 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|  It was in poor taste. The man who sang "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" finally got enough. And stopped. Still, it wasn't very long ago that we were all disgusted with Michael Jackson. Sure he was a great singer, and definitely a brilliant dancer, but there was so much other stuff going on with him. We didn't all call him "Wacko Jacko" for nothing. In fact, just two weeks prior to MJ's death I'd randomly heard this little joke from someone on the bus: Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: Because it was a little boy running away from Michael Jackson. As human beings we are conditioned to respect the dead. We all had a relative who was the "black sheep" for one reason or another and we thought they were repulsive. But when they die we catch ourselves saying, "Wow, I wish I'd taken the time to get to know them better."   The death of a celebrity really amps up their value. Remember a few years ago when John Ritter died? There was a parade of all-of-a-sudden lifelong John Ritter fans who praised him for being a wonderful, brilliant actor. Nothing against John Ritter; I liked Three's Company too. But I'm also not going to forget that I watched the two Problem Child movies. Both Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett passed away during the same week as Michael. Billy Mays just died too. I wouldn't be surprized if there were a slew of people rushing out to buy the products he was hocking on TV just to get a piece of his history. In Billy's defense though, I always loved his energy in those commercials and truly will miss him. But I'm not about to buy 6 cases of "Super Putty" or whatever it's called. But back to Michael Jackson. When I first heard of the death I thought it was a hoax. I really thought Jackson faked his death so he could return in a few months with a Thriller Anniversary tour and he would have cosmetic surgery to look like his character from the video. C'mon, it only sounds ridiculous until you realize that it's Michael Jackson we're talking about. So Is it too soon to make "Death Of Michael" jokes? I'll let you be the judge for yourself. After all, I can't force you to do anything. And if I could, this website would be far more powerful than I ever dreamed. I will say this though: It was never right for us to make "MJ Kiddie Diddling" jokes in the first place because, in a sense, it almost glorified his accused actions. The only real victims of the punchlines were the unfortunate children involved. That's not to say I never used the line, "What's the difference between MJ and Neil Armstrong? One walked on the moon and the other touched little boys!" I'm just as guilty as anyone else for that. So we shouldn't make fun of MJ for child molestation. When you use the big M-Word it becomes pretty serious sounding. And people say it's too soon to be making jokes about MJ's death. Well, I guess the old saying is true. Two wrongs don't make a right.
|
