson was a shell of a man after this trial. It is believed he never recovered from the trauma he suffered. He felt the country he had represented with everything he had, all of his life, had betrayed him and chose to leave.
He was just starting to get his life back together with the 02 concerts. Sadly, as we could see from the "This Is It" documentary film, it would have been the greatest show on earth. How tragic!
As Maya Angelou wrote, "We had him and we are the world". Unfortunately, we had him, but we didn't take care of him. I hope, some day, the continual rehashing of his plastic surgery, the child abuse charges, and all the other sensationalistic crap will come to an end. It is time to focus on his legacy of music, dance, humanitarianism and his efforts to save our planet from our thoughtless destruction of it. These things are what made Michael Jackson, the man, a life to be treasured.
-
kbrown 06/30/2010 12:50:00 AM
This is a profound article..
-
Lee 01/20/2010 12:07:00 PM
Thanks for a thoughtful article. I'm interested to see so much doubt about MJ's guilt/innocence re child molestation and racial self-hate. We don't have proof either way, but I think there's enough credible evidence to argue for his probable innocence. I certainly don't think he was healthy and well-adjusted, but I do think he was a victim of extortion, among other things. It's a different perspective, but I also liked Andrew Sullivan's tribute in the Atlantic:
There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered. Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal life.
But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell.
I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.
I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.
I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again.
-
In the throes of Obsession 01/13/2010 11:39:00 AM
I read your archived article about Michael's transformations in the 80s and I wonder what you meant by the final sentence [[he had the nerve to sing "The kid is not my son." Not even David Bowie could create a subtext that coy and rakish on the surface and grotesque at its depths.]]
**I "get" it until the "coy and rakish/grotesque subtext." What is the 'grotesque subtext in the depths' to which you point? I feel like I'm missing the answer/meaning. I want to understand and feel I need it spelled out, for lack of better phrasing. You may never see this, but I wanted to try anyway. I appreciate your (all the words I can come up with seem so cold and as if they de-humanize Michael in type) perspectives of Michael and I thank you for not eviscerating him (as many have and will--as he did to himself).
Peace to you.
-
buttafly 07/15/2009 7:55:00 PM
Excellent article. Beautifully written!
-
storm cloud 07/14/2009 5:39:00 AM
hi,
thanx to brother tate for expertly expressing what i could not without anger and confusion. as an aforementioned "old head" i remember when afam females would all pick a member of the jackson 5 to fanticize about(usually jackie and/or jermaine) and if you didn't have a big fro(i didn't..still don't...can't now anyway) you were thru dealing in the romantic teenage game. we went from that to "wacko jacko" and cuts like "scream" and "leave me alone"...very twisted turn of events. the list of musician tragedies that brother tate provided also bring to mind phyllis hyman and donny hathaway.
this whole event is a sad reminder that "america eats it's young"..well-thanx to michael for all the beauty that came thru the madness. thanx to brother tate for being a sane voice in a mad wilderness. please continue...
-
RememberTheTime 07/14/2009 2:41:00 AM
The bizarre transformations and scandals that overtook the late MJJ's image was so captivating because, ironically, they challenged us to recall and recognize his humanity. There is no need to acknowledge geniuses by crowning them as "kings" of anything; if anything, such impossible exceptionalism is as toxic as it is magical or aspirational. Unless I missed it, the conspicuous absence of Prince Rogers Nelson in this piece--also born in 1958--suggests that black genius still walks and breathes among us. It is still of us, in us, and has to potential to be as funky, transformative, inventive, and elusive as it wants to be, while gracefully skating around the impossible expectations of royalty. When Prince gave up his "title" for a symbol once upon a time, he indicated to the world that his personal integrity exceeded the words and will we have to control who we want him to be.
-
DDB9000 07/10/2009 10:13:00 AM
Ah, Greg, yet another insightful and beautifully thoughtout article. I was pleased to see that you hit (what I think is) the nail on the head when you said "Of course, Michael's careerism had a steep downside, tripped onto a slippery slope, when he decided that his public and private life could be merged, orchestrated, and manipulated for publicity and mass consumption as masterfully as his albums and videos."
In a post to the Guardian, I specifically mentioned publicity as both being both MJ's curse and the ultimate source of the over-the-top worship of him in recent years. I feel that all too many people worshipped MJ for the sheer strange spectacle of his life, which he and the media created together.
I prefer to think of the singer, the dancer, the boy/man that sang all those great songs, but once the publicity machine took over, squandered those gifts in lieu of the next big thing. I would have liked to see him in a small club, with a four- or five-peace band, just signing and playing - no coterie of dancers, jugglers or other circus acts. Just him signing and dancing. But, alas, that wil never happen...
-
Jerry Harris 07/08/2009 10:42:00 PM
Mr. Tate,
Your article is a hit job, not only against Michael Jackson, but African American culture. You state what the desperate, soul-crushing and immobilizing modern American life has become for the poor. For Christ's, sake, this situation affects many in this country, the white middle class, the white meth heads in Portland, Oregon's "felony Flats," and the greedy people who want their money back from Bernard Madoff, yet have probably never given a dime to the poor of this nation.
Talk about poor people lacking a "spiritual genius!" Well, if America, as a whole is not lacking this, you are blind. Then you talk about Jean-Machel Basquiat's ingenious and profound work, yet fell to say how he was exploited by the white art world of New York City, and his drug death. Basquiat was only one of a few African American artists who get recognition in that capital of greed and racism. "Motown saved Michael from Gary, Indiana," so you say, but how do you know that his parents could not have done the same? Many poor black people have been "saved" by their grandmothers, mothers, and fathers. Oh! "Gary, Indiana is the 17th most dangerous city in America." Well, I lived in Sweden and most of Europe for 20 years, and you know what Mr. Tate, across the pond they look at America has the No. 1 dangerous country in the world.
Sculptor Jerry Harris harrisculptor.com
-
M. A. Diakit� 07/08/2009 5:29:00 AM
Brilliant analysis. MJ's place and demise in the Black World of America was easily predictable, if not pre-destined, The phenomena plagues not ony entertainers, but the Black Man as politician. In fact, only perveyors of the word according to "the gospel" seem to avoid the pattern. But note: none of their destructions is entirely self-inflicted. There is that vast, invisible "force" that is dedicated to the destruction of the Black Man as spokesperson or politically savvy leader. For, inspite of the new wave of artists and leaders: he who owns the media dictates the message.
MAD
-
santana 07/07/2009 9:06:00 PM
As always ,a great breakdown of the past, present, and future. We need to hear more frequently from Mr. Tate!
-
Michael Kerjman 07/06/2009 6:45:00 AM
A town does not kill-people do in Fary, IN, or whatsoever.
And the rest is in a Jackson Family Condolences Book:
http://jacksoncondolences.com/?page_id=11
-
Ric 07/04/2009 8:55:00 AM
This is indeed a thought provoking take on MJ's passing and Mr. Tate - unlike many commentators and naysayers - is genuinely moved by this unfortunate incident. One thing, though that is quite clear is that Mr. Tate is not entirely comfortable admitting that MJ did indeed despise his blackness. A simple retrospective provides much evidence that here was a hugely successful black man who simply didn't want to be black 1) All of the reconstructive surgery involved erasing his black features - not to look any else but white 2) All of his liaisons were with white women (Brook Shields, Presley, Rowe 3) He chose to acquire a set of white children 4) His major confident - Liz Taylor - a white woman.
C'mmon Greg, let's get real here. Michael was testament to the most brutal scarring of racism - plain and simple
-
ABC Johnson 07/04/2009 12:21:00 AM
It's a pleasure to grapple with your thoughts, Mr. Tate.
Out of grief and a need for release, I wrote my own tribute to KING Michael.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/abcjohnson?v=app_2347471856
I intentionally left out much of the controversy of his life and focused on the moment I fell in love with him and how he saved my Mixed-race-Black, in-the-closet, adolescent life. But I did talk about the pain and overwhelming joy he brought us Black folk. And believe me; it's the joy that remains.
-
B.K. Wright 07/03/2009 8:51:00 PM
I'm not sure what message you were trying to convey about Michael, but it certainly seemed negative. Negative comments often stem from envy. Michael Jackson was a wonderful human being -- talented, loving, giving, introspective, sharing, and oh, so much more. He was a very inspirational figure in our nation's history, and beloved throughout the world.
-
Lou Cypher 07/03/2009 11:24:00 AM
How you can mention Michael Jackson's name with the others in your column is absolutely beyond me. "A living Orisha?" Come on, man! His music was namby-pamby, airbrushed dance pop, and his muse left him after "Thriller." And if I gotta be the guy who pees in the punchbowl at the "poor little Michael" boo-hoo fest, I will: You mention his name in the company of all these great black artists, but he didn't want to be black. He cut his face clean off and wore full body pancake makeup in order to avoid being seen as black. Maybe we all do have our own vision of Jackson, but mine will always have flashing red letters on it blinking: Child Molester, Child Molester, Child Molester. And you know what? Be poetic about that fool all you like but I'm not changing that sign now. It still needs to be seen.
-
Jamie 07/03/2009 5:23:00 AM
Thank you for your thoughtful Michael Jackson article. I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. In a way, he was my first love, musically and emotionally. When I was a young girl entering my teenage years, fantasies of Michael Jackson as my boyfriend were my saving grace. I lived with an abusive domineering father who made me feel small every chance he got. But in my vulnerable little mind I would drift away to a safe, happy place while listening to Thriller. I would imagine it was me that Paul and Michael were singing "The Girl is Mine" about. I was the "Pretty Young Thing", "The Lady" in his life... Michael became my inner confidant during those rough times. I think it was those daydreams that kept me from going crazy.
The hardest thing about his death for me is that I feel like I've been waiting for his redemption. A chance for him to be truly vindicated after all of accusations. I am one of those people who could never believe he is a predator. As someone who had a confused, sad childhood myself, I think I understand what he went through. There are even times when I wish I could change my face so I look less like the mother who let me down.
I am happy to see people who have ignored his music over the past few years, myself included, (after I my parents divorced, I think I stopped needing him so much) taking the time to really listen and appreciate the true genius. It is sad to know that light has gone out. Rest in peace, my love.
-
Tony Ortega 07/02/2009 7:28:00 PM
The Phoenix story is a spoof, dumbasses.
-
DontStopTillUGetEnough 07/02/2009 7:18:00 PM
I think I officially got enough.
BTW,that Jackson article linked above is, brilliant. Sick, but brilliant.
We need a little less reverence for dead celebrities. A living Orisha? Riiiiiiiiiiight, Greg.
The woman in that Phoenix new times article, she believed in Orishas too. Hah-hah.
-
blixiroaldi 07/02/2009 6:40:00 PM
'that it was a blessing that he finally got pushed through it'
screw you asshole.
-
JacksonMadness 07/02/2009 6:35:00 PM
Funny. You should read this piece side-by-side with the VV's sister paper in Phoenix -- you know, the one that owns the voice:
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2009-07-02/news/michael-jackson-s-sedona-murderess-revealed/
Jacson confessed his pedophilia to this "New age doctor" in Sedona who put a "curse" on him. Jackson was one sick twisted freak.
-
Eric w/ an L 07/02/2009 4:32:00 AM
Best article ive read in a while.
-
Ramsey Brisueno 07/02/2009 3:19:00 AM
I need more Greg Tate.
-
GiorgioNYC 07/02/2009 1:59:00 AM
Best piece I've read so far on MJ's passing and his significance, particularly to black folks. Greg Tate's a Voice veteran, and this piece is a reminder of the unique cultural criticism and reporting the paper used to regularly publish.
-
Tika 07/01/2009 10:20:00 PM
Beautifully written
-
AMY D. OF KOKO DOZO 07/01/2009 6:54:00 AM
Wow. This was really wonderfully put. I think it's sad, regretfully that it took his passing to remove the veil and once again allow us to reconnect with Michael the artist, and Michael the SOUL.
I've been truly unfortunate to witness the deaths of so many artists I've loved, and they all create different emotions, but Michael's was like some sort of celestial bitchsmack. It made me lose traction, and so I have been one of those people having a really troubled and wild time since his death, putting it into some sort of perspective.
When so many musicians and artists I've loved died, I've tried to find ways to eventually compartmentalize the losses, as you do with your family members passing, and find ways to move on.
Some examples;
Waking up to hear of James Brown's death was an event I'll never forget because in spite of the fact that this was a man with demons, anger, violence and a history for making some of the music I can't live without in spite of a behavior I have struggled to be able to make peace with, was a death that filled me with anger. I did not cry when James Brown died, I was just certifiably pissed off. I was told I was conceived to a James Brown album, his music is a cornerstone of my very existence and pathology and when he died, I went from being instantly bummed out to heinously pissed off. I remained angry (inexplicably so) for weeks. James Brown was sort of my musical equivalence of Richard Pryor, a man you never thought would make old bones, and someone who invited criticism in personal life, but yet one whose talent you wanted to hold onto, for a long time, til they made old bones as cranky old angry men. I think James had a few years left in him. I felt...deprived of them.
When George Harrison died, in spite of knowing full well that he was ill and wasn't going to survive the cancer that he'd been fighting, when the news of his death came in I cried so hard I broke blisters underneath my eyes. I couldn't speak to people I was so broken by him. It's hard enough to deal with John Lennon's death even to this day, though the day he died was so frought with shock and with due respect it was a day I watched my Mother go to pieces with howling wails of loss. I just couldn't believe someone would kill John, so I remember at 8 years old being just...shocked. When George passed, it was like being stabbed in the soul. George, gentle loving George.
When Barry White died, I cried, mourned for a day and then decided to just dance to his music for the rest of the week. When John Entwistle passed, I was FURIOUS, and then sobbed my eyes out and to this day, I can't think of him without weeping, same as George, but there is a fury when I think of his death. Furious, that he decided to go out in such a pithy and irresponsible way. Furious that the Ox was gone. When Issac Hayes passed, I just didn't talk to people. How could the man, who had reinforced my desire to be a great arranger, and someone who had brought me such inspiration have just suddenly.....left? He seemed, so....present. Til of course, he wasn't.
With Michael's death however, what grips me with this sense of loss most deeply is the time travel I go through when I think of his impact. As a child watching little Michael with his brothers, he was the wunderkind genius, adorable and incredibly precocious, a pint sized James Brown/Jackie Wilson hybrid doing so much more than mimic their gifts. As a young man, his most influential period on my life and my music, he was the living embodiment of dance and how music and dance are inexorably linked. When Thrilled happened, for me, it was almost too much and it was actually when I started to tune out, yet it's undeniable that it remains one of the most incredible feats by any artist. It's like the building of the pyramids. Thriller is the 8th Wonder of the World.
Then the problems come and I guess, I decided to hold on to the Michael that brought me joy and inspiration. Yet ironically on the day he died the first image that popped into my mind, was of course...his performance of Billie Jean at Motown's 40th, around the time I started tuning him out. Then the next emotion that hit me....was guilt. Guilt that I had tuned him out. That I had stopped listening with fervor. That the rumours and the dark stories only made him "another Michael" to me, and how I, like some old geezer decided to cling to a Michael that I could digest. It was unfair of me to do so. Like so many others, I had my fair share of head shaking disbelief at his demons and the stories and the surgeries and I shared a joke or two at his expense. Watching headline after headline on the day he died, I felt an intense and cutting guilt. I wondered...could more have been done to preserve him, and his soul?
Days since the death, we know now from initial reports, that it's unlikely. The reports that have surfaced sadden me that he was so taken advantage of, and so lost, like a child all the way through.
There are days since his death where suddenly in the middle of the day, out of the blue, I feel the loss. "Smooth Criminal" blasted out of someone's car in front of my house and I almost lost it. I wasn't even a huge fan of that song (and even less so of the Alien Ant Farm cover) and it rendered me to tears. Putting on Off The Wall was like having a personal funeral, loaded with bawling and sobbing.
I think Mr. Tate, you very aptly in a way that perhaps no one has been able to do, located the source of the pain we feel. Thank you for at the very least helping point it out, so that the healing and celebrations of his life can now begin.
Amy D.
Koko Dozo
-
Gitamba Saila-Ngita 07/01/2009 5:41:00 AM
This piece was beyond brilliant. Well put to the letter.
