Michael Jackson is dead [Updated]

LA Times ^ | 6.25.09

[libh8er]

[Updated at 3:15 p.m.: Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.]

Excerpted

[NautiNurse]

most probably a recycled Banned FReeper. I can think of a few.

Yes, there is a remarkable familiarity to the attacking tone by several of the trolls. A pack mentality too. Never got an answer to my request for the former screen name either.

[humblegunner]

Macaulay Culkin though ol’ Mike was a pain in the butt.

[ElayneJ]

“someone from Rolling Stone made the point that MTV wasn’t showcasing black musicians in the early eighties, and Thriller was the first to break that”

I doubt that this is true. One of the early videos was one by Herbie Hancock. I remember because - well - it was MTV and it was pretty cool. If this writer is implying racism in early 80s music, he’s nuts. Sharpton tried that, too, in his press conference yesterday. Maybe the Rolling Stone writer is too young to know, but Al certainly knows better.

[Borges]

Thriller came out in 82 only a year after MTV started. It is true that before Jackson, black artists were not played there.

[Hatteras]

"...and someone from Rolling Stone made the point that MTV wasn't showcasing black musicians in the early eighties..."

Of course not...

[NautiNurse]

Prince emulated Michael Jackson in many ways.

[SkyShot]

Michael Jackson hasn’t been this stiff since Macaulay Culkin came to stay over for the weekend

[Borges]

They didn’t play Prince before Thriller paved the way.

[inflorida]

He then leaned in close to me and said in a soft voice, "He IS guilty. It's all true. I used to work for him at Neverland. It was really bad, really bad." It was chilling to hear him say it, and in the sad, soft tone of voice he used. I believed him.

I believe him too. My only "encounter" with MJ was about five years ago when my husband and I were at Universal Studios in Orlando (we had the annual pass since we live here) and about to get on the ride Men In Black. We were literally about to go through the final gates when everything stopped and elevator doors opened. Out walks MJ with two white boys, about age 14 or so and not his kids. It was so bizarre and also disturbing. They were preppy looking boys and all I could think of was why any parent would agree to let their sons hang out with this man who was clearly very sick. As much as one can blame MJ for his likely molestation (alleged, only God knows for sure), I also blame the loser parents who clearly sold their kids soul all for fame and money.

That being said, my better memories of MJ are when I was a kid in the 80's. I clearly remember being in the fourth grade and being told all week that if we were good, we'd be able to watch the Thriller video at the end of the day on Friday. We were barely able to contain ourselves because of the excitement. I remember when the VHS (maybe Beta, lol) tape went in and the entire class went crazy. Too bad he fell so far from those days. Creepy as he was, he did have some amazing talent.

[NautiNurse]

You get no follow-ups until you answer the question you are still refusing to answer.

This unanswered question: What was your previous FR screen name?

[inflorida]

well, all I can say is that any grown man who looks into the camera and says what he did about sleeping with little children, then that person is a freak, and that’s putting it nicely.

I agree. Also, remember during that interview a few years ago when he was showing his home, he had all of these mannequins around the house as though they were his "friends". The man was very clearly mentally ill and too bad no one stepped in to help although that in no way excuses the damage he did to who knows how many kids.

[Melpomene]

Please tell me you bought it. That’s awesome. If Lisa had any brains, she would have bought out whoever was selling them and started selling them herself.

[ElayneJ]

I was stunned and incredibly sad to hear of Pavarotti’s death. Why? I certainly didn’t know him and had only seen him on TV. I guess it was just the loss of a great talent and personality. What a tremendous gift he had.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Good morning mpls...I think some of the more outlandish, baiting comments are made by those who really ‘want’ their 16 seconds of fame on an O’Reilly (or some other forum’s) call out of FReeRepublic. Look at the time line, and the posting history on this thread alone...baiting, inflamatory statements, called out by other posters (and a Mod—a couple of times) yet they march on. Why? Nothing to do last night? Maybe...so having some ‘fun’ making conservatives look like knuckles draggers (hey...I can email O’Reilly...lookie here Bill...see what the Neanderthals are saying about Michael Jackson).

There were alot of ‘bans’ that come back ‘retreaded’...sometimes it is so hard NOT to answer them. Look at registration date...and typing formats. Noobs usually revert back to their ‘old ways.’

[RJS1950]

Sad but now everyone will have to endure 3-5 days of non-stop news coverage while the real world problems become secondary. But then that’s the cult of celebrity mindset that I should already be used to.

[usmcobra]

They didn’t play Prince before Thriller paved the way.

Before Thriller MTV didn't exist, Michael Jackson created MTV to showcase his Videos.

Oh Hell now I've gone and done it, I've said something as stupid as the the comment about there were no black artists on MTV before Michael Jackson....

For those of you sucked into the lies about MTV and black artists before Michael Jackson's thriller came out, this Video should ease your stereotypes....

[Borges]

Look up playlists on MTV in 81 and 82.

[FreepShop1]

That's a long way to go, to act hetero to advance the gay agenda. Seems to me the "gay agenda" would involve, oh, I don't know, gayness.

You missed my point. Gay/straight is not the issue. The issue is the INNOCENCE of children. Jackson was exposed to explicit sexual acts at a very young age. He told a therapist he had nightmares about the "screams" of his brothers having sex (he thought they were in pain, he could not possibly understand it was pleasure). My point is that the gay activists like Kevin Jennings of GLSEN, who is now working for the Education Department, are pushing explicit sexual education to children as young as 4, to combat "the crisis of gay bullying" which of course does not exist. A group of FReepers is now forming an organization to fight this.

[ElayneJ]

If that’s true - and I’m not convinced it is - do you think it’s because the music industry was racist?

[Hatteras]

"...and someone from Rolling Stone made the point that MTV wasn't showcasing black musicians in the early eighties..."

This was about "showcasing black musicians in the early eighties" not about who paved the way for who. Keep in mind also that Prince had been causing quite a stir before the "early eighties" and was already a rising star before MTV aired for the first time.

From Wikipedia... "In 1982, Prince released the 1999 double-album which "broke" Prince into the mainstream in the US and internationally, selling over three million copies.[9] The title track was a protest against nuclear proliferation and became his first top ten hit internationally. With his video for "Little Red Corvette" he joined Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie as part of the first wave of African American artists on MTV. The song "Delirious" also went top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was placed at number six in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1983."

MTV was launched in August of 1981. The first wave of African American artists broke on the shores within weeks, if not, days. Thriller was released in November of 1982. But I'm pretty confident that if Thriller had been release in August of 1981, it would have been showcased then, it was that huge of an album.