Michael Jackson

[oldspice]

I am shocked and saddened by his sudden death. I grew up with his music from my early teenage years and enjoyed his early stuff but, although I recognise that he became a highly original singer and songerwriter, I disliked the Off the Wall and Thriller albums.

I will remember him as a beautiful and talented black child, not the tragic figure he became.

[loulou]

I was upset to hear Farrah Fawcett has died and now Michael. Well they say it comes in threes. Who is next?

[Bounty Hunter]

It is a shock and a tragedy.  Thriller was his high point.  A great album.

[oldspice]

I didn't know that Farrah had died.

At work yesterday, we heard that a dearly-loved colleague had died on Wednesday night. He was only 61.

[wjp666]

i've never been a big m.j. fan, but i always appreciated how talented he once was. and to think he came so close to his farewell concerts too.

as for farrah - that's sad. she was always my fave 'angel'.

[smurfboy]

It's incredibly difficult to just think about Jackson in terms of his music now; the furore over his private life has just overshadowed it too much. I'm still uncomfortable about his 'friendships' with children - in the famous Bashir interview he was so honest about sharing his bed with kids that I thought he had to be innocent, in every sense of the word... but if a grown man saw nothing wrong in cuddling other people's children in bed, what else did he see as innocent that others would view very differently?

It's tragic the way he virtually self-destructed, as he was hugely talented, and when he was at his peak (the late 80s for me) he really did deserve the 'King of Pop' title. When I got into music as a child he was the biggest star on the planet, unquestionably. I still can't quite take it in that he's dead, and I hope that despite the concerns many have about his private life (me included) that the brilliance of his music isn't forgotten.

[oldspice]

I think the issue about him cuddling up to children in bed is an important one. The way I see it, it was highly inappropriate for a man in his forties to share his bed with a boy of that age. It seems he sees it as innocent because he claims no molestation took place. I don't really see it that way. To me, if Jackson was experiencing pleasure from the experience, it was abusive in the real sense of the word. It simply should never have happened.

[Bounty Hunter]

Not all pleasures are sexual though are they?

[oldspice]

Depends what you mean by sexual. If Jackson was obstaining ANY sort of gratification from having the boys in his bed (like, say playing out a fantasy, even if it did not involve touching them or himself) then it was abusive.

[loulou]

I am in total agreement with oldspice.

[wjp666]

i'm a tad annoyed... every time i switch on my radio or tv, i'm overwhelmed with m.j. tributes... farrah fawcett dies on the same day in equally tragic circumstances and before her time - so where the hell are all the Charlies Angels repeats?

[Bounty Hunter]

Depends what you mean by sexual. If Jackson was obstaining ANY sort of gratification from having the boys in his bed (like, say playing out a fantasy, even if it did not involve touching them or himself) then it was abusive.

By sexual in this instance, I mean something that involves enlargement of the penis.  Sorry if that was confusing.  If his gratification was joy, then I wouldn't consider that abusive.  Lots of people share their bed with their own kids without it being construed as abuse.  The point here is: Why the hell would you share your bed with other people's kids?  It's just bonkers.

[Bounty Hunter]

i'm a tad annoyed... every time i switch on my radio or tv, i'm overwhelmed with m.j. tributes... farrah fawcett dies on the same day in equally tragic circumstances and before her time - so where the hell are all the Charlies Angels repeats?

Agreed.  There should be a tribute, but I can do without the repeats. 

[oldspice]

Depends what you mean by sexual. If Jackson was obstaining ANY sort of gratification from having the boys in his bed (like, say playing out a fantasy, even if it did not involve touching them or himself) then it was abusive.

By sexual in this instance, I mean something that involves enlargement of the penis.  Sorry if that was confusing.  If his gratification was joy, then I wouldn't consider that abusive.  Lots of people share their bed with their own kids without it being construed as abuse.  The point here is: Why the hell would you share your bed with other people's kids?  It's just bonkers.

#

Most people give up sharing their bed with their kids when the child reaches the stage just before puberty - say eleven years years old. It usually happens as a result of the child deciding it's time to stop. Sharing your bed with other people's children is, as you say Bounty, bonkers and inappropriate.

[loulou]

i'm a tad annoyed... every time i switch on my radio or tv, i'm overwhelmed with m.j. tributes... farrah fawcett dies on the same day in equally tragic circumstances and before her time - so where the hell are all the Charlies Angels repeats?

Farrah Fawcett was so beautiful and I was more upset on hearing she had died than MJ. Repeats of Charlies Angels would be more fun to watch than repeats of MJ.