You know I was just thinking about the media feeding frenzy surrounding Michael Jackson's death, and couldn't help but feel sorry for his mother, Katherine Jackson. I think we have forgotten that she lost a child, and rightly so, no mother should have to bury her child.
When Joseph Jackson decided to turn his boys into entertainers, he and Katherine loaned Michael Jackson to the world. No one knew back then, 40 some years ago, that little Michael Joseph Jackson from Gary, Indiana would become the musical icon he grew up to be. No one knew his music would unite a world, and give tabloid publications reasons to exist.
Michael died June 25, 2009, six days ago, and it is as if this whole episode has been surreal to me. Surreal because I was one of the millions of little girls who dreamed of someday meeting Michael Jackson. Growing up in Detroit, the Jackson 5 were the finest black boys on the planet. They were all so cute, I couldn't decide which one I wanted to marry. I know I wasn't alone, I'm just admitting it.
I grew up watching those five boys from Gary, Indiana. Watching them each get married, have children, and even break up as a group. Even though they didn't perform together anymore, we all knew they still loved one another as siblings. The only difference between this family and mine, was that their lives were being lived out in the press.
No matter what happened, Michael lying in a hyperbaric chamber; Michael allegedly buying the elephant man's bones; we followed and hung unto every word--good, bad or indifferent.
Now, even though Michael Jackson was our musical icon, our musical legend, Michael Jackson was a father, a brother, and a son. This distinction is enough to make us all step back and give the Jackson family some peace, some private time to mourn.
Michael Jackson doesn't belong to us right now. He doesn't belong to the media, he belongs to his family, we must respect that. Well, at least the media needs to respect it.
It's almost a guarantee that Michael Jackson's funeral will be a media feeding frenzy. CNN has announced that there will be a public viewing at Jackson's Neverland Ranch on Friday. Isn't this the same Neverland Ranch that the tabloids reported that Michael Jackson had sold or lost in foreclosure?
I believe the public viewing will be broadcast on television just as Princess Diana's was. I know the residents there are not looking forward to the hundreds of thousands of people who will undoubtedly show up. Probably as I write this, people may be lining up at Neverland Ranch just to be the first in line to view Michael Jackson's body.
Well, as always, I pray for the strength of the family to endure these coming days. It will be hard, and there will be dark days, but know that you are in the hands of the master, and these days will pass. May you rest in peace Michael Jackson.
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