Comments on: Deaths of Four With Varying Degrees of Fame

By: Jeanette

Jeanette — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:35:14 +0000

Amy,

Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I sincerely apologize for upsetting you in my bluntness.

I, too, was complaining about the over-coverage of his death to the point of telling us things on pure speculation and things I don’t need to know.

It wasn’t as though I watched these programs because I did change the channel, but whenever I went to a news site on the web it was splashed all over the place and I had to dig deeper to read news stories.

I understand Michael Jackson is a pop icon for the Gen Xers and later. My children listened and listen to him also. I too like some of his music, but I feel so sorry for his sad life and even worse for the three children he loved so much and who loved him unconditionally.

Again, my apologies and I would like to invite you to write a post telling us what Michael Jackson meant to you and to your generation. Please consider it and let either Sue or me know if you are interested.

Thank you again for your thoughtful and heart-felt comment.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:53:07 +0000

I read this post on Monday and was going to respond then but, I was too offended to do so. I reread it today and was still outraged that I now feel compelled to write. Yes, the media is outrageous in their coverage. Yes, it is dragging on unnaturally so. However, no one has said you MUST watch the coverage! You have every right to change the channel or turn it off! Maybe, if you had, and say, listened to music, you would know that Michael Jackson is to pop music- the music that formed the 80’s, changed a generation and broke racial barriers on television- what Elvis is to rock n’ roll. The fact of the matter is, Michael Jackson is the all time best selling artist. Michael Jackson was the first artist of color to perform on MTV- a channel that, to the 80’s kids, was our American Bandstand or Ed Sullivan. You cannot deny that Michael Jackson changed the face of music- you don’t have to like the music, you don’t have to like the life he lived. If you are going to compare deaths- which in itself is morbid- compare this to Princess Diana or Elvis- where the cause of death is unclear and completely a surprise. To the former kids of the 80’s this is the loss of our first icon.

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:34:06 +0000

I’ve chosen to avoid the news as of late. I read what is of interest in world affairs, etc on the net and simply avoid all the overkill of the Michael Jackson story.

We may not ever (nor do we need to) know all the facts surrounding the death of any “celebrity.” If families choose to go public with information, so be it, as it is a free country, but I am also free to ignore the attention grab.

As for Geraldo…well he and Shepard Smith became nothing more than entertainment gurus during Katrina. They were both then and have remained a disgrace.

You spoke of JFK. I too remember each and every sad moment beginning with his untimely death. I also remember President Nixon’s funeral as well as the many days tribute to Ronald Reagan.

Part of what I believe we are experiencing right now is the emotion of some in a generation who somehow feel a personal loss due to the death of Michael Jackson. Perhaps they now recognize that their youth is falling away, I don’t know.

My children are of the Jackson generation and they also feel this overkill is just too much, but I am sure there are others who feel differently.

I can only speak for in saying that death is different for each individual. Those who hang on every detail of Jackson’s death must have a reason. It’s not one I understand or wish to participate in, but to each his own.