Oh well. I’ll just have to hang out in my co-workers’ doorway and share my unified theory 1980s pop music with them.

ditmars, why did you feel the need to lump in “homosexual” right between “drug addled” and “child molester”?

Farrah Fawcet hung on my wall next to Red Sox gear and I had a boom box that wore out several tapes that featured Michael’s music that was also used to listen to games.  It is often hard to separate the childhood memories from the present day realities and despite that fact that Farrah aged and Michael’s declined in so many way I will choose to remember them in their more idealistic states.

Jonah Keri probably has the best take of Michael Jackson that I’ve read so far, touching on the joy that he brought to billions of people, the pain/trauma that he caused to others, and the immense psychological beating he took as a kid that led to both aspects of his being: The Complicated Legacy of Michael Jackson.

I’m with others: There’s a lot to dislike and hate about what Michael Jackson became, but he did bring a lot of joy to many people’s lives (both directly and indirectly). Probably more than any of us could ever hope to even imagine, let alone replicate. There’s infinite time to settle on exactly how it all balances out cosmically, but there’s no reason to completely ignore his positive contributions. So let’s try to be positive at least for a couple of days.

Just being factual, Jimmy, not homophobic, if I’m properly interpreting what you’re trying to say.  I sincerely apologize if I offended you and J.W.

And to the other kind posters, MJ was immensely talented, nobody can possibly argue with that.  But his freakish lifestyle sort of cancels that out, doesn’t it?

Craig, I have no objections if you decide to opine at length, a la Poz, on the subject of MJ.  Just please don’t say anything like Chad Ochocinco did about yesterday being “worse than 9/11” because of the losses of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

In support of J.W., you’d think that the man who got his childhood sold out by his parents would be EXTRA sensitive to NOT ruining another’s.  Apparently, Mr. Marshall disagrees.

OK, let’s get back to baseball!  Yanks/Mets in another very very tired subway series, but I have to say, “Go Yankees!!!”

And, JW, I really didn’t mean to offend you previously.

OK, Craig.  I hear and agree with most of what you wrote about celebrities and appreciating them for the entertainment they provide, and not necessarily anything else.  Still, you did write: “Basically, if you avoid violence, cruelty and the mistreatment of kids, I’m probably going to still buy your product even if I wouldn’t seek you out at a party.”  So, how do you make that jive with your obvious appreciation of MJ?  Do you have second-thoughts about that statement?  Do you rationalize it by not actually buying any MJ products (which, I think, would be side-stepping the issue a bit since you still enjoy his music)?

I’m genuinely curious about this b/c there’s all sorts of a**holes whose work I enjoy.  But when it comes to mistreatment of kids, well, I suppose I have come to a point in my life where it is very difficult to overlook those types of transgressions.

Tad: I guess what it boils down to is that I’m unwilling to shed any tears for Jackson. When he was alive I was unwilling to buy any of his products post-molestation business. I was unwilling to listen to his p.r. rebop.  If something new arose, I would have been decidedly skeptical of whatever his position happened to be.  I won’t turn off a demonstably awesome song of his that came on the radio, however, because to deny something like that is silly and rather self-defeating.

To put it in the context of what I said in the quote you note, I’m not going to turn off the television just because Brett Myers pitches (though if there’s another game I’d reserve the right to switch) but I’d never seek out his autograph, or buy his jersey, or listen to an interview of his, or give him much the benefit of the doubt if something came up about him appropriate for comment on this blog. 

I guess what I’m saying is that I’m not in the total boycott business with these guys because, in Jackson’s case, there is something that he did that I can appreciate without having to endorse the man (i.e. his music) and in Myers’ case, there are 17 other guys playing any given game he’s in, and I can pretty much ignore his ass (and root against him of course).  Both of them are people I’d never want to associate with, even if I had the opportunity.

I hope that’s not still inconsistent, but to the extent that it is, it’s simply because it’s sometimes hard to draw bright lines between the good and the bad things human beings do.

If one is abused as a child it does lead to a drastically increased likelihood of becoming an abuser when you get older.  There is no question on this, sadly enough.

I suspect Jackson’s parents never got him the treatment he needed, and once an adult he didn’t seek it out as he should’ve.  The difference between someone who takes responsibility (seeks treatment for childhood traumas and does whatever they can to avoid putting it onto a new generation) and those who don’t. 

You can feel sorry for Jackson and also be mad at him quite easily as it is no excuse, just an explanation.