The driver of tomorrow is not thinking Green...

The driver of tomorrow is not thinking Green...
He's thinking Classic. (click on photo)

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Jun 26, 2009

MJ takes over - Rebecca & KIRO FM

Rebecca writes:

I'd like to say I didn't spend a lot of time on the death of Michael Jackson yesterday but you know, I did. I woke up this morning to a dream and in the background the distinct beat of the beginning of one of MJ"s songs was playing in the background. I woke up and mentally went through the music in my head to figure out which MJ song it was - "Beat It" - ahhh yes. A great song. I talked to Matt about all the stuff on KIRO FM that was discussed yesterday, the stupid arguing between Ron & Don (I ended up turning the radio off, it was ridiculous) and what I felt was the sadness of a lost life of an incredibly talented person. But was it a lost life? I don't know. If he took his incredible wealth and used it for good & helped one person, then it wasn't lost. I love music. So his contribution to my musical experience is definitely not lost. I love the memories of the Michael Jackson poster I had on my wall as a late teen and listening to his Thriller album over and over and over and over and over.... It makes me smile, so not a lost life when it brings a smile to my face and the tapping of my toes, the feeling of a need to relax & dance a bit. As his life took what appeared a nasty turn, I turned him off. He definitely walked a different hallway. I didn't know much about his children so I hoped they had some sort of "normal" life. As I perused Dory's page today and read this article, I was again saddened to read they did not have a "normal" life. My comments to the article about him were directed to his pain medication addiction, which Matt & I have lived the direct destroying effects of that in our lives. I did not know MJ had an addiction but last night I commented to Matt that the changes in his behavior reminded me of an addict. Apparently I nailed it. For his children's sake, I hope he wasn't a pedophile. It would be nice (in my rainbow and butterfly world) to see the 3 of them grow in to adulthood on some normal functioning level. It's interesting to hear of people talking about how abnormal MJ's life growing up was and that his family dysfunction contributed to his oddities and inability to cope and then turn around and say the kids will be fine & surrounded by loving family if raised by the Jackson family. Okay...? Anyway, here is Dory's story today:

Dori writes...

One of the most electrifying performers of all time... mentally unstable... quite likely a heinous criminal... everything about Michael Jackson seemed to involve extremes.

Thriller came out when I was in college - I was never a big fan of his music, but for people around my age, Michael Jackson definitely was a big part of the soundtrack of our lives.

His musical greatness is undeniable. And it was quite obvious when he was a young child. He was already a seasoned veteran performer at age 13 when he made this appearance on the Sonny & Cher Show.

He was an amazingly talented kid. Then, in 1983, he was at the top of his game at age 24 when he delivered one of the signature moments in pop culture history - on the Motown 25 special.

Seeing those performances makes the tragedy of what his life would become even more striking. He was accused of child rape and had a well-publicized addiction to painkillers. From his Wikipedia page:

Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old child named Jordan Chandler and his father Evan Chandler. The friendship between Jackson and Evan Chandler broke down. Sometime afterward, Evan Chandler was tape-recorded saying amongst other things, "If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever...Michael's career will be over". A year after they had met, under the influence of a controversial sedative, Jordan Chandler told his father that Jackson had touched his penis. Evan Chandler and Jackson, represented by their legal teams, then engaged in unsuccessful negotiations to resolve the issue in a financial settlement; the negotiations were initiated by Chandler but Jackson did make several counter offers. Jordan Chandler then told a psychiatrist and later police that he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex, as well as giving a detailed description of what he alleged were the singer's genitals.

An official investigation began, with Jordan Chandler's mother adamant that there was no wrongdoing on Jackson's part. Neverland Ranch was searched; multiple children and family members denied that he was a pedophile. Jackson's image took a further turn for the worse when his older sister La Toya Jackson accused him of being a pedophile, a statement she later retracted. Jackson agreed to a 25-minute strip search, conducted at his ranch. The search was required to see if a description provided by Jordan Chandler was accurate. Doctors concluded that there were some strong similarities, but it was not a definitive match. Jackson made an emotional public statement on the events; he proclaimed his innocence, criticized what he perceived as biased media coverage and told of his strip search.

On January 1, 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandler family and their legal team out of court, in a civil lawsuit for $22 million. After the settlement Jordan Chandler refused to continue with Police criminal proceedings. Jackson was never charged, and the state closed its criminal investigation, citing lack of evidence.

In 2005, Jackson again faced charges of child molestation - again with a 13 year old. After a lengthy trial, he was aquitted of all charges.

Along with the musical genius and the horrible criminal accusations, we very publicly saw his descent into self-mutilation and mental illness. A very good looking boy and young man had turned himself into this:

Dazzling performer? Despicable molester? Demented wacko-Jacko? Let the conversation begin on how you think Michael Jackson will be remembered.

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