Michael's Departure: One Month Later

CLEVELAND - Michael Jackson's sudden and shocking death occurred one month ago today and it continues to be a very sad and frustrating reality for me to accept.

I love him so very much.

The memories of that day, June 25, 2009, are still extremely painful and indelible for me. In the 30 days since, I have been both delighted and appalled at the way the media has portrayed and remembered his life. Of course Michael was incredibly complicated, that tends to happen when one becomes an international star in their teens and a global obsession in their twenties.

But the vilification of Michael has been disgusting.

Many people have talked endlessly of the child molestation allegations levied against him, both in 1993 and again in 2003 (which he was acquitted of in 2005). They've talked of his addiction to pain medication and his extensive plastic surgery. They've talked of his excessive spending and subsequent debt. In short, they've cleaned out his closet.

I'm not saying these things don't matter when defining his life and legacy; they do. I just wish that the people who drag his name through the mud would also give him credit for being such a positive, selfless and inspirational figure worldwide for four decades. Just once, can his critics see his colossal achievements and financial contributions to the planet as a good thing?

In a small way, he really did "heal the world!"

A couple weeks ago, stunning video was released of Michael's ill-fated Pepsi commercial shoot during which he suffered major burns to his scalp and face. The event took place 25 years ago, but the footage has only surfaced now. If anything, the graphic nature of the video, in which flames ignite his hair as he descends a staircase oblivious to the dire situation upon him provides a disturbing visual of the severity of that long ago tragedy. It is said to have been the genesis of his addiction to pain medication, which may have, in part led to his demise.

The past month has also proven his music legacy to be immortal. Enormous sales spikes have placed many of his timeless, classic tunes at the top of the charts as grieving fans the world over have sought solace in his scintillating music. Iconic short films from 1979's Off the Wall, 1982's Thriller, 1987's Bad and 1991's Dangerous have garnered major play on television and for those of us that adored Michael, made us smile with the memories of the first time we saw those brilliant videos.

With an endless and tangled web of legal matters yet to be hashed out by his attorneys, I refuse to delve into it. Michael himself is always what's mattered to me most and his gigantic impact on my life will never be compromised or diminished.

He had his demons and his flaws just like the rest of us, but Mr. Michael Joseph Jackson was a true gift that this world received, but never deserved.

I love you, Michael.

With Michael, The World Was Hypocritical Idiots

CLEVELAND - Michael Jackson has been hailed as a beloved icon by media and fans alike during the past few days since he tragically left us. But truthfully, Michael was always torn apart by critics and the general public during his life for his every decision and even his appearance.

Typical and hypocritical.

What angers me most is how so many people judged him without realizing that he was always exactly like all of us; human. Each and every one of us was born with a talent for something that we felt confident about and excelled at. Michael was born with immense gifts and talents as a singer and dancer and when in the studio and on stage, he was a confident juggernaut. On the flip side, all of us have things about our physical appearance that we either don't like or flat out hate.

Everyone has insecurities.

We don't like our hair. Our eyes are too close together. Our nose is too big. We hate that gap in our teeth. We're too short. Our hips are too wide. Our arms are too flabby. Our skin is too dark.

If we could change those things, we would do it in a heartbeat.

Michael clearly had things about his physical appearance that he didn't like. He had millions of dollars, so he was able to make changes as he saw fit. Maybe we think that he went too far in his facial alterations, but it was his life and he had the final say on his choices -- just like all of us. Not everyone would agree with our changes either. If someone tells us we were "fine the way we are," we would still get the changes done if we had the money because if we don't feel good about how we look, no one else's opinion will matter.

Each and every one of us have made bad decisions, exhibited poor judgement and made mistakes that we haven't learned from. But whenever Michael did questionable and ill-advised things, the world crucified him. He hung out with children and got accused of molesting one in 1993. He avoided a trial by reaching a financial settlement with his accuser's family. Then a decade later, he got into the same situation but had to stand trial. Everyone talked about how dumb he was for letting it happen again, but no one ever though about the fact that many of us get burned by the same dumb choices for years in our own lives.

People say that Michael got away with child molestation when he was acquitted in 2005. In truth, all of us are unconvicted felons. We're domestic abusers, drug dealers and statutory rapists. We pass bad checks, break and enter, aid and abet, claim other people's children on our taxes, extort and blackmail. In Michael's situation, he was accused twice and nothing was ever proven. We know for a fact that we commit crimes. We only assume he did, yet he gets the criticism and we say nothing of ourselves.

Ridiculous.

We are extremely immoral. We fornicate shamelessly. We commit adultery. We are promiscuous. We abuse our children. We lie to our parents. We use profanity around children and senior citizens. Michael spends plenty of time with children trying to create a pseudo-childhood for himself since he was robbed of his own and the world thinks he's the devil. We see his tenderness and selflessness with children in his record-setting humanitarian efforts. We see him travel the globe visiting terminally ill kids and getting close to them to make their day and lift their spirits. We hear his heartfelt songs that call for making the world a better place, yet he is vilified as if none of this exists.

Unfair.

We are all addicts. We abuse drugs and alcohol. We abuse food and sex. We smoke for decades instead of using that money (tens of thousands of dollars) for more beneficial purposes. Michael gets addicted to pain killers and suddenly, he's a monster.

We spend money on clothes and shoes instead of paying bills but we dog Michael for his lavish spending. We criticize Michael and question the legitimacy of his marriages to Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe instead of focusing on our own failing relationships. We insist that he couldn't have possibly fathered his fair-skinned children because he's a black man, but many of us barely see or take care of our own children.

He was always there for his kids.

Michael was a shy and sensitive child that had the responsibility AS A CHILD to entertain ordinary people all over the world and disregard his own needs, wants and bedtimes. Most of us will never experience such pressure so therefore, the way we turn out will be the result of our life experiences. For Michael, an entire lifetime spent living up to everyone else's standards and being judged by what others feel to be "normal" was incredibly generous but also, simply ridiculous.

Being insulted and ridiculed for everything in his private life was the ultimate in hypocrisy and was tantamount to pure ignorance. If people spent more time cleaning out their own closet, the world would be a better place. Let's take the time to learn what path in life a person has travelled. Then maybe, we can try and understand the reasons why they are the way they are instead of tearing them down. Everyone is different, but not completely.

We all have so much in common.