I feel like some people are taking advantage of his death at this moment, using it to raise their own profile.

I can't speak to how someone felt about the man. I have a co-worker who is really torn to pieces over MJ's death. He's talked about the subject ad nauseum since he passed (I kinda want to choke him now, because of it). He feels some deep, special connection to the man and his music. The music touched him, in a certain way, and was a big part of his life. I think his feelings about it have a lot to do with the era that Michael became Michael...and for him, this is the end of that era. Pop stars now are a bit more disposable, and don't have the kind of fanbase or extreme popularity that Michael had. I don't think this kind of global reaction will every be seen again.

Joe Jackson is a totally different subject, he's 9/10 of the reason his children are kind of jacked up. But otherwise I agree. I loved Michael Jackson but always felt a bit sorry for him. He and his siblings, well the members of the Jackson 5, didn't have much of a childhood.

I also agree with being puzzled with all the crying. I loved his music, but am not really mourning his death with sadness. I don't want to sound insincere, but it kind of seems like some people are just hopping on the bandwagon? I dunno.

Well I am in my early 30's and I shed a tear when the news of his death spread. I felt as though a piece of my childhood died. I was born to a young mom so his Off The wall album reminds me of my young mom doing homework, combing my hair and she and my aunts getting dressed to "go out". Granny on the other hand blasted the Jackson 5 albums on Saturday mornings when we cleaned and spoke of him ("Little Michael this Little Michael that) as though he were a part of our family. When we would drive to Georgia every summer Papa popped the 8 track in.... I won't continue but you get my drift. If I had to do a soudtrack for my childhood days..he'd be huge part of it. When he seemingly jumped off the deep end I always felt bad for him. Was always praying that he's get it together. I even said a special prayer for him when he attempted to catch up to the times in 1991 with his Dangerous album. My kids have a love/hate relationship because of the 2005 child molestation scandal. They love his music and grew up on it as did my husband and I but looked at him sideways because of the thought that he could "hurt children". Now will I kill myself? *crickets* Am I suicidal? No... but I left my channel tuned to the MJ Tribute station on XM in my ride. I feel horribly for his family and Joe Jackson disgusts me to the core...

Anyone passing away is sad to an extent. It's also joyful to leave this chaotic world and rest in peace. But this story needs to be put to rest. I think it was a bit much to allow it to dominate the news for 4 days. It should have dominated the news the first day it happened. They should have given it significant coverage the 2nd day but by the third day it shouldn't have gotten anymore than an update on the ticker at the bottom of the screen. Leave all the extra coverage (about insignificant details) to stations that aren't supposed to be news stations. CNN is supposed to cover world news. This is why Americans are detached from the world. They are drenched in their own culture and pop stars. Mike is perhaps the last pop star of that caliber, so I definitely understand this being huge news, but news should be news. Don't keep going on and on about speculation. You're turning a tragedy into entertainment/obsession when you do that. If you wanna talk more about something sad in an informative way talk about the plane that just crashed in Yemen killing 193 ppl. Talk about the lawless nation of Somalia or the wastelands in South Africa and what could possibly be done to make things better. Talk about why the Supreme Court, military, and most of the people were all in favor of kidnapping and exiling their president. We don't want to hear about how much Michael's doctor was paid and why some obsessed fan thinks it's a conspiracy. Stop with the capitalism already! It's sickening and distasteful to the family (except for old Joe, he seems to be riding the wave for his own profits as well.) What a twisted world. Rest in peace to Mike. And hopefully rest in peace to this story. Until some new and definitive details that actually tell us something that we should and didn't know come out, please let this story go.

I feel the EXACT same way. No offense to MJ and his great impact on worldwide culture and barriers he broke down, but I was totally done with the OVER coverage. It can be a bit depressing/annoying turning every channel and all over Twitter and hearing the exact same thing with nothing new to report.

What troubles me more is the fact that the same media that 24 hours earlier would have been bashing this man as a pedophile or whatever, was now all on his bedazzled jock. Mad hypocritical. If you can't love and appreciate someone when they're around, don't try and pose by giving props after the fact. That's just wack in my opinion.

Yes, Mike was/is great and made a body of work that will be unrivaled, but I guess your point about not growing up with the old "Black" Michael does make a difference. I'm sad for the loss for his KIDS (uhm, Maury) and his family but I'm not boohooing and slitting my wrists. No one was listening to his most recent music, they were jammin to his classics anyway and dogging the man 24/7, so ain't much changed really. We still have the classics and he can finally escape the hate we/you had for him just a few days ago.

Good post...

OH AND DID ANYONE SEE THIS???>>

Ok! Magazine's alleged "tribute" issue with the picture of MJ on stretcher
http://www.rapradar.com/newsstand-stan/oks-shameful-mj-cover.html

Obama sent a private letter to the family. I think that says more than a whole bunch of these self-serving statements, i.e. Usher's "I wouldn't be the Artist, Entertainer, Philanthropist, <S>ASSHOLE</S> [sorry, that's me] I am...".

I don't have any qualms discussing MJJ's imperfections but let's be real. Who can't understand why he did the things he did? Joe treated him as a commodity his whole entire life. Hell, when the man died, Joe referred to him as a "superstar" and not "my son". So can we really condemn all the things he did for attention, which is what it [it being the surgeries, hair, Bubbles] ultimately boiled down?

I think MJJ deserves all this attention and more. Let's be real. What other entertainer could ever command this type of outpouring? This amount of grief? He provided the soundtrack for everyone's life. I honestly cannot remember NOT knowing who MJJ is/was, even growing up.

His talent was pure. Even now, I youtube his videos, and I'm completely STUNNED. Pure, shimmering, talent. Now, I wouldn't have let him watch the kids if I had to step out for a few minutes, but I will acknowledge the man was a GENIUS (and I believe genius is a puny word to describe him). And in this world of Cassies, Soulja Boys, and T-Pains with "Big Ass Chain", we've lost an icon.

As far as the acknowledgement he's being given now, who doesn't appreciate something until it's gone?

First, let me say that I thought I was the only one who LOVED that pic of him with the yellow shirt! (and I'm 28). I grew up on old Michael and new Michael. I won't lie, I'm taking the death pretty hard (wayyy harder than Pac and Biggie). I have cried a few times, but I'm not good with death anyway. For me, it's not only the loss of the greatest entertainer, it's the fact that he never got the chance and in some cases, never gave the world a chance to know the real him. He had issues, that's a no-brainer, but he was still human. I live in Memphis (home of Graceland) and for the life of me, I could NEVER understand people flocking here everyday and falling out, crying over Elvis. ???? Just didn't get it. Now I do.

I think taking you life for someone else is beyond crazy. Aside from that extreme though, who are we to judge how and to what extent people grieve? If music is a part of you or someone's music is attached to major memories of your life since you were born or a small child, you may just feel like you lost a loved one.

What I do think is that he wouldn't want us carrying on forever about him. He seemed to be a very shy and modest person. His music made people happy, even though he may lived a sad life sometimes. We should celebrate. Botton line is he was touched by God through his gift and was a tortured man, as most genuises are. He will be missed.

Sans the crazies who are killing themselves...

The response to his death isn't all that different from the way we reacted when Aaliyah died, or Biggie or Pac. (warning, stereotyping sentence ahead...) Black folks just grieve in all extra ways (for whatever reason). This is making so much press because now white America is in on the act and so is the world.

Aside from Janet's use of the phrase "miss him..." at the BET Awards, I've ben confused by everyone else who's sad "We miss you MIchael" he just died. Ya'll didn't miss him last week, or last year when he was incognito. No one was begging for a new MJ album, but now suddenly music will never be the same. FTR: Music won't be the same, we have lost an integral part of the music we know now -- everyone in pop music has some MJ influences. However, it's as if now we want to make up for the way we've shunned him the last 10 years. We can't; he's dead, we missed that boat.

Now if we could just do the tribute shows right, Lord...

Black folks just grieve in all extra ways (for whatever reason). This is making so much press because now white America is in on the act and so is the world.

point taken.

Biggie was probably the only one that affected me. Aaliyah? I felt sorry for the loss of a young life. Tupac? Same thing. It was weird, cause he seemed invincible. At the time, Biggie was the soundtrack to my life. Every night in the club all they played was Biggie, 112, and Kim.

I didn't get what a loss it was until after 25 when I thought, "God, he was so young."

The hypocritical folks are killing me. I won't front and say I didn't think he had problems or that I didn't think he did something to them kids, but that still doesn't take away his legacy. I, for one, am not about to romanticize his whole life because he died. R.I.P MJ.

I most definitely agree with most points made on the blog today. The media is sensationalizing the whole tragedy and folk who could've cared less about him up until last Wednesday are acting like MJ was their little brother. My co-worker was walking around crying Thursday claiming to be so distraught about his passing, yet when I mentioned that P.Y.T was one of my favorite MJ songs...she had no clue what I was talking about! She came back 4 days later to inform me that she knows what P.Y.T is. Really?! Distraught? You didn't even know one of his classic records!

Now I must say I gave Mike the side eye on more than one occasion and I wasn't listening to a lot of his more recent music, but I kept my favorites on heavy rotation and in my own way had a connection to him, as I'm sure all 80s babies did. The sad part to me is not that (or how) he died, but that he never lived. He never got a chance to work on his inner demons and free himself of the chains. Even with all the music and money he made, the man never experienced the joys of living that you and I take for granted every day. That fact made shed a tear, a tear for a man that died unhappy, but hopefully now, in God's hands is living the life he always wanted.

I agree with you guys on ppl looking for spotlight (Rev. Sharpton) and ppl grieving extra outta guilt, but not all of this reaction is unique to MJ. When Elvis died, the leader of the free world DID speak. I believe he said smthg for John Lennon's passing as well. I'd argue MJ was bigger than both of em, so for Obama to say nothing? Esp. when you consider that, musical popularity aside, MJ had been honored on more than one occassion by the White House for his philanthropy and contribution to global race relations. So why is it so far-fetched to expect recognition from this same institution at his passing?

Also, MJ fans BEEN crazy as hell. Long before he was gone, even up through the 2005 trial, he had a cult-like following. And I say that in the least melodramatic way possible. Put it like this, I once saw a girl with a "Plies" tat that never met him. This was years ago by the way. Even before "Plenty Money", lol! So the suicide doesn't really relate to the guilty people.

Finally, MJ's music has played out like a soundtrack to my life, even the stuff that came out before I was born. So in a way, I also feel that part of my childhood just died. And we have no comparable star for our generation that we watched grow from 9 years old to death so I can't call the older folks nuts for feeling they grew up with him. I thought Mike was weird. I also thought he was a genius. Just because I'm grieving at this tremendous loss doesn't mean it's insincere or hypocritical.

I agree with MissLady. Sadder than his death is the fact that a man so blessed and talented died never knowing peace in life.

*sorry for the incoherent ramblings above*

"I've ben confused by everyone else who's sad "We miss you MIchael" he just died. Ya'll didn't miss him last week, or last year when he was incognito."

"The sad part to me is not that (or how) he died, but that he never lived. He never got a chance to work on his inner demons and free himself of the chains. Even with all the music and money he made, the man never experienced the joys of living that you and I take for granted every day."

Co-sign the above statements. He gave all his life, never really received. I thank him kindly for letting God's life shine from him in his music. At the end of the day he's human like the rest of us. He's back to peace now, as in the peace we all were a part of before we got distracted with mortality. So in that sense I'm happy he's done with this place.
I was too young to really be affected by Pac and Biggie's deaths. But at this stage in my life I'm more sad that they died before they were 25 than I am that Mike didn't make it past 50. I feel like they could have turned their lives around and started a positive movement after gaining such a following among black males. They (particularly Pac) had unheard of influence among black boys of my generation and thus scary potential to affect change. That's the saddest part, along with the fact that they never got to live, due to death at such a young age. Tragic in all cases

*God's light (not life)

"Sadder than his death is the fact that a man so blessed and talented died never knowing peace in life."

Which, I think, is the good thing about his death. I hope that in death he is able to find the peace that he never knew on this earth.

CNN is killing me with the heavy coverage. No matter how positive it begins it always devolves into a "why was he so weird and tortured?" session. Just celebrate the music!

I think you hit it on the head. You were used to the new Mike, so he didn't hold the same importance to you.

Don't feel bad, he didn't to me either.

But yesterday, my mom talked about seeing the Jackson 5 on tv for the first time and she had tears in her eyes. She grew up in a largely white area where they didn't play black music AT ALL. So to see Mike and his brothers on tv getting down was one of her first memories of seeing someone who looked like her doing something extraordinary.

In a lot of places, Mike was the first black man to be played on traditionally white radio and tv stations. So I can see how that holds importance in some people eyes.

My heart goes out to Janet for real. You can tell she was really hurt at the awards. Sad.

For a lot of people, MJ was their first hero. I remember growning up and dancing like a mf whenever his videos came out....and this was the early 90s. He was a part of 3 generations early life, thats a major impact imo.

I don't think people are going to far, when you look at the impact this man had with his music i think its appropriate what everyone did (sans BET's wack effort). The only thing i think that was going to far is the suicide....u don't mourn death by creating another, thats sad and weak.

and Joe Jackson is the Devil....no hyperbole. I hate that man. After i saw that on CNN, i just felt bad for MJ....like he had to deal with that shit (pardon my French) all his life? and the on aspect of life where love and trust should ALWAYS be gurranteed is family...but when thats family what do u do?

There was a real good article on LA Times about his personal struggles:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-jackson-hilburn27-2009jun27,0,4897003.story?page=1

heres an excerpt:

[When I asked why he didn't live on his own like his brothers, rather than at his parents' house, he said, "Oh, no, I think I'd die on my own. I'd be so lonely. Even at home, I'm lonely. I sit in my room and sometimes cry. It is so hard to make friends, and there are some things you can't talk to your parents or family about. I sometimes walk around the neighborhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home."]

thats just sad, plus even as a grown man he was too traumatized to even talk about his so-called father's beatings smh RIP Mike

Biggie was probably the only one that affected me. Aaliyah? I felt sorry for the loss of a young life. Tupac? Same thing. It was weird, cause he seemed invincible. At the time, Biggie was the soundtrack to my life. Every night in the club all they played was Biggie, 112, and Kim.

Side Note: It wa completely opposite where I was from. Tupac's death mattered to me in a way the Biggie's didin't . They played Tupac non-stop 'round here. The hardest of the hard Negros cried when Tupac died. The radio stopped playing to announce his death and then it was instant memorial.

Biggie died..not so much. I think it was a regional thing the reactions to their deaths.

As far as MJ

@Belle

Never met any hardcore Elvis fans?

Don't remember the crowds that surrounded him at his trial?

The folk who had plastic surgery to look like him?

The grown ass men fainting at his concerts?

Don't remember the suicide pacts that happened right after Kurt'st Cobain's death?

Michael is bigger than Elvis - his fan base has been nuts for years.

Well I am in my early 30's and I shed a tear when the news of his death spread. I felt as though a piece of my childhood died. I was born to a young mom so his Off The wall album reminds me of my young mom doing homework, combing my hair and she and my aunts getting dressed to "go out".

Co-sign

From my Micahel Jackson tribute:

Off the Wall was probably the first album I owned. My mom gave it to me as a kid. I was 9 when she bought me this major stereo system…you know the ones with the big floor speakers and the record player on top of the dual cassette radio where I used to dub all my tapes. lol. Of course was a MAJOR upgrade form my Fisher Price record player I’d had since I was 6. Man I thought I was the ish. lol. You couldn’t tell me NOTHING! Those were the days.

So I get it.

I never understood Elvis fans. Never. EVER. understood them.

Then Mike died.

And I got it.

I was never in to MJ.

I met one Black Elvis fan. She had the clock where the feet swung back and forth like a pendelum. She had plates and a bunch of pics of him on her fridge. I asked her if she knew that Elvis said the only thing a Black person could do for him is shine his shoes.

I never met anybody else of any color who adored Elvis. I've seen the pics of Graceland. Eh... I don't get it.

I remember the crowds at his trial. But not just an oddball sect of people are going crazy for MJ. It's "normal" people crying and playing his music on repeat. MOST didn't play it nonstop on Wednesday, why today? I believe in celebrating folks while they are here and can know they are appreciated.

Don't remember the plastic surgery folks-- but that's a miniscule percentage that did that. Grown ass Black men fainting at concerts? I don't recall that. Grown ass white men is slight different. And again, small percentage.

The MASSES have bought into the MJ all day hype and our mourning like a relative died. To open up your church service with MJ--- did he ever do a single gospel song? -- is NUTS.

I went to an all white school when Kurt Cobain died. I don't remember them mourning like THIS. They were sad, yes. But that was also a bunch of teenagers responding to something (plus we'd has 2 suicides at our school.)

arguably sane 35+ Black people acting like is CRAZY.

I'm sad for his family, his kids, his friends. But this is going way too far.

@Belle

Small percentage of grown men fainting for MJ? (I didn't specify color)

Have you never seen any of his concert footage?

Literally (grown) folk having to be carried away because clearly they were hysterical....

It doesn't matter the percentage...the fact that anyonewould alter their appearance to look like a celebrity says a lot about the reach of that celebrity.

The man sold out 50 concert dates in o2 arena in a matter of HOURS in 2009. Who the hell does that? Especially someone who hasn't toured in years and had all the troubles Mike has had.

I get that you aren't a fan - but I don't get what you don't get about the outpouring of grief.

I could give you links of the many suicides that happened after Kurt Cobain's death. There was a really major one that happened on the year anniversary of his death.

Courtney Love sold a 50% stake in his estate for 50 million$ a few years back and this was years after he had died. The kids at your school may have just been "sad" but there were plenty who were devastated. And they mourned..heavily. And they weren't a small minority.

I take it you've never seen footage of the pilgrimages of Elvis fans who visit Graceland on the anniversary of his death and his birthday. Or the people who get married by Elvis impersonators...or the ones who believes he's still alive. Or how the news often does a piece on Elvis' death because of hordes of people who commemorate it each year.

Elvis's estate makes 27 million dollars a year. It was worth 4.9 million at his death.

That's nuts...

Once again - I wasn't necessarily talking about folks of color when I mentioned Elvis.

it feel like a relative died. I feel like part of my childhood died...So I get that...and I'm 29...so 35+ black people had red jackets and may have gone to the victory tour and remember the Jackson 5 - Every 45+ woman I know thought Michael was going to be her husband..lol.

Look at it this way - Michael is for black folk what Elvis was to white folk...I've seen grown ass/old white folk act a plum fool where Elvis was concerned. Plus Mike had a huge worldwide fan base as well.

By the time Elvis died he was very much like Mike: A broke, drug addicted recluse surrounded by vultures.

And folk lost their damn mind when he died.

It's not as nuts as it seems...you're looking at it from someone who wasn't much of a fan...people grieve in their own ways and when someone who has touched folk lives as much as Michael has...and was as famous and successful...it's going t be over the top.

And for the record - I was listening to his music on Wednesday night...lol

lol@Belle "I was never into MJ" wow. And u said you didn't want kids. I've never heard a black woman express both of those sentiments (I've heard a few that don't want kids tho.) Props to you for being different. I agree they're giving this too much pub on news stations (entertainment networks I understand). Although like someone said, this man was a larger than life icon for 3 GENERATIONS! And he was the first REAL CROSSOVER black artist. Can't beat that wit a cro bar. RIP Mike. Arguably the best that ever did it.

I get that you aren't a fan - but I don't get what you don't get about the outpouring of grief."

I erased part of what I wrote accidently. I was a fan, not crazy hardcore like I am for Stevie, but mostly of his early work, Jackson Five thru Off the Wall.

I will never feel like someone I never met and never knew was part of the family. That , I won't get. If you don't know him, how can he be missed? He hadn't been around in public releasing material in years. Did you miss him before Thursday afternoon? If you missed him, why NOW? why not BEFORE he died when the feelings actually mattered?

The fainters are a small percentage. The vast majority of people weren't fainting. No, I've never seen Graceland footage. I'll pass. I can imagine the crazy.

I get the grief, but the mob on 125th right now, church services, suicide, and even expecting the president to acknowledge this is beyond grief. The masses are bordering on the extreme. I think people needed an acceptable public emotional outlet and this is it.

I'm not denying the man's hugeness, or his influence, or talent. Just if you're mourning your childhood, then just say that. Don't put it on Mike if that's not what it is.

In trying to acknowledge his passing, folks are turning his life into a bigger circus than it was in the last 10-15 years.

I'll admit, offing yourself because MJJ died is real extra. But I did shed a few tears and am still in disbelief about the whole situation.

I grew up watching Michael Jackson's "Moonwalker" almost every. single. day. As a matter of fact, I asked my boyfriend for that movie this past Christmas and he went to 4 Best Buys in search of it, to no avail. :-( To this day, if that movie were to come on, my face would light up with a smile and I'd probably say every word (especially at the end of the 'Bad' video when an actor played a younger version of him!). So, yeah, I totally get how people can be personally affected by MJJ's passing.

And to be completely honest, I had no idea that this would take such a toll on me. I went from disbelief to denial to shock to sad to grief to confused (WHY?! HOW?!), back to disbelief and then to some more sadness and grief. I mean, I didn't even know the man, never met him or even saw his shadow in public. I had no plans to attend his upcoming concerts. I was by no means an MJ Stan. But, I am extremely empathetic, and I think I cried more so because I thought it wasn't fair that his life was basically like "the Truman Show," with the man that was supposed to love him the most calling the shots like a director. How sad.