Wasn't he acquitted? And with all those hounding him, wouldn't there be some evidence....

I think the man brought a lot of love, joy and happiness to many people and that was remembered today. I hope that some of that love and joy makes it into to the sad hearts that declare him a pedophile without proof or regard for the judgment of the courts.

Michael Jackson was an extremely talented entertainer, but he was only an entertainer. He didn't lay his life on the line to change the world, as MLK or Mandela did. He danced and sang, amd made a good living at it. Much of today's tribute was corny and overwrought, as much of his later music was.

I am the same age as Joan (and Michael) and I appreciated his music (up to "Thriller"), but he lost me when he set out to be the biggest star in the world, and severed his ties to real life. He had countless plastic sugeries, shared beds with young boys, palled around with a chimp and created music that was increasingly bland and predictable. And demanded to be called the King of Pop.

Sales of his last CD, "Invincible," show that his fandom had shrunken to a very large cult. But he had so many beloved songs that he always would have sold out stadiums, regardless of whether there was a new hit. (Ask the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Buffett or Madonna.)

He may not have been a child molester; he may have been that one out of 100 adults who are basically asexual. The case that went to trial was pretty weak. We don't know the details of the earlier case that was settled by a multi-million dollar payout.

It is certain that his music touched millions around the globe. A lot of those people today wept for a man who had made them happy, and perhaps for their lost youth as well.

Well said Joan. Thanks.

Amen to your final sentence, Joan.

I would have to ask you the question - if you are so cynical, why did you watch? No one made you. If it was that distasteful to you - you could have gone and got your hair done or anything you might consider more useful. You even have crass remarks against his little girl. I personally think you are a rather sick lady. Anyone who makes these kind of comments when someone passes is a very sad and insecure person. You go right to the top of that class. By the way - I am not a Michael Jackson fan - but it's sad he had to leave so soon. He had three children, who regardless of your claim that they were putting on a exhibition with Paris's speech, obviously loved him very much. My heart goes out to them. I thought the memorial was done with taste and class. I'll just bet, the people won't do near as much for you when you go. In fact - a memorial for you - I doubt it. However, even for you - I hope the people are kinder to you than you have been to Michael and his family. Sad - Sad - Sad - you are a very bitter person. You may sell articles with your distasteful remarks - but in the end - how many friends will you have? Get a life my dear and try and make it a bit more useful. By the way - last I heard a jury said "Not Guilty". Guess, as you are such a bundle of authority, you don't agree with the constitution either!

Thanks, lajoya, that was a great letter.

He absolutely did not give it to himself - Elizabeth Taylor game him that title.

...and he was.

I really have to hand it to you, Joan. That was a classy take on the whole affair. I like that evn though you admitted that you didn't feel the need for insincire worship (unlike a lot of other people out there), that didn't stop you (again unlike a lot of other people) from giving some type of respect to the precedings (after all, a man DID just die here and one who meant something to some people. Quite honestly, if you're a human being, that should be enough for at least some kind of reverence.)

Congratulations, Joan, for cutting through both the media spectacle AND the dehumanizing negativity to offer nuanced, honorable look at Michael. Thank you.

By the way, his daughter's speech did move me, much for the reasons you stated, Joan: It was touching because she DIDN'T try to make Michael "larger-then-life". To her he was simply "dad" and to kids, that's usually enough.

...because by the time the 70's and 80's rolled around, the rise of demographic programming, corporate radio, and specific formats had re-segregated stations into "Hard Rock," "R n' B" "Easy-Listening," etc. You would hear Van Halen on WBLS (one of our local black stations) about as often as you would hear Con-Funk-Shun on WPLJ (the local rock station.) :) And even if you were an outlier (a black band playing hard rock) it was near-impossible to get your stuff on any stations but R&B. (And MTV was just an outgrowth of this type of programming.) Jackson essentially re-smashed that barrier.

Any consideration of Michael Jackson's awesome oeuvre has to include his angelic triumph over his brutal childhood.

Clearly, his music was his triumph. A writing in the sky iteration of his love and sanity.

No question, Michael Jackson was one of the sanest human beings of the 20th century.

All thinking human beings have to be shocked that even America and other 'developed" societies have such primitive systems of social ordering and governance, that individuals of such epochal inventiveness and productivity are no more protected than the person on the street.

From the latest reports, it would appear that Michael was attacked and overwhelmed by a swarm of Bernie Madoffs.

This is sad and scary and speaks of fatal errors in the way we live our lives and do business.

Dr Deepak Chopra appears to have confirmed that MJ was afflicted by vitiligo.

This is a disease that drastically reduces the colouring in the skin and is probably more noticed in India.

I am surprised that few in the US appear to accept this obvious explanation.

Personally, being black is not just about skin colour. It is about the willingness to assert the dignity of life in the face of ignorance and injustice.

Ms Walsh, what is truly "strange" and "odd" and "weird" and "dysfunctional" and "childlike" is that once again and even in his passing Michael Jackson is being dissed for stuff he could not control.

The "truth" is, if you or I could control everything, we would raise the bestest teenagers in the world.

But that ain't gonna happen and thank god for that.

Welcome to India's Musical Salaam To Michael Jackson

http://spriteleesathya.blogspot.com/