Inner Michael » A closer look at Michael Jackson's life and work

 
Michael Jackson was not who "they" told us he was. A minister and metaphysician takes a look at Michael Jackson. "Inner Michael" is a metaphor and Inner Michael website is a research project into a man, his life and his work and how it influenced the world. Read More...

Review and Revolution

In response to reading Those Crazy Michael Jackson Fans…”

http://www.innermichael.com/2010/10/those-crazy-mj-fans-maybe-we-should-listen/

someone just wrote me a comment about Michael and their experience after his passing. I share it because I think it echoes the sentiment of lots of people:

“Hello, this was nicely written. I felt the very things you wrote about, I wasn’t a fan prior to his death and I actually believed that he was guilty and just got away because he had money but when he died I got curious why the world was impacted by his passing. I watched a tribute by one of the music channels in my country and I was truly amazed by the songs and videos. I somehow remembered them from my childhood. I was still a skeptic and I still thought he was a child molester so I went on to read articles written about him, both pro and anti –Michael Jackson and I saw how the claims were ridiculous. I looked for videos of him speaking and found him extremely shy and when he was around children. I saw how careful he was holding them. I started to question the child molester label people put on him though I still think he let the wrong people in his life.

I felt sorry how the man was set up and bullied by the media and i felt that people, especially where he was from, have a bad habit of raising someone up and dragging them all the way down when they got too famous.

I didn’t really know about his charitable works then but when I was watching an interview of the people who met him during his tour to the Philippines in 1996, all they said were good things about the man, how gentle mannered he was, how he was so kind to visit an orphanage and gave ample donation to a hospital, and how kind he was to the hotel staffs.

I guess it’s true that we’ll only realize someone’s worth once they are gone. I am really disappointed how I missed Michael Jackson’s talents when he was still around but I’m glad I became a fan, not just because he created universal music but because he was a kind person who despite all the hardships still remained gentle and forgiving.

I love you Michael and I’m sorry.

 _________________________________________________________

I want to clarify something though… this post was written 5 years ago on October 10, 2010. A lot has happened since then. When I began writing and answering emails about Michael and the sorrow people were feeling, there was a solidarity of grief among the fans. Nothing will change the soul like heartbreak and many fans went on to create amazing projects, start non-profits and donate to children in homage to Michael.

The media was cruel to his memory because first of all, they don’t know the whole story of how the tabloids operated and how they used him for spectacle to sell their publications. They don’t know how a particular cynical reporter used Michael as a platform for her career and to gain recognition setting herself up as an “expert.” The sorry misguided and selfish actions of one person were echoed everywhere and contributed to the destruction of a man and his legacy. She will have to account for her misdeeds when she meets her maker (and Michael.) There is no remorse and no  recognition of what she did. The public did not learn about the real Michael Jackson until his friends and colleagues began to speak up and they tell a much different story than the tabloids.

The tabloid heyday and that era and its bullying will go down in history as a very dark time in human development and evolution.

The fans, of course were upset and angry and very hurt because the media-loid spectacle drove their grief deeper. I and others called for civility and integrity in the behavior of fans and asked them not to stoop to the trashy level of bullying when addressing the ignorant who just repeated the meme created by the tabloids. For the most part, fans were gritting their teeth and being civil, or at least trying to.

That is not the case now and the offenders seem to be “second generation” fans who weren’t original fans and who were not mature. Many Jackson fans are dismayed by this new wave of cruelty because Michael Jackson was anything but cruel and the true fans know that he would want his fans to behave well and be kind even in the face of meanness. Many original fans backed away from the melee created by the oncoming crew of fans because it was too painful. Michael Jackson was a kind, generous, peace-loving soul and he would not want anyone to be cruel on his behalf or in his name because that is who he was. He was known to ask fans to “stand down” so as not to embarrass themselves or tarnish his love for people and his name.

Bullying is a form of terrorism and has no place among those who would pretend to love Michael Jackson or care about his legacy. There is far too much bullying, an ugly and unnatural trait of human nature, at the hands of those who feel justified unleashing their inner brat on anyone they have decided is not worthy of human and humane treatment. And that is precisely what happened to Michael Jackson– dehumanization. Social media is an amazing invention that can bring people together in solidarity to change the world; it should not be a platform for evil and bullying.

Here’s why that is so important: Michael Jackson was a champion for the Earth. Go back and listen to “Earth Song.” Michael is begging for us to come together to save the planet. We can’t do that until we drop our mean girl BS and get on board with saving this world. Deliberately dividing people by creating everyone you don’t know or don’t agree with to be the “Enemy” goes against anything ethical or compassionate or loving– everything the real Michael Jackson was. So if you are doing it, STOP. We are at a critical point in history with a critical mission.

So, I would suggest reviewing some critical material. Then let me know what’s on your mind. Maybe you want to be part of a revolution? A revolution of compassion? A revolution to save the Earth?

 
 

 
 
The Earth needs you to step up. Listen to Michael…

 
 

 
 
What happens next, fans?

 

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A Little Latin Jackson

It translated perfectly to Latin. It lost nothing in the translation but indeed gained a kind of unfamiliar joy that made sitting still difficult. Some in the audience couldn’t sit still but jumped up to Salsa in the aisles. If the sitting was difficult, the melancholy was impossible. It was equally hard not to break into a smile from the sheer energy of it.

No, it wasn’t a Latin Mass. And yet maybe it was. It felt like worship. Not of the singer himself, although he is obviously painfully missed, evidenced by the raising of eyes to the heavens as the tribute singers acknowledged a brother, now passed, sometimes addressing him by name. The reverence for the cultural impact of his music in its time was palpable. Michael Jackson is loved. The Festival’s Curator Donald Thoms beamed about the upcoming show assuring the audience “you’ve never heard this kind of Jackson” that Succar says retains classic Jackson with a little Latin spice — it’s all about unity and love.

Tonight Public Broadcasting Corporation’s Arts Fall Festival presented a Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson. It would have been difficult to imagine Jackson’s music Latinized decades ago but now it seems a natural transition and translation. Would Michael have approved? It’s likely; in fact one could almost see him lurking behind the stage curtain listening intently, chuckling and grinning as he realized the rhythms work in many musical “languages.” He would have been tickled, not so much from the obvious nod to his talent and legacy, but from the Latin signature and how it changed the music.

The tribute began with Billie Jean as one wondered initially, how to you Latin-ize an iconic Pop song, so American in its origins in the awkward and easy ballads of the eighties? How do you translate from “dance on the floor in the round” to salsa in the round? Well, they did as they added a layer of richness that adhered like varnish to an emblematic song.

“Smooth Criminal” lends itself more easily to a Latin beat– beats between the already dark anticipation beat of some sort of sleight of hand. Somehow Annie seems more OK. The blasts of the horn section “testify.”

Five years in the making, Tony Succar pulled it off with Jean Rodriguez, Michael Stuart, Angel Lopez, Obie Bermúdez, Kevin Ceballo, Jon Secada, Judith Hill, Jean Rodriguez and Jennifer Peña along with the genius of Sheila E.

How fitting that they chose Judith Hill- not a Latina- to sing Michael’s opus “Earth Song. I’m not sure anyone else could have given it the emotion that it begs and deserves. In concerts it constituted Michael’s most authentic and expansive emotional delivery followed by “Man in the Mirror.” Hill was with Jackson right up until he died. She was part of the cast and crew of “This Is It” This performance and all the rehearsals had to take her right back to the moment when she heard of Michael’s passing. Revisiting grief like that is not easy. She has spoken before of how haunting it was to go back to that stage, suddenly meaningless and empty because it’s shining star was gone. She remembers the boxes. Stunned, she watched them packing up a performance and a life and removing the boxes. Her performance echoed that sentiment. It’s as if she channeled her best pathos of self along with Jackson’s. She certainly would know it. She performed as if her life depended on it, confirming Michael’s eye and ear for new talent and how Michael chose well those new voices and faces to champion toward their introduction to a hungry public. She championed him in that performance as if it was infinitely urgent to return the favor. The score is now even.

Wearing a dress scattered with rainbows, itself a fitting tribute to the world’s most visible humanitarian, she sang directly from her heart as she belted out the tenets of stewardship and responsibility to all life on the planet. It is said that when Jackson, who customarily sang at the studio mic in the dark, roared the chorus of “Earth Song” it sounded like a lament from the very lungs of the planet. Judith Hill conveyed that same deep melancholy that accompanies the act of standing on the edge of something knowing that moment will never repeat itself and should it slip by and into mediocrity or distant memory, the tragic nature of it would live beyond words. Or beyond worlds.

“Black or White” come from those who are brown, was a testament to how iconic that song is. “I ain’t scared of no brother/I ain’t scared of no sheets/ I ain’t scared of nobody… it don’t matter if you’re black or white, red or yellow, or rainbow… It is as if Jackson was reading tea leaves of not just the past but the future and affirming “Black lives Matter;” “All lives Matter.” “We are,” after all, “the world.”

And how would a Jackson tribute be complete without “Man in The Mirror?” The camera, panning the audience, caught sight of thousands of lighters and lights lit not only in memory and tribute, but in solidarity with a man who understood that the world can change when each of us does. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” And that is what he lived.

There is something about the sound of congas and a full-bodied horn section behind a Latin singer that amplifies the feeling of grounding and earthy joy that comes through the cultural tradition that is Latin music. It is the mark of a great artist to bring shoes to the story so you can walk in them and understand. But when you bring skin to the story– and make me live inside yours, well then…. I experience.

Michael would be surprised. Michael would be delighted. Michael would be proud. And Michael, living for a bit inside the music… would be something he loved, sought and cherished… “the other.” Michael would be Latino.

 

 

 

 

 

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August 29 would have been a birthday

Only a racist cares about what color or shade someone’s skin is.

Is it too dark for you? Maybe too light?

“She is so light-skinned, she could pass for white.”

“He is really dark skinned. Probably African.”

“You certainly don’t look Native American!”

“I love your hair; OK if I touch it?”

“But you don’t sound black at all.”

“Is she your child?” “Or adopted?”

“What exactly are you?”

 

Bullying and cyber-bullying is not new. What is new is the vitriolic hatred that comes through the screen when people allow their shadow off leash. It’s good to remember that life has a mirror feature. What you accuse someone else of, already lives in you or you wouldn’t recognize it.

Comments say more about the commentator than the target of a verbal grenade. The comment reveals what lives in the mind of the person making a hateful remark. It reveals a kind of pathetic attempt to externalize one’s own internal aggression.

Facebook and Twitter serve up an opportunity to comment in real time. The problem with that is that there is no thought, no reflection about oneself when something is lobbed onto social media in reactionary mode. The next time you are tempted to write a hateful or derogatory comment, ask yourself “What kind of person would say something like this? What does this reveal about me?”

Social media is turning into a refuse pile wherein one can throw their emotional garbage. Well that stinks to high heaven! Who wants to rummage around in that kind of stinking sewer? There is a phenomenon that people forget about and that is: whatever you are saying about or to someone else is also going into your system. Studies have shown that the human subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between reality and imagination. It just takes in everything thrown its way without judgment. During experiments with athletes in training, the human body and muscles reacted to an imagined circumstance the same way it would if the scenario were real. Adrenalin, cortisol and a host of brain chemicals are released when someone is “worked up.”

There is also a phenomenon called “projection” whereby what judgment you are throwing someone else’s way is really your own secret fear or feeling. When you call someone else a name, it is coming from inside you and is something that you won’t acknowledge because it’s uncomfortable.

These are good things to remember about the mechanics of bullying. The emotional impact is hormonal as well and affects all parties involved. The bully, the bullied and anyone observing is traumatized by the act of bullying. The bully is absorbing the hate into self also because that is where it originates, the bullied person is traumatized and the observer has the same internal reaction as if he/she were the victim. We humans, it turns out, are hard-wired for compassion. It’s part of who we are. We have to learn how to be mean and work at it because it isn’t our natural state.

You are what you think about all day. You are what you place into your consciousness. Think about the trending you inhabit (yes you are feeling/experiencing it internally) all day long. It’s your bubble; what’s inside that bubble all day long? Are you looking for the good in people or are you looking for the faults and failings? If so, why? Someone who is constantly pointing out the failures of others because they don’t live up to some fictional standard, is really insecure—otherwise why the need to disrespect others? There is no quotient of power that you gain from bullying someone. Nothing is added to you. Quite the contrary. You assimilate the hatred into your own body and it diminishes your soul.

It’s getting ugly out there. Where did all this ugliness come from? Well, if you think about it, media has created the habit of looking for the sensational, the ugly, the traumatic, the scandalous. The trend was started and capitalized upon by the tabloids that made millions feeding you the dark side of human nature. “Entertainment” Magazines, TV, and late night comics seized upon that same trend. So we have been fed our own manure for a long time now. We consume shadow instead of brilliance.

When people are fed their own darkness consistently, what is their mind doing? What kind of thought habits are being formed? What do we learn to look for? The way people shine? Or the way they stumble or make mistakes? We aren’t a very forgiving bunch, are we? Yet, it is not ours to judge, is it?

So being fed darkness and tragedy and garbage for decades has made us monsters too often for us to be comfortable about it. All the darkness has created a need to feel good somehow, and we practice trying to feel good or elevate ourselves by putting someone else down. We have created an artificial need to feel privileged or superior. The way we do that is by diminishing someone else.

Take racism, for example. It’s very prominent in our culture right now. It’s a convenient way to project our own hatred, garbage and need for superiority. We are a race of beings in big trouble. We trash others and we trash the planet instead of caring for others and stewarding our planet. We throw people away. We throw the planet away and eventually we will throw ourselves away.

So I am asking us to think a little deeper about self and what we contribute to society, to the collective consciousness and to the planet. Begin by observing where your mind goes and the aggressions and micro-aggressions you demonstrate every day.

If we are going to save this planet and the human race (headed for destruction) do you think we need more competition or more cooperation? More criticism or more compassion? We won’t work together if we don’t learn how to have compassion for others and treat them the way we would like to be treated. If we see them as competitors, someone has to “win” and someone has to “lose.” That won’t help us all win the struggle we are having with ourselves. It’s going to take the collective to fix what is broken on Planet Earth. We are going to have to recognize that we’re all in this together to mend the human race and our home, this planet.

Racism glaringly stands in the way of that.

It’s one of our biggest social problems. It contributes to every facet of society—lifestyle, fiscal wellness, community wellness, law enforcement, the prison system, schools, politics, and the general social welfare. It affects us personally whether we recognize it or not.

There have been a number of unjustified killings of black men by police—those who are supposed to serve and protect. Do you suppose they might be feeling the shadow too? They certainly encounter it more than the light side of the human race. And they are so quick to respond. Is that because we are all trigger happy? Do you “fire off” cheap shots on social media without thinking? Are the police just reflecting what we all are doing?

The killing of black men cavalierly is not new. It’s been going on for decades. Racism is so institutionalized that we don’t notice these things unless we’re black. Black people have been living with this since the days of the colonists and slavery. If you don’t believe it, rent or check out of the library, Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing.” The film was released in 1989 but you will find parallels to what is going on today on the streets of our cities. Not much has changed. However, if you are not black or a dark skinned minority, you don’t have an awareness of the dangers. That’s called White Privilege.

White people don’t have to sit down with their young teen boy and give him the lecture about “when the police stop you…” Not if; when. An encounter with the police for a black youth is inevitable. And it’s not likely to go well. Black parents have to sit down with their own child and tell them how to stay alive. It happens to every black youth, and every day.

White privilege is very real. It would be a good idea to educate yourself if you’re white about the privileges you enjoy just because of the hue of your skin. Two recent cases illustrate the glaring differences in police encounters. A red-haired and freckled white youth carrying a gun was stopped and questioned about carrying a firearm and he told police he was contributing to making the appearance of guns in public “more comfortable” and they let him go, while a black man in the toy section of a store who was holding a toy gun was shot dead immediately when the police arrived in answer to a call by a fellow shopper. The state in which this occurred is an “open carry” state meaning it is lawful to carry a loaded firearm. He was holding a toy.

There are a host of micro-indignities and micro-aggressions that people of color must consistently endure. Racism in little bits, bytes and bites. People of color suffer these micro-aggressions regularly. You might want to know what they are. http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/racial-microagressions-you-hear-on-a-daily-basis#.aj2y3nE4l

And African Americans are deliberately targeted. Especially visible or well known ones. For example, now comes Shaun King, “Black Lives Matter” activist who is “too white” to be black. Bullied, verbally pummeled on social media, threatened with bodily harm and even his life, Shaun King is forced to reply to charges that he is “the wrong color.”

By whose standards? Who determines too black or too white or black as white or white as black? Where are the guidelines written? Show me the book that is the final authority. Or the principles in someone’s imagination in overtime.

Compelled to answer the charges that began with a vitriolic amateur blogger with agenda and obviously uncomfortable with a race discussion in America and were picked up by the Breitbart website and its kind. Then maintream media piled on—entering the fray without restraint, fact-checking or talking with the target of all the spewing hatred. That hatred aimed at—think about it—someone who is a stranger to all of them.

Shaun King was eloquent in his response and more civil than deserved, to an audience that was hostile and vulgar and bent on shaming him and his family. Actually, he garnered more respect by the savvy and lofty way he handled himself. But the fact remains that a complete stranger was pushed until he felt compelled to reveal very private feelings and experiences, including the sex life of his mother—something that the rest of us are not ruthlessly prodded to do. How would you like to talk about your family’s sexual history and worse yet, reveal the sex life of your parents? Does that sound to you like friendly discourse? When did someone’s humanity come to mean so little? When did humanity, the collective, become so cold?

The Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials and Romans throwing Christians to the lions is history. How is virtually dismembering someone with words any different than tearing them limb from limb in an arena to satisfy some sick need for violence and to feel superior? Weren’t enough Jews exterminated in Hitler’s camps? Do we still think it’s acceptable to single out a race for persecution?

I look white. I was born white. With Native American on my father’s side, I found reason to be proud of my heritage. I come from sturdy stock fierce and powerful and respectful of Earth and animals. The Spirituality of my ancestors was something they lived out loud, and daily. They had no need to feel superior. As a matter of fact, they saw all others as brothers under the skin. The idea of privilege, ownership of others or parcels of Mother Earth was an abomination.

My people were persecuted, killed for no other reason than the color of their skin. Most of the time, by people professing to be “Christians.” The Creator meant for us to come together as a tribe, not kill our brothers. We were charged to care for one another as brothers, and steward the Earth. We have not followed those principles very well even though the core of every religion on earth teaches it.

What is spiritual about “divide and conquer?” Separation? Marginalization? Haven’t we had our fill of conflict and war? Do we secure the future more by competition and conflict or cooperation, compassion and creativity?

So please explain to me how someone else’s skin color is my concern? Or anybody’s concern? Why should that topic of discussion be on the table? Should I be concerned about what color underwear you are wearing? That’s about as personal as the color or hue of skin, or the ethnic background of an individual except underwear can be changed.

Why should who your grandfather was concern me? Why should where your grandmother came from be my business? And exactly what gives me the right to that inquest, and to make some kind of judgment based on that information? Who bestows to me the privilege of deciding who is important and who is not and to diminish and dismiss those that I deem unimportant? And to verbally or virtually abuse them?

It’s violence, people. Violence.

Institutionalized racism didn’t just happen. It had to be instituted and taught and passed down to the next generation. In scientific fact, we are all descended from “Lucy” who came from Africa. Pigment is a chemical reaction in the skin—not something shameful. Great empires and civilizations of the ancient world were created and built by dark skinned people. Think about the Giza Plateau and the Great Pyramids and sophisticated culture of Ancient Egypt. In the modern world, King Tut would have had to sit in the back of the bus.

Let me repeat that for emphasis—King Tut would have been sent to the back of the bus in a modern city. He would have been a slave or a servant and during Jim Crow, would have been beaten and maybe even lynched. He would have had to drink from a non-white fountain and use a bathroom designated for “coloreds.” King Tut! Nefertiti. Cleopatra. Ramses.

Terrorism can come in many forms. It can come in the form of ISIS or it can come from your next door neighbor. Are you engaged in making the world a better place or a bitter place? Do you meet the definition of a “bully?” If you are treating someone with contempt or disdain either verbally or virtually with your words, you are a BULLY.

What gives you the right? Who gives you the right? Most of the world’s recordings of scripture in most of the traditions say otherwise—that we are all in this together. The sooner we get that, the sooner we enter Shangri-La, get back to the garden, or reach Nirvana.

What compels the human to do violence to other humans? What prods us to separate or tear apart something that the Divine meant to be intact? The mind, the ego and particularly the shadow side of the human ego that gets in the way of meeting the savior within. (Oh yes, that’s where he/it is—we’ve been told that in many faiths in many scriptures and even shown the formula for how we can become enlightened and become like those we admire.) The blueprint is there.

Haven’t we matured from the sophomoric and juvenile youth that clamored for the juicy scandal so that we could elevate ourselves in our own mind? We never thought about the damage and violence to a fellow human when we traded our souls for the scandal and shadow. Haven’t we become disillusioned enough about the state of the world and affairs to dedicate ourselves to changing it? We must begin and begin with self.

Skin color is a chemical—melanin. Nothing more. There is no inherent value in melanin. It’s an accident of nature what color and who your parents are. It’s a twist of fate where you were born and to what culture you belong.

There are little indignities that people of color suffer every day because there is no understanding of the racism and stereotypes behind the hurtful comments. The often go unaddressed because the person on the receiving end of the battering would have to be hyper-vigilant and constantly on the defensive.

The offense is most times unconscious, can be rooted in unacknowledged white privilege, or ignorance of what is savvy or politically correct. They are little stereotypical barbs that are like fingernails on a blackboard or worse to the person experiencing them. The term “micro-aggressions” was coined to describe these lapses of unbiased gracious discourse.

Do you remember another man who was too white for his race? Who was the “wrong” color? Who upset people because his skin blurred the lines of demarcation between races? The biggest case of bullying on this planet was suffered by a man who only wanted to sing the songs he heard inside. He wanted to bring joy to the world. He wanted to use his fame and fortune to make the world a better place.

He wasn’t a great orator and was basically shy and an introvert. But the creativity and art inside had to find its way out just as it does with every artist. An artist can’t NOT do his/her art.

Because he was such a talented artist, he became very famous and very rich. But that isn’t acceptable for a “negro.” Colored people, especially men, must know their place. And black men can’t be trusted! They’re likely to be criminal underneath, so they must be scrutinized, watched and put in their place…

He knew about racism. He addressed racism in his art. He lived racism. He used his art to teach about racism and prejudice. He knew racism. He lived it.

This man was a consummate humanitarian. He contributed to scores of charities and generously gave his money, his heart and even his soul in service to humanity. He used his very visible pulpit to coach people how to bring out their light, their brilliance and change the world. He was humanity’s greatest cheerleader. He believed in human beings until the day he left this earth.

He was a man who loved. He loved everybody and he was very vocal about it. He was very public about it. But that was a problem in a culture that encouraged men to be macho. His soft voice and gentle demeanor must have been an indication that he was “gay.” And because he was an unusual adult who cared for children—all of them as if they were his own as in “it takes a village to raise a child” and we are all stewards of the worlds’ children. He felt that If someone is poor or hungry or homeless—that’s on us. And he preached through his art that we could fix what’s broken in the world.

In fact, he organized lots of charities, donated money and time and his art to improve the conditions of people everywhere. He felt and thought planet-wide and in terms of all humanity. He saw us as “one.” He was a visionary. He was a juggernaut.

But he was black.

Because he was black, privileged whites thought it was acceptable to bully him. They made fun of him, his gentle nature, his voice, his face—my god his face! The bullying was so brutal that he could do nothing right.

The whole culture projected its shadow onto him. He came to represent to the world, human shadow incarnate. He was beat up by three cultural institutions—by the arts, by law enforcement and by the fifth estate—mega media. Never has one man been so humiliated, persecuted and ridiculed by his own people, by the collective and by institutions.

He was prosecuted by someone who identified as his nemesis using his position and the justice system. Researchers have found the charges to have been trumped up and based on one man’s self-serving political agenda.

He was accused of a crime that is considered the most heinous and horrendous in modern culture—harming children for self-serving perversion. He was tried in the court of public opinion and judged guilty. It was easy to find him guilty because there was a long and established history of battering him. The public couldn’t break from tradition; they couldn’t be wrong; he couldn’t be innocent.

But he was. He was found not guilty because there was no evidence to support the accusations. The charges were proven to be extortion. The prosecutor found to be zealous and biased.

But nobody remembers that he was not-guilty. They remember the accusations; they remember the trial; they remember believing in his guilt. They remember the darkness. They remember the tabloids. They remember being fed human shadow, human garbage. And some people, to this day still want him to be guilty.

He wasn’t.

He was wealthy. He was famous. He was black.

And he refused to ride in the back of anybody’s bus.

He was the most beloved man in the world.

He was the most hated man in the world.

He wanted to change the world. He did. He came back again after his crucifixion to try again. He died trying.

He would have been 57 today.

That man was Michael Jackson.

 

 

 

Oh and one final insult: bullying beyond the grave…


Translation: “Michael Jackson Finally White”

 

“Lies run sprints but truth runs marathons.”

Truth.

We remember.

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Not to be Forgotten: the view at Forest Lawn 6/25/2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 


 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

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Remembering the Man, not the Myth

Today is a difficult anniversary for many. On June 25, in 2009, a unique soul left the planet. Some say that the leave-taking was palpable. It certainly was felt round the world as mourners gathered to console each other, dance, sing, celebrate a life and weep in the streets. It had been a long time since a death found people weeping in the streets. The last time that occurred was when the “people’s princess,” Lady Diana Spencer was killed in an auto accident in Paris.

It’s not often that people flood into the streets to publicly grieve, and to hold each other while they try to hold it together. Nine-Eleven, the assassinations of the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, and John Lennon brought people together in their sorrow as they openly wept in public. It’s reserved for the beloved few.

Jackson’s death set many things in motion. Of course, as was to be expected, the initial response by the tabloids and gossip venues was a kind of exploitive glee in their luck of an opportunity to rehash old rumors and tales of the “strange,” “eccentric,” “bizarre” and “scandalous” life of Michael Jackson. For days a man who had been bullied, mocked and humiliated in front of the whole world as he grew up was fodder for bashing the deceased and beating up a corpse. Some of the remarks like those of a KTLA radio personality were horrifying. And after they finished with Michael Jackson, they started on his fans.

A reporter who had obsessed about and stalked Jackson for years sunk the final stinger into already cold flesh by crafting a story about his crypt and how it was once populated by a variety of miscreants and ghouls. A check with the staff proved the claims to be patently false. The reporter appears obsessed and compulsive in her venomous attacks on someone she disparaged over a lifetime making up or exaggerating stories to make them more salacious. Her training was an initiation in the tabloid industry and tabloid TV. The tabloid industry, in a six month study turned out to be a revealing and very dark place. The tactics are credo in how the industry works. Mainstream media followed when they found that a “Michael Jackson” story brought eyes to the page and viewers to the screen. Over the week of his death, the “reporting” degraded more and more while at the same time people who had essentially abandoned him in his greatest time of need claimed to be his best friend. A gay man and partner of a flamboyant entertainer claimed to have had sex with him. A virile man and competent lover according to the women who knew him intimately, he was far from a homosexual. It seemed everybody tried to cash in on their 15 minutes of fame at Michael expense, yet one last time.

Called a “tragic figure” and fallen super star, it was time for the last cheap shots and the last squeeze of cash from the cow now slain and only good for quartering and carving one last time for yet more consumption.

Since then there have been many attacks on character particularly by certain journalists who exploited his life coming through any information that would make good tabloid headlines. And there has been a trial by the man who killed him and several books– some scholarly, some biographical, and once again some accurate but most not.

There have also been courses developed from prestigious universities, social philosophers, musicologists and more. It is being revealed over time just how intellectual and clever Jackson was with his coda and the symbolism and commentary embedded in his work.

It’s being revealed what a generous philanthropist he was supporting scores of charities and leaving part of his estate to charity, and how he hosted thousands of disadvantaged children at Neverland over the years. His speech at Oxford has been studied and is widely available for anyone who wants to know his philosophy about children. It has even emerged what a wonderful father he was and how bright, charming, polite and intellectual his children are.

The thing about treachery and doing unethical things all the while knowing it’s shady, is that eventually it catches up with you. When faced with a choice of light or the shadow of treachery and debauchery, when the choice is for shadow, the cost is a piece of the soul. Repeat that fool’s choice enough times, and the price is becoming soul-less.

There are now multiple books written by the people who actually knew Jackson and their description of his character and behavior is so opposed to the fairy tale from the tabloids as to be hardly recognizable. As more and more truth of the genius of the man emerges and his true nature is revealed, the harder it becomes for those who calculated and strategized how to exploit to hide their own dark side. Not only do we run from our own shadow nature, but we project it onto others– many times on those who least deserve it. So when someone begins to disparage an historic and iconic figure, look for projections the individual is hiding from herself. And having left a trail of destruction instead of contribution, fear will visit along with desperation. They will sweat. And as they do, there will be the last gasps of debauchery and cover up.

As someone just said recently in this space, indeed, “Truth is on the march.” It would be such a relief to cheer for humanity instead of cursing them all the time, don’t you think? That day is coming. It will mark a victory for humankind.

Man Behind the Myth- new version in HD


 

 

 

 

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Another Word About and From Patrick Treacy

Dr. Patrick Treacy, M.D. from Ireland, wasn’t just Michael Jackson’s Cosmetic Surgeon; he was a friend.

Image result for Grouse Lodge

After his trial in 2005, Michael left Bahrain and landed in the rolling green countryside of County Westmeath in Ireland at a homestead that featured a recording studio and living quarters. Owned by Paddy and Clare Dunning, Grouse Lodge, a converted cowshed, was tucked away from prying eyes and paparazzi. Later he moved to a neighboring estate the Dunnings owned in Coolatore. The country folk took to protecting Michael from whomever was searching for him. If someone told them he was spotted somewhere and must be staying nearby they would answer: “Sure, Michael Jackson’s here and so is Elvis Presley.” That was usually enough to turn away reporters and paparazzi ever in search of more sensation and fodder for “bizarre” stories– which is how every headline began.

What the tabloids failed to say about Dr. Patrick Treacy is that he was an activist campaigning for the release of Nelson Mandela and he’s never stopped campaigning for the greater good all over the world– in a hundred countries.

If you want to explore some of his travels with him, you may find his travel writings here: http://www.treacystales.us/page/page/2686448.htm

About Dr. Treacy

It seems he’s been everywhere: Anatolia, Iran, Kurdinstan Baluchistan and Afghanistan. He traveled the Arab part of the world in the early days of the Iranian Revolution and witnessed the beginnings of Islamic Fundamentalism. He was even held capive in Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolutionary guards before continuing his travels through the lands of the Lebanon, Israel, Sinai and north-eastern Africa.

Returning to Ireland mid eighties to finish his medical degree, he worked in Ireland and then New Zealand and later with the Vietnamese and was present in Berlin during the fall of the Iron Curtain. From there he went to Ibn ‘al Bitar hospital in Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq war. Later in the years of conflict, he was held captive for a period by Saddam Hussein’s regime for visiting the scene of the chemical bombing of Halabja in Kurdistan without government permission.

The Halabja poison gas attack occurred in the March period of 1988 during the Irna-Iraq war when chemical weapons  were used by the Iraqi government forces and a number of civilians in the Iraqi Kurdish town.  He was fortunate enough to be one of the last people out of Iraq (exactly four days) before the 1990 invasion of Kuwait as the other hospital staff were held for a period as hostages by the Iraqi government.

Back to Africa in the ninties, he discovered the magic of the Maasai, the growing silence of the savannah, the early horror of HIV, as well as the joy of the African continent. He later worked in South Africa and was amongst the first doctors to write politically against President Thabo Mbeki’s government health policies regarding treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS in that country.

He was invited to the UN, worked as a ship’s surgeon, lived in Santa Barbara for awhile, worked in Columbia and after the Haiti earthquake. It is, in fact, hard to find somewhere he has NOT been.

Patrick Treacy is a man with compassion and empathy and who understands contribution in service to the greater good.

Michael Jackson called him “friend.” It’s interesting to contrast the fairy tale mythology that followed Michael Jackson everywhere he went and even into the mortuary with the stories about Michael told by people like Dr. Treacy who actually knew him. If Michael Jackson had been the monstrous and bizarre hot mess the media made him out to be, would someone like Dr. Patrick Treacy even acknowledge that he was an acquaintance or even a patient? Would he or the people of Ireland have protected Michael Jackson? Would he defend him now? Not likely.

 

In 2011, I contacted Dr. Treacy to ask if he wanted to contribute something to Inner Michael regarding Michael Jackson’s legacy. This is what he sent:

Patrick Treacy 7:33am Oct 16
I just wrote this and posted it. It’s called ‘Sleep, my Friend’

SLEEP MY FRIEND

‘Sleep my friend! For the dawn will come again in another time,
And your kindly soul can finds some solitude at last,
Rest, as your seedlings grow and sparkle from the vine,
And children laugh and play as God above looks down

On that other morn, as sun will strike the earth with shafts of light,
And ripened grapes shake and gently tremble on the boughs,
As mountain streams stall and turn back around their paths,
The heavens open and each man falls prostrate on the ground

And Jesus comes amongst us, as propechies of the past did fortell,
Your rested body then wakes from the slumber of the age,
Rose scented petals fill the Temple, falling, circling all around
And you shall rise and take your rightly place by his side,

And man shall then forever know all the evil that was done,
To fellow man, to starving child and also to you alone,
The destitute shall then arise, the sickly smile again,
And each shall know your beauty as we stand in judgement of the age’

 

I believe Dr. Treacy is correct here. I don’t agree, however, that it’s going to take until Judgment Day for the truth to emerge.

It is emerging as we speak.

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Black Music Royalty… Matters

Now the thrill is gone. Another icon has left us this week. Another legendary king has left us– B.B. King passed away at 89 after having a series of strokes. Forbes is reporting that the streams featuring King have gone up by 10,000 percent. What will happen now to “Lucille” because nobody player her like BB. In fact, nobody played any guitar like BB King. The King of the blues has joined the King of Pop Michael Jackson, Motown’s Dad Marvin Gaye, the Godfather of Soul James Brown, the King of Swing count Basie and the Genius of Jazz Ray Charles.

While they can never be replaced, I’m not sure they can even be succeeded by anyone. Do any of today’s Hip Hop artists and Rappers inspire you the way the Black Royals did?

It was black artists who first combined dance steps with song. While tap dance by black performers has racist undertones, where would we be without those early days of Vaudeville or “the Follies” and “Ragtime?” Even though much of the history of black music and dance has a satirical comedy aspect and is considered racist by modern standards, it is part of the historic timeline that propelled us through to contemporary black music.

Later, in the nineteen twenties, it would be the Nicholas Brothers who would entertain audiences combining athletics, tap, and ballet that taught us playfulness and exuberance and expanded black performances to movies, radio, clubs and theatres. And although they were certainly “profiled,” it was their popularity and the exceeding joy and perfection of their performances that broke the color barrier in the clubs that traditionally separated blacks from the white audience and had patrons eventually accepting people of color at previously all white tables.

Black music and black composers were appropriated by white musicians and music companies and it wasn’t until the record companies realized there was a market selling black music to black people, that musicians and performers of color were let into the inner circle. That cycle began all over again with the entry of television into entertainment. MTV, for example, would not feature black artists until Michael Jackson produced such a frenzy for his music and videos that they finally begged him to appear (as he predicted they would.) Jackson was not just inspired to integrate the races (“Black or White, 1991) but much of his music, dance and career was fueled by it.

Many of the contributions of black musicians and artists is unknown in music history. We would do well to change that. For example, it was a black artists who made the first trombone talk– not by a mute but with a derby hat. In fact, “Jazz” as a name for a new musical genre came from that same black trombonist– Jasbo Brown.

The iconic Cotton Club became notorious because of their black performers but catered to white audiences and practiced Jim Crowe segregation by allowing whites only to attend shows. Places like the Savoy Dance Club, however, allowed dancers of color to mix with white ballroom dancers provided they could dance well.

New Orleans, one of the true hubs of music, featured black music and black culture and spirituality. Jelly Roll Morton sprang from New Orleans as did “Satchmo” Louis Armstrong.

Where would we be without Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker..

And more recently, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis Jr., Same Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Prince and Michael Jackson…

Can today’s black artists live up to the traditions of their predecessors? The test of time will tell.

Meanwhile, black music lives on as a gift from those on whose backs (literally) it was built.

Yes, black music lives matter.

 
 

 

 

Thank you. It’s been rich.

Resources:
Performing Arts Encyclopedia
Harlem Renaissance: Aberjhani and West

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Every Earth Needs a Song… (Earth Day 2015)

The Charter for Compassion International Front Page News: www.charterforcompassion.org

Earth Day 2015

“It turns out that we are all in some stage of grief about what is happening to our planet—whether we are conscious of that grief or not. Journalist Richard Schiffman writes about this phenomenon in “The Five Stages of Environmental Grief” included in the 4th edition of “Words and Violence”—one of the Charter’s educational programs. It became glaringly apparent in-vivo to one of our lead volunteers and “Words and Violence” steward, Barbara Kaufmann, when she staffed a booth for the Charter for Compassion Environmental Sector at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association annual exhibition at their headquarters in Wisconsin.

Because the problem is earth-sized, (soul sized, really) we can stagger in overwhelm at the magnitude of what we face. And because we can feel so small in comparison, we sometimes cope with defense mechanisms to keep from feeling the grief. Every person Barbara met and spoke to at the MREA was in some stage of grief and feeling things like—anger, overwhelm, hopelessness, pain, despair… and some were even using denial, indifference or distraction to cope. They felt stuck. They felt helpless. As a former nurse, she recognized the stages of grief Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identified in those facing a loss of life. So she listened. She understood. She validated. She congratulated them for their capacity to love and the magnitude of that love for their planet—for that is the truth of where and why these feelings arise. And she told them about the Charter for Compassion and the hope intrinsic in this movement to spread compassion over the earth. She felt the collective pain and she vowed to do something to help thaw the frozen grief, for grief that is stuck in the human heart harms and prevents action. To move beyond the grief, we must first acknowledge it and feel its impact.

“Love This Place,” is a collage of visual poetry that forms an homage and ode to the earth. Produced for Earth Day 2015, it’s designed and destined to take you places that will thaw the frozen grief you may not even know you have, bring you soaring to the heights of raw and painful beauty and leave you wrapped in the warmth of awe and love.

Watch it at your own risk.

“Love this Place” ~A Visual Ode to the Earth, Earth Day 2015 from Walking Moon Studios on Vimeo.

Last year, the “Words and Violence” Project, a program of Voices Compassionate Education, the Pedagogical Institute and educational arm of the Charter for Compassion, released its 4th edition. The emphasis in the 4th edition is on Mother Earth, and how resilient she has been in the wake of the endless ways we bully her. We’ve all heard stories of climate change, deforestation, global warming, pollution, and the misuse of our natural resources. This new edition helps concretize the planet’s reality, and offers hope for a new beginning, with ways to thaw our frozen grief, and transform our concerns into motivation and action.

What will you do for your Earth?”

—————————————

I have an idea what you can do for the Earth, if you’re interested…

The Charter for Compassion International has a few sectors that are dedicated to certain work so that you can come and join a group of like minded souls who are also passionate about your interest:

Sectors:

Education

Environment

Business

Religion and Spirituality, Interfaith

Peace and Non-Violence

Business

Healthcare

The Arts

Science and Research

Communities

Here are just a few stats about the Charter for Compassion:

Members come from all over the world.

There are more than a thousand compassionate cities around the world- cities that have signed on to become more compassionate communities for those who live there.

California is the first compassionate state in the United States.

Botswana is the first compassionate country.

The Charter for Compassion is not just a document although it started out that way. It is now a global movement to make the world a more compassionate place.

The Charter for Compassion is currently the best reason for HOPE on this planet.

So it you’d like newsletters that let you know what is going on to spread compassion around the world… join the Charter.

If you really want to help… make a donation. Or better yet, set up a monthly donation– even if it’s only $5 or $10 a month.
https://charterforcompassion.org/donate

And to keep Inner Michael going, you can help out here by making a contribution by clicking on the gold button on the website.

More news soon…

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Media Too, is a Mirror

Read this article in Italian

Someone wrote, sent links to articles and requested that I say something about the ethics of journalism– given the recent slips of integrity in Journalism- citing in particular, the Rolling Stone article about a woman called Jackie and her rape at the University of Virginia campus. It’s a story that has since been debunked.

Specifically, the reader wanted me to write about the journalistic injustices aimed at Michael Jackson. I was sent an article by a Jackson fan site calling for his fans to take action to right the wrongs hurled at him through his life and to address the lies that are either repeated or made up anew. There is particular outrage about a recent article fabricated by a person known to be a Michael Jackson hater and detractor and who presents himself as a Jackson “family friend.”

The reality is that I have been writing about the ethics of journalism for almost 6 years now. And I have been calling for reasoned mature action. The program “Words and Violence,” a six hundred plus page resource reservoir was inspired by the abysmal and borderline criminal treatment of Michael Jackson and Lady Diana Spencer at the hands of media. Michael Jackson is the de-facto poster boy for bullying. In fact, he once was the mirror and the dumping ground for the whole of humanity’s shadow. For some people who can’t get enough shadow or for those who can’t stand to own the beast in themselves, (the dark side of their own ego) he still is. What people write and say about Michael Jackson speaks loudly of who THEY are being. He still is the mirror.

I have also called, for six years now, for people to get serious about demanding change and I have advocated the grassroots organizing and movement that other sites are now calling for. Only I did it before the fan community was fractured by infighting and turf wars– as if one faction or one person, for that matter, owned Michael Jackson and volleyed for the position of being the preeminent defender. “Michael Jackson” belongs to no one; he belongs to the world. The fracturing comes from insecurity and an immaturity and human ego that craves recognition to reinforce the need for a meaningful life. Create your OWN meaningful life. Use your life to create something with light that pushes humanity forward and evolves the humane in humanity, not that adds to the stagnation or brings more darkness.

There once was an organized effort from Jackson admirers that was powerful in its message and scope. That was before newer and ever more distanced and uninformed fans took to calling each other names and attacking those who were, or were supposed to be allies. It just happened again recently and I received information about how someone whose reputation was impeccable before suddenly turned against peers and it got ugly.

The work at “Words and Violence” speaks for itself. It investigates journalism and its ethics from the first printing press to the present as a part of the art of bullying in all its incarnations. It was inspired by, and came to be, because of Michael Jackson. And in this space where exploring his life and art and his impact on the world with a wealth of experience in grassroots and community organizing and international diplomacy, I have asked for organized non-violent direct action over and over. But it has to be the correct kind of non-violent action or it fails. It has to begin with “check yourself!”

Fans who betray other advocates or get jealous at attention given to others, or use violent and threatening language or call nasty names or engage in nasty public diatribes on places like Facebook and Twitter do not represent Michael Jackson. The research demonstrates that Michael Jackson was a kind, loving, spiritual soul. If you can’t claim those traits as part of how you conduct yourself in the world, then don’t pretend to know or represent Jackson.

“Words and Violence” is filled with resources. A lot of it is directed at ethics and journalism but it applies to anybody who puts pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. The anonymity of the Internet is no excuse to spew immature and vile venom at others. And as one who has spent years investigating this case of bullying– the largest and most vicious the world has ever known– Michael would not be proud. The opportunity for grassroots activism and its invitation has stood since 2009.

I’ve been asking for Jackson admirers to organize against media tyranny for a long time. But when those you have called to help change a paradigm and to step up to change the world practice their own brand of tyranny, the calling may not prove useful. It is damaging to Jackson, his memory, reputation, living family members and all fans– but particularly to those who know how to conduct themselves with dignity. It’s a kind of wounding and it hurts. It has hurt and wounded many. And it has caused many to leave the “family” because they had to walk away from the ugliness for their own sanity.

What is really sad about that is there is a formula for reaching critical mass in consciousness and all it takes is 8,000 true and sincere souls to accomplish that. Jackson fans used to number in the millions. And they knew him well– well enough to know that being uncivil to anyone was not his style.

It’s all about integrity. Always has been. If integrity is compromised, there is another kind of damage and it is widespread. Let me explain…

The damage in the Rolling Stone story, both original and the backlash is in what it doesn’t do. The incidence of rape on campuses is real. Date rape and date rape drugs The most common date rape drugs, also called “club drugs” – are flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), also called roofies; gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also called liquid ecstasy; and ketamine, also called Special K are very real and they are used to render females too incapacitated to resist sexual assault or even to remember it. These drugs may come as pills, liquids, or powders. (Medicine Net (dot) com.

According to “One Billion Rising”- a movement joined by women all over the world calling for an end to violence against women– 1 out of 3 women will be victims of violence in their lifetime. One in three! Either you or one of your two girlfriends will be a victim. So publishing a false story does not help change that statistic. It does, in fact, make things worse because it gives the idea that campus rape, or any institutional rape for that matter- the military for one, is exaggerated. It’s not.

But here’s the real danger in what is going on…

As long as people conduct themselves without integrity and dignity, the tabloid press will have an audience. It is those very traits that they count on when they publish trashy and fabricated stories. They appeal to the lowest common denominator of human nature. They peddle shadow. The reason they do that is because they know humans will default to their shadow when the ego becomes engaged. The soul and ego are two different facets of the human being. When the ego feels bruised or slighted or un-validated, it reacts. And reacting is not the same as reasoning. The shadow side of the ego is childish, demanding and ugly.

The tabloids and tabloid-esque media does a disservice to humanity for it showcases and thereby reinforces the shadow side of human nature. Think about what is prominent in our culture and what makes headlines– the sensational, salacious, startling, scandalous… News organizations have a slogan: “If it bleeds, it leads” meaning that the lead story is going to be the most sensational one and if it involves injury or tragedy, people will gravitate to it.

While this morbid curiosity is a part of human nature, there is another part of human nature that is innate– bright shadow. And this is the part of the human that is generous, loving, kind, brilliant, just and spiritually mature. Which does the media feed you? It’s like that old puzzle- which came first, the chicken or the egg? When it comes to media, did the perpetuation of shadow and feeding shadow stories to consumers cause more appetite for shadow? Or is there an appetite for bright shadow?

It’s encouraging that Brian Williams was called out, Rolling Stone was called out, and Politico mentions these as well:  Janet Cooke at the Washington Post; The Hitler Diaries (various publications); Stephen Glass at the New Republic, George, and, um, Rolling Stone; Jayson Blair at the New York Times; Jack Kelley at USA Today; NBC’s “exploding pickup truck”; CNN’s Tailwind story; CBS’ “Rathergate” coverage; Mike Daisey’s Apple story on This American Life; Jonah Lehrer (fabrication in his book); and CBS again (Lara Logan on Benghazi). Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/rolling-stone-rape-columbia-report-116714.html#ixzz3WnnDmH1Y

Perhaps the appetite for shadow is diminishing? If that’s true, then Rupert Murdoch will be out of a job soon. The man has made his fortune off showcasing the misfortune of others, capitalizing on misery and selling street dirt back to the streets. Who would make his lifetime mission to heap misery and misfortune on the masses? Who would willingly and with forethought peddle human misery to humans? Who would deliberately interfere with the evolution of humankind and hold it back from reaching its spiritual destiny? What has this man done to contribute anything worthwhile or worthy to this world? Has he peddled hope or harm?

This is where we find ourselves– at a crossroads of monumental choices with monumental consequences.

The only way to create positive change is to move toward something that represents the light. Michael Jackson encouraged that in everyone he met. There are countless extraordinary stories of his mentorship and philanthropy.

If the media is to change and move toward integrity, then we (the people) have to ask for it but we are also obligated to demonstrate it, to role model it. And we have to ask EVERY TIME. The fans can make a difference but it has to be done with integrity. And it has to be done for everyone, every salacious or questionable story– not just Michael Jackson– has to be called out. Inform yourself about journalism, the media and tabloids so that you know what to look for and which questions to ask. And be consistent. Look for the “contact” information on a website (usually at the bottom of the page) and write to the editor or a person of authority. Be professional, respectful and polite (even if it’s not deserved) and as you write, keep in mind that you are representing all fans and Michael Jackson himself. But most of all you are representing the shift of humans (humanity!) from shadow to light.

So, yes, of course join the call to action to ask for more responsible media. Bullies need not apply. The first step in this kind of work is to first look at what news and culture you are peddling. Asking the media to clean up their act while you rage and spew hatred and jealousy and PUBLISH WORDS THAT HARM OR ATTEMPT TO RUIN OTHERS is hypocrisy. Be a hypocrite and you lose all credibility.

Words & Violence
http://voiceseducation.org/content/words-and-violence

If you want to know if what you’re doing is OK, ask: ‘Is it soulful?’ The human knows the difference between what is soulful and what is not. The body knows. It feels it in the bones. So ask your bones– ‘is what I am doing soulful?’ ‘Does it lift the human condition or condemn it to mediocrity?’ Some things nourish the soul and some things feed the ego which sends human evolution backward. We’re supposed to be moving toward the light. And Michael Jackson was one individual who called everyone to the light. Everyone.

The “Man in the Mirror” is far more than a song with catchy lyrics.

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Fake Babies

A recent issue of Panorama Italian Magazine featured a story about the designers Dolce and Gabbana. In the article, Dolce expressed his distaste for gay couples having fake children.

He condemned not gay marriage, but gay parenting. Curious, because both Dolce and Gabbana are gay. In fact, they used to be a couple. Now they are business partners that oversee their brand– “Dolce and Gabbana,” in the billion dollar industry of fashion. Their fashions were sought after and they dressed the likes of Madonna and Elton John.

Dolce: “You are born to a mother and a father, or at least that’s how it should be. “I am not convinced by those I call children of chemicals, synthetic children,” said Dolce. “Rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalogue… psychiatrists are not ready to confront the effects of this experimentation.”

Gabbana: “The family is not a fad. In it there is a supernatural sense of belonging.”

The comments are odd and oddly haughty for the mindset that expressed them is outdated, counterintuitive to the gay cause, and more than a little arrogant. The comments peg them as out-of-touch with not just the times but the global movement toward equal rights and human rights.

The backlash to the comments was harsh and swift. The first blow came from none other than Sir Elton John, royalty when it comes to fashion and aesthetics. An openly gay man who is both married and a parent responded immediately and fiercely on social media, the favorite of Hollywood- Instagram.

Elton John: “How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic’. And shame on you for wagging your judgmental little fingers at IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) – a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfill their dream of having children.

Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana”

Soon designer Victoria Beckham and singer Ricky Martin and Courtney Love rallied behind Elton John and Madonna weighed in shortly after:

Madonna: “All babies contain a soul however they come to this earth. There is nothing synthetic about a soul!! So how can we dismiss IVF and surrogacy?” Herself a mother of four and a client of the designers, said “God is involved in everything, including technology. We are arrogant to think Man does anything on his own. As above so below! Think before you speak!”

Diane Dimond: [Silence]

Diane Dimond was the reported who claimed to be the premier Michael Jackson biographer and insider on all things Jackson family. Dimond was a loud protestor when Michael Jackson decided to have children with his then wife, Debbie Rowe. Jackson’s third child was born to a surrogate mother who remains unknown. Dimond protested loudly to Jackson having children that “didn’t belong to him.” Repeatedly and at every opportunity Dimond lamented publicly “those are not his biological children. No they’re not; get a clue!”

Her disgust about the changing color of Michael Jackson’s skin and his parenting of children is evident in all her media work. Note the clip in the film “Man Behind the Myth.”

Man Behind the Myth from Walking Moon Studios on Vimeo.

The outrage about the comments regarding “fake children” and those once called “test-tube babies” has grown. Celebrities have vowed to boycott Dolce and Gabbana and there is a petition calling for removal of the brand from stores like Macys and others.

What’s behind a preoccupation of paternity and the bigotry of condemning how couples– any couple– conceive children whether through In-vitro fertilization, fertility drugs, adoption, surrogacy, or otherwise?

Is it a thinly veiled outcry about “contaminating” the gene pool? Didn’t Hitler have a solution to that?

Is it covert racism? Should the races not mix? Should class and station not be tampered with? (again, google “Hitler.”) Or take a look at the history of the American South.

Clearly some people prefer “designer children.” Apparently a designer sees anything but traditionally conceived children fake. All that science and advancement in human rights makes some squeamish it seems.

Diane Dimond: [Silence]

When Michael Jackson decided to have his children the unconventional way and was criticized and mocked for it, where were all these celebrities then? Where were all the supporters? Where were the protestors against bigotry?

The magazines mocked, humiliated, and violated Michael Jackson’s human rights with their relentless attack on a would-be daddy. But Elton John is celebrated by those same magazines? What’s wrong with that picture? What does it really say? What does it deeply imply? That black men shouldn’t have children? That’s an old racist theme that now and then raises its ugly specter. Just the other day Judge Judy admonished a black man for having so many children and asked how he was supporting them– a question completely irrelevant to the case before her.

Michael Jackson wasn’t gay. Some thought he was and as such, shouldn’t have human rights? Elton John is gay, but he’s also white. Many uninformed then, and even now believe that if a man is gay, it therefore follows that he must be a child molester. Why doesn’t that apply to Sir Elton? Actually Elton and Michael were close friends. Elton took him into his home at a really dark time.

Michael was a heterosexual male (confirmed by bodyguards who accompanied his female love interests to hotel rooms) who was a single dad who loved children innocently so much that he built a Neverland theme park and hosted thousands of them, and who wanted to have and love his own babies. Lisa Marie Presley didn’t want to have children with Michael even though she told him she did. (He found her birth control pills- the story goes and divorce then became inevitable.) He then married his children’s mother.

The defense of the widespread mockery cannot be his relationships with children because he was acquitted of heinous charges later proven extortion. Acquitted in one case by a leaked phone conversation where his accuser threatened to ruin him if he didn’t get what he wanted. (A stake in Jackson’s empire.) And a second family that had hit up other celebrities for money and extorted Sears Company with false accusations that already netted a hefty payday for them. They knew how to go about it. It’s well documented that an over-zealous D.A. had a vendetta and hunted Jackson for decades before bringing the criminal suit against him– where he was found not guilty of 14 counts.

We see what kind of father Jackson was evidenced by his savvy, ambitious and well mannered children. The talent obviously travelled in the DNA.

Was his bullying the result of the prevailing opinion that if a man was gay, he must also be a child molestor? Was the disgust because he was a popular and powerful black man, and a black man turning white? (How dare he! He needs to “know his place!”) His Vitiligo took most of his pigment and medical intervention took the rest as a man who spent his entire life of stage tried to maintain his aesthetic and star power. What star doesn’t? The Vitiligo was confirmed on autopsy. Did he have to die to be believed about his Lupus and Vitiligo?

Or was it the umbrella? The sinister umbrella? The one that saved his life because an individual with Lupus and Vitiligo is easily burned or can contract skin cancer by exposure to the sun? Did the umbrella make him too “weird” to be a father? Did his feminism offend red-blooded males who preferred to manhandle their women to revering the female form? Did his advocacy for children’s rights offend those who viewed children as chattle and extra hands on the farm?

What exactly happened there? Is anybody noticing or reflecting?

And where are the apologies?

There is so much outrage about the comments on synthetic children that now there are even protestors on the doorstep of Dolce and Gabanna. The outrage has swelled. There is little tolerance for superiority and for condemning children no matter their means of arrival. And there is zero tolerance for a bigotry that steps on human rights.


 
Curious that there was all that preoccupation with Michael Jackson’s paternity. When he was being attacked. Mocked. Ridiculed. Pilloried by reporters now apparently silent. When his human rights were being trampled. What was all that? And where were all these voices then?

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