Valentine's Day 2001 I spent with Michael Jackson and 3,000 of his most adoring fans.
At the time the "King of Pop" and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach had started an initiative
called "Heal the Kids" which aimed to "restore children's 'birthright of nurturing care'." That evening the two were hosting a panel discussion on how parents could best balance care of their children with demands of their careers and relationships and Beliefnet was there to cover it.
Like many Americans, my relationship with Mr. Jackson was a bit schizophrenic: Adoring his musical genius one minute and guffawing along to all the late night hosts' jokes about his legal troubles or commenting on his freakish plastic surgery-aided transformation the next. But that night, I witnessed almost 3,000 crazed fans rushing the stage, trying anything to get a piece of the superstar and I realized that, even with all of the troubles that he may have brought upon himself, he never really stood a chance.
Men and women of every age and race sprinted to that stage, screaming like banshees, throwing tokens of affection at a grown man who stood at the podium giggling nervously, repeating "I love you, too" in a quiet voice while body guards pelted people away. This was Michael Jackson's life and it was pretty much the only life he had ever known. Ping-ponging between the frighteningly overzealous, yet anonymously generic, adoration of his fans and the alleged childhood abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, the pop superstar never had a chance to develop emotionally, to become an adult, to be normal. Celebrity never looked so unappealing and dysfunctional.
That was the day I stopped laughing at the late night hosts' jokes and just learned to love the music and not the mayhem surrounding it.
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i believe michael will be remembered as a great and gifted song
and dance man, who led his peers for years in creating new and
gifted songs. my favorite is "we are the world we are the children"
i thought it had a universal quality to it. there were other songs
like beat it and billie jean and rock with me form off the wall that
i thought were great too.history will be kind to michael and i believe we should too.his song and dance will live on, long after
most of us are gone.Goodbye , michael may your soul rest in peace.
I know when I heard the news about Michael Jackson passing I thought it was a joke. My daughter was playing on this website, she is seven years old and she asked me "moma do you know michael Jackson?" I say yes. Then she tells me that her friends on this website said he passed. So I told her thats not funny. They shouldn't joke like that. Then my son come's running upstairs telling me that he passed. By this time I was really getting ANGRY. Because he's Michael Jackson I would never have thought of him getting old let alone passing. When I saw for myself it felt like a knife peirceing threw my heart. I was in disbeleif, denial and I started to cry. Its amazing how affects so many lives so many ages, races and religion. When I seen my children listening to his music for two days straight nothing else all I could say was WOW. I smiled and enjoyed his music with them. I want to say that my thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and fans. MAY HE REST IN PEACE. YOU ARE TRULY ONE OF A KIND.
God gave Michael Jackson a unique gift, to entertain people and give them a chance to escape into his world of music. RIP Michael, sing for the Lord and the angels because I know that you are in heaven.
I will truly miss Michael Jackson so much. I grew up with the Jackson 5 and Michael in my home. I am 49 years old so I grew up with them as well. The world will never be the same without Michael and his music. The angels in Heaven are surely singing with Michael and hopefully he is teaching them how to moonwalk. You rock Michael!! You are truly a remarkable person and so kind and compassionate. You brought so much joy and happiness to people all over the world. God Bless you!!!
I AM GOING TO MISS MICHAEL VERY MUCH.. HE WAS MY IDOL I HAD MY WALLS COVERED IN POSTERS OF HIM I HAVE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ABOUT MICHAEL THAT WAS EVER MADE ... I LOVE THE MAN AND THE PERFORMER.. HE WAS THE BEST PERFORMER I EVER SAW .. IVE BEEN TO A LOT OF CONCERTS IN MY TIME BUT HIS WERE THE ONLY ONES I WENT BACK TO AGAIN AND AGAIN.. HIS MUSIC WILL LIVE ON AND I WILL MISS HIM FOREVER.. I AM DEEPLY SADDENED.
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