I guess I shouldn't be surprised

that Michael Jackson is being retried in the media, though the only new thing that has occurred is his death. he was tried for crimes and acquitted while he was alive, and now he's dead. dead. and it's being dredged back up as though these matters are necessarily relevant again. everyone who used to know him, knew someone who knew him, or who had an impression of him based on their observations of him from film or hearsay has a statement to make.

it is not that i thought he was above suspicion when he was alive. i didn't think he was guilty, incidentally, but i thought poor judgment on his part and perilous naivete meant the claims had to be investigated in accordance with due diligence. but, as far as any legal or civil matters related to these things are concerned, the case is closed.

i'll say it plainly. what does it matter now if he was addicted to prescription drugs? barring that live-in doctor having killed him in his sleep, the only point now is that he's gone. and if you didn't care about him one way or the other, it's just a fact to you. and if you thought he did the things he was accused of, and so believe the hoopla is unmerited or grossly misplaced, it still comes down to the fact that he was tried and found not guilty on 14 counts of misconduct--including all the lesser charges. and if, like me, he and his music meant something to you, the fact that he is gone is hard enough without this regurgitated footage of the ambulance.

i don't need to hear from a sanctimonious, hard-nosed "financial journalist" about how dire his money situation was--a fact that is hotly disputed anyway.

i'm all good with the retrospectives that show a timeline of his career--in fact, i want more of those. please. i'm okay with clips and soundbites related to his plans to come back. i'm even okay with joe jackson proving to be the ass he's long been accused of being in the wake of the death of his superstar, i mean son.

Michael Jackson's sphere of influence was tremendous, and as a human being, he was writ large.
and this was first apparent to anyone who was paying attention when he was a child--that Motown 25 performance simply clenched the hell out of a truth many people had apprehended years earlier.

i get why it's important to know whether there was a valid will, and of hearing, once the verdicts have been rendered, who the children will live with. but the actual parentage of the kids? the speculations about what drugs he took to numb his pain? waxing punditiffic about his increasingly white face? this is not needed. but it sure is a ratings bonanza.

i confess to watching--else how could i be so frustrated? the thing is, i'm just hoping for glimpses of recognition, i want to hear from the people who really loved him and respected him, and who are mourning like i am. i want to take comfort in the kindness of their remembrances and in the conviction of their belief in his kindness without having to sift through this rubbish.

i loved what i saw and intuited about him through his music for so long. i think that loving and appreciating his music was probably the purest association a person could have with him, and the truest impression of who he actually was. also, the music was public, and what was put forth for critical consideration. just leave it at that, and while those who admired him are still mourning, if you don't have anything nice to say, just be quiet.