R.I.P Michael Jackson

What a depressing week it's been. Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and now Michael Jackson. For the most part I have only heard positive tributes to Ed and Farrah but I have heard a steady stream of negative comments towards Michael Jackson.

I understand that Michael seriously tarnished his legacy during the second half of his career. The plastic surgeries, the skin lightening, hanging his baby out the window, the financial problems, the surgical mask and of course, the child molestation charges. I don't think we should forget the bad things that he has done but I don't think the time to recount them is on the day that he died.

I remember being really excited whenever a new Michael Jackson video was going to come out when I was a kid because they were always extremely creative. He perfected the art of the "mini-movie" music video. Thriller, Moonwalker, Remember the Times, Smooth Criminal were some of my favorites. His unique dance moves made the videos even more entertaining. I'll admit, I tried to moonwalk and all but broke my ankle but it was fun to try and music we could listen to and dance to as a family.

When the Jackson Story aired on TV in the mid-90's I was mortified at the abusive background that all the Jackson children had to endure. The movie made it seem like Michael experienced the most abuse because he was the most talented and the youngest boy. I don't know if this is true or not. I suspect all of the Jackson's are screwed up because of their childhood but the rest of them seem to be less troubled than Michael.

I'm not making excuses. I believe that there was some illegal behavior between Michael and underage children that any non-famous person would have gone to jail for. I wish the cases would have gone to trial so we could get all the facts. But they didn't which leads us all to speculate. It always concerns me when families take cash settlements from the people that they accuse of abusing them. If anyone that I love were molested I would do everything in my power to make sure that person spent as much time as possible in jail. There would be no sum of money large enough to let the person who abused someone I love walk free and possibly go on to abuse other innocent people.

I'm not going to remember Michael Jackson as a saint. I think the people who proclaim that Michael must be innocent and still dress in a red leather jacket with one white glove need to seek professional help. But I can acknowledge that he made a significant contribution to pop music and that his influence on current artists is undeniable if you've ever seen Justin Timberlake, Jamiriqui or Usher perform.