# Michael Jackson fans?! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2002, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181 "2002-11-17T17:53:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/1 "2002-11-17T17:53:56Z")
From [http://earthlink.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,10836,00.html](http://earthlink.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,10836,00.html) : > [@](#): > > Dozens of Jacko faithful, clad in Michael tees and waving “Free Michael” pickets, thronged the courthouse in Santa Maria, a few miles from Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County. Jackson was shuttled to the courthouse in a black stretch SUV, acommpanied by a police escort. His arrival stirred fans into a frenzy. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Do **YOU** know _ANYONE_ who even LIKES this guy and his recent music, nonetheless gets “whipped into a frenzy” over him? Seriously, do his people PAY these people to feed his delusion? Where are they COMING from? Don’t get me wrong. I loved Michael–in 5th grade. (uh…1984, that is) Now, it’s quote like this: > [@](#): > > Jackson’s plate is so full that, on Thursday, he testified that he has little time for matters such as money. And… > [@](#): > > After appearing to be sensitive to courtroom gasps over his appearance, and critical of photographs capturing said appearance, the King of Pop has regained his regal stride, testifying in his $21 million breach of contract civil trial that he is a “visionary” who has “so much stuff going on [in his life] that is astounding.” …that just make you pause to wonder how long it’ll be before he self-destructs, one way or another. :shaking head in bewilderment: [sub]FANS?! Whipped into a _frenzy_?? WTF…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![DeathLlama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DeathLlama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeathLlama)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/2 "2002-11-17T17:58:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruffian \* > > WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Do **YOU** know _ANYONE_ who even LIKES this guy and his recent music, nonetheless gets “whipped into a frenzy” over him? I think my wife’s a pretty big MJ fan, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/3 "2002-11-17T18:00:28Z")
No, love, that’s a big _ **BJ** _ fan, dearie. We need to work on your acronyms. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/4 "2002-11-17T18:31:41Z")
I’ve been wondering the same thing for years. With every new album there’s a news feature of people camping out in front of the record stores to be first to get it. Come on! You can’t even say you like the guy in a campy way! (Like you’d say “Hey, I sorta like the Village People, hahaha!”) He’s just 100% blech. ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/5 "2002-11-17T18:46:08Z")
> [@](#): > > that just make you pause to wonder how long it’ll be before he self-destructs, one way or another You don’t think he already has? Look at his face. He makes children cry. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/6 "2002-11-17T18:48:50Z")
I suspect those people are shills hired by MJ’s handlers to make it appear as though he were still popular, sort of like a Potemkin fandom. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/7 "2002-11-17T19:34:57Z")
Yeah-like in his videos, he’s always surrounded by screaming, hysterical fans who are crying and going into orgasmic convulsions. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/8 "2002-11-17T23:04:39Z")
Micheal Jackson will go down in entertainment history as one of the greatest tragedies childhood fame ever perpetrated. He is a truly sad and pathetic ghost of the young man he once was, who was in fact a musical genius and a towering talent. His self-image and his actual image are equally grotesque. It is long past being mock-worthy and has plunged headlong into heartbreaking. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/9 "2002-11-17T23:17:33Z")
Whatever happend to the other Jackson brothers? The last I heard they were going to team up with Michael for a song. Are the parents still alive? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/10 "2002-11-18T00:18:39Z")
My (then ) four year old son saw a picture of MJ on the TV and asked straight out " What’s wrong with his nose, mama?" Well. son, that is an example of too much plastic surgery and too little grasp on reality. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/11 "2002-11-18T00:38:13Z")
Say what you will about the alien he’s become. Thriller is a classic album, and his work with the Jackson 5 is great too. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/12 "2002-11-18T00:52:45Z")
Indeed, **cainxinth** , but is _Thriller_ so great, and the Jackson 5 material _so_ possessing, that you would wear “Free Michael!” shirts and await him outside a courthouse, shrieking hysterically when you saw him? And particularly…would you do this if you weren’t even **born** when _Thriller_ was released? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/13 "2002-11-18T01:29:28Z")
The man is talented-and probably very intelligent-when it comes to creativity and music, that is-and I do believe that creative geniuses tend to be somewhat eccentric and odd-my sister’s chorus teacher is an example-he once jumped in the Allegheny River during a major flood to save his brother in law’s BARGE from floating away. (REALLY pissed off the recovery crew as well). However, Michael has gone way beyond eccentric. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/14 "2002-11-18T01:45:11Z")
Hijack. When I saw that picture of him on the witness stand – long hair, scraggly beard, weird nose – I flashed on a scene from _Planet of the Apes_. He looked remarkably like Kim Hunter in her ape makeup. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/15 "2002-11-18T02:08:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruffian \* > \*\*Indeed, **cainxinth** , but is _Thriller_ so great, and the Jackson 5 material _so_ possessing, that you would wear “Free Michael!” shirts and await him outside a courthouse, shrieking hysterically when you saw him? And particularly…would you do this if you weren’t even **born** when _Thriller_ was released? \*\* I like Nirvana too, but I’m not making annual pilgrimages to Kurt Cobain’s grave. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/16 "2002-11-18T02:12:40Z")
Precisely my point, **cain** …where are they FINDING these people that are _that_ obsessed over Jacko?!? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/17 "2002-11-18T03:24:56Z")
What’s up with his nose? It looks like there is no substance there. His face looks like a skull. All that plastic surgery…shame really ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/18 "2002-11-18T04:09:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by eenerms \* > \*\*What’s up with his nose? It looks like there is no substance there. His face looks like a skull. All that plastic surgery…shame really \*\* But on the bright side, if he makes a remake of “THRILLER” he won’t have to put on any makeup. And let us all hope and (if you are religous) pray that something so horrid never happens. ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/19 "2002-11-18T05:28:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*I suspect those people are shills hired by MJ’s handlers to make it appear as though he were still popular, sort of like a Potemkin fandom. \*\* I live in Santa Maria and I was across the street from the courthouse on business about 30 minutes before he arrived on Wednesday. I would have watched his arrival from there except I was in a hurry. Those were not shills, they were people who wanted to see a great entertainer. In fact, one of my teenage daughter’s friends got his autograph. Say what you will about this very very strange man, he is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. His dancing is amazing. By the way, his appearance was the top story on our local tv stations as well as the local papers. And there really weren’t that many people out there. The article had it correct. Dozens, not hundreds. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181/20 "2002-11-18T09:06:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HPL \* > \*\* > > But on the bright side, if he makes a remake of “THRILLER” he won’t have to put on any makeup. > > And let us all hope and (if you are religous) pray that something so horrid never happens. \*\* There’s a scary thought – if he remade the Thriller video. At the end of the day how would the makeup removalists know when to stop? They’d accidentally scrape off what’s left of his face. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-fans-who-are-these-people/137181.md?page=2)