Celebrity worship is a mystery to me. This puzzlement is deepened by the case of Michael Jackson.
OK, I can sort of understand how someone might have become a fan of his at one point. In the early ’80s, he was a remarkably talented young black man. But now that he is no longer young, or black, or manly in any way you’d notice, and hasn’t put forth any striking evidence of talent lately, about all he’s got left is being remarkable. And not in a good way.
I’m not saying this to be mean or anything like that. I just don’t see how, beyond memories of some catchy tunes and dancing that seemed to defy physical laws, anybody would feel any sort of emotional involvement in anything that Mr. Jackson does, or anything that happens to him or doesn’t happen to him.
And yet there are people who really, really cared what happened in his trial. 
They were willing to put their whole lives in suspense over whether he was found "guilty" or "not guilty." They made it their business to be there at the courthouse, as close to his side as possible. They were ecstatic at the verdict.
What I want to know is, Why? It seems to me that even a cursory examination of the stipulated facts regarding Mr. Jackson would give any sensible person considerable pause. I mean, I can seeing pitying a man who lives in a fantasy world and sleeps with young boys to whom he is not related (even innocently), and has obsessively done bizarre things to his own body. But I can’t see how anyone would admire him, or hitch one’s own happiness to his fate.
I’d appreciate any insight that anyone out there has into this phenomenon. If I could understand this, maybe I could understand the whole celebrity culture.
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Your blog address is entirely tooooo long.
best, dg
Isn’t this a lot like Elvis and his fans? In his waning days Elvis did some pretty strange things but his fans didn’t care – they had this ideal in their minds that reality couldn’t ruin. And even Elvis’s death – if in fact he did die – hasn’t ended his fans’ adulation.
I can’t think of too many icons of this magnitude – many sports figures and entertainers have a year or five of idolization and then fan interest subsides. Consider the Grateful Dead fans… Sorry, didn’t mean to upset anyone with that image.
And what’s with the Che T-shirts? Don’t the wearers understand that he was a murderer? Does Fidel get the royalties?
While I don’t think it’s too healthy, I can think of worse things for folks to fill their idle time with.
Donald Gray – Once you’re at a web page, you can add it to your favorites by clicking on “Favorites” at the top of the Internet Explorer screen, then clicking on “Add to Favorites.” You can then quickly go that page and other pages later by clicking on the Favorites, scrolling down to the page you want to visit, and then clicking on it.
Or you can click on “File” and the top of the Internet Explorer screen, then scroll to “Send” and click on “Shortcut to Desktop.” This will put a shortcut to the current web page on your desktop so you can get to that page quickly.
Why? Beats the heck out of me. But, even more curious than the MJ worship is that no charges have been filed against the parents of the accuser in this case.
Isn’t child endangerment illegal? The victim was allowed to spend nights with Jackson AFTER that tell-all TV program where he admitted to sleeping with boys. Isn’t that endangerment?
Yes, he was a victim. He was a victim of his parents’ greed. They whored that child out with the intent to later file charges.
Celebrity show trials, I dunno. Any chance the MSM will manage to cram in any real trial coverage before the upcoming Phil Spector trial? Me thinks no.
I’m a HUGE Michael Jackson fan (no,I’m not a Thriller day fan. I’m only 19)he is AWSOME, I LOVE him but even I can’t tell you why. LOL xD
I’m a HUGE Michael Jackson fan (no,I’m not a Thriller day fan. I’m only 19)he is AWSOME, I LOVE him but even I can’t tell you why. LOL xD
I’m a HUGE Michael Jackson fan (no,I’m not a Thriller day fan. I’m only 19)he is AWSOME, I LOVE him but even I can’t tell you why. LOL xD