# Michael Jackson Dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988 "2009-06-25T21:15:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/281 "2009-06-26T15:25:16Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > I just introduced my daughter and her friend to a variety of Young Michael to About to Turn Quite Creepy Michael Jackson videos. > > My enthusiam for the Thriller video and explaining to them that _song_ in every house, on every car radio, in every city, in every state, in every country _across the [world](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_worldwide)_ . To say it was everywhere was pretty realistic. I was a junior in high school when _Thriller_ came out. By the time that summer came around, it was impossible not to hear it being played in any public place I went. I was living in Monrovia, Liberia at the time. Even in the remote reaches of West Africa, you couldn’t escape that album. I bought a bootleg copy of the cassette off the street just for Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo on “Beat It.” ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/282 "2009-06-26T15:28:37Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > I get this. I really do. I also understand innocent until proven guilty. > > But I used to work with developmentally disabled adults, many of whom have the same lack of understanding about what is appropriate. That doesn’t mean they should not be educated about it, be corrected when they do things that are not appropriate, suffer consequences when they break the law, etc. I knew clients who were on sex offender registries, even though they had a similar lack of understanding about why what they did was wrong. > > I’m not happy that he’s dead, make no mistake about that. And I don’t profess to have any inside track on his innocence or guilt. But someone, somewhere should have intervened more if he was unable to make that judgment call himself. Incredibly well-said. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/283 "2009-06-26T15:29:31Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > The toaster nearly caught fire. Farah Fawcett died. My basement flooded (again). \*\* I blew out my last tampon\*\*. Michael Jackson died. That’s why I never use retreads. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/284 "2009-06-26T15:38:39Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > [Here](http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/thinking-about-michael.html) is an interesting piece written by Andrew Sullivan on Michael Jackson and the demons which plagued him. > > Again, I am not saying that he had no responsibility to resolve the issues that made him who he was (in the crazy sense), but I do kind of get that no one was exactly lining up to help him do so, not when they could cash in on him instead. And his money certain;ly would have been better spent on psychotherapy than on plastic surgery. > > And this from someone who was molested as a child. It’s a very conflicted thing. I agree. Has anyone here seen the TV movie, Jacksons: The American Dream? It was on the other weekend and I stayed up all night watching it for the umpteenth time. That movie. . . it really makes you feel for Michael (well, and the whole family) and understand him more. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/285 "2009-06-26T15:38:44Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > My daughter’s reaction to the dance sequence was, " Zombies can’t dance." [Joliet Jake Blues] How much for the little girl? [/Joliet Jake Blues] ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/286 "2009-06-26T15:45:30Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > [Here](http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/thinking-about-michael.html) is an interesting piece written by Andrew Sullivan on Michael Jackson and the demons which plagued him. > > Again, I am not saying that he had no responsibility to resolve the issues that made him who he was (in the crazy sense), but I do kind of get that no one was exactly lining up to help him do so, not when they could cash in on him instead. And his money certain;ly would have been better spent on psychotherapy than on plastic surgery. > > And this from someone who was molested as a child. It’s a very conflicted thing. I think his biggest problem was that he had no-one who could grab him by the lapels and tell him, “No, you can’t do that.” He seemed to be closest to the women in his life, the Liz Taylors and Diana Rosses, and somehow I can see them reveling in his childlike nature and not thinking, “Damn, he’s a grown man acting/thinking this way.” I think the person who had the closest connection in this way was Quincy Jones. When he came on the scene, Quincy was every bit the equal of MJ (maybe not in the PR realm, but as far as respect in the music industry). But they stopped working together after the Bad album in 1987 - which I think was his last top-to-bottom strong album. (Dangerous was very good but not quite up to Bad, IMO.) MJ was a mealticket to virtually everyone in his orbit. All the weird spokespeople, bizarre projects… you almost wish someone came in from William Morris and cleaned house. But it seems for the past 15 years, some weirdo would propose concerts in Palau or something, contracts would be signed and… nothing. The Jackson sycophant syndrome was really obvious in an ITV documentary I saw last year about Tito, Jackie, and Katherine moving to England. Tito was friends with this asshole with dollar signs in his eyes who was a martial arts impresario, and he wanted to bring the Jacksons to a small village in England to get away from the media horde in LA. But of course said asshole had all these side deals, and though he promised the family privacy the paps were tipped off a million times to the family’s whereabouts, etc. And of course in the end the asshole ended up suing Tito for some ridiculous reason. I think that’s pretty much what they all deal with, and Michael was most susceptible of all. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/287 "2009-06-26T15:53:01Z")
“I’ve never wished anyone dead, but I’ve read some obituaries with great satisfaction.” - Clarence Darrow ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/288 "2009-06-26T15:53:35Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Pardon my schadenfreude, but the passage of a god is such a rare thing, and when they fall from Olympus into the sea the tidal waves are fascinating to watch when you’re at the safe distance which cable so nobly provides. Ha! You’re not as safe as you think! [Jackson dies, almost takes Internet with him](http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/26/michael.jackson.internet/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/289 "2009-06-26T15:57:47Z")
[Breaking News from Neverland Ranch](http://www.theonion.com/content/news/neverland_ranch_investigators?utm_source=infocus) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/290 "2009-06-26T16:01:53Z")
I thought he was a freak and a pedophile, but there’s no denying his talent. He did several great songs with The Jackson 5, and _Thriller_ is one of the most influential pieces of popular music of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/291 "2009-06-26T16:03:13Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > \ > Speaking of his kids, I’m guessing the AA batteries are hitting the floor like shotgun shells at a tri state turkey shoot as Nancy Grace’s vibrator ejects more copperheads than Lincoln in a magic mushroom fueld daydream while she speculates on the thousands of hours of coverage she’ll get from the custody trials. This is her retirement package. \ Okay, that was some brilliant writing right there. Had to quote it just to make everyone read it again. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/292 "2009-06-26T16:09:46Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > An odd point is nagging me. For all the time I was aware of him, I’d heard that Michael Jackson was a mere 5 years old when he had his first top 40 hit (along with his brothers) in…1970? But the reports that I’m reading state that Michael was 50, which would have made him \*11 \* years old in '70. So which is it? Michael Jackson’s “stage debut” was basically at a school pageant when he sang a song as a first grader. Yes, he totally blew the audience away and technically it was his “first public performance”, but it was still just a grade school show. It’s like saying “Tom Hanks’s breakthrough role was as ‘Joseph Number 2’ in the 1961 Christmas pageant at Lincoln Primary School.” The Marketing Machine of the music industry tried to make it sound as if that’s when he started performing professionally, and I think when they had their first hit, the label misrepresented his age for the “wow” factor. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/293 "2009-06-26T16:29:47Z")
Outstanding piece of work, **Sampiro**!! ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/294 "2009-06-26T16:35:42Z")
I made my share of MJ jokes over the years, but overall Michael Jackson did less harm to humanity than, say, the Catholic Church and there are millions of people today who will swear by the Catholic Church. So I’ll take _Beat It_ over _Ave Maria_, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/295 "2009-06-26T16:38:15Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Outstanding piece of work, **Sampiro**!! That was 42 posts ago. Use the “quote” button next time please. ---
**Author:** ![atlantic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@atlantic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atlantic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/296 "2009-06-26T16:47:55Z")
Not sure if this has been added to the thread … but one of my favorite MJ imitations. From The Jamie Foxx Show - [The Dance Off](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_UoIuArBVE). ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/297 "2009-06-26T17:02:16Z")
Reports are starting to come in that MJ was injected with Demerol a few hours before his death - which is a derivative of morphine. TMZ says that his family was concerned about his use of Demerol and his father Joe wanted to place him in an addiction treatment facility. Apparently he first started using it after the Pepsi commercial burn incident. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/298 "2009-06-26T17:08:24Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > That was 42 posts ago. Use the “quote” button next time please. If **Sampiro’s** post is quoted one more time, somebody needs to pay royalties. Wait. I think I’ve been whooshed. Never mind. I’m trying to think of a phenomenal child star who managed to grow up well-adjusted. Shirley Temple’s the only one I can come up with, but if she’d been popular 40 years later, she might not have survived either. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/299 "2009-06-26T17:17:05Z")
Ron Howard seems to have turned out pretty normal, though I don’t know if you could say he had _phenomenal_ success as a child. Whatever happened to that _Sixth Sense_ kid? He was giant for like a year, then he disappeared off the map. I can’t even remember his name any more (I want to say Macaulay Culkin, but that’s the _Home Alone_ kid). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988/300 "2009-06-26T17:22:17Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Whatever happened to that _Sixth Sense_ kid? He was giant for like a year, then he disappeared off the map. I can’t even remember his name any more (I want to say Macaulay Culkin, but that’s the _Home Alone_ kid). [Haley Joel Osment](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005286/). Looks like he’s been doing lots of voiceover work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-dead/500988.md?page=16)