Having just lost Ed  a few days ago, this answered many people’s “bad news comes in threes” beliefs.

I am not one of them, mind you.

But the two who died today were both very important cultural icons, and they bear some manner of tribute.

First, Farrah.

You can her in depth biographical data here.  As one of Charlie’s Angels, she become a sexy TV heartthrob for the guys, reinforced with ”the poster”, which must be the most recognizable pinup shot of our generation. 

To the ladies, she was a role model of femininity and beauty, inspiring a still lingering feathered hair style (the “Farrah Do”).  Her early roles may have been weak, but her later works showed a serious actress, notably the morally complex Extremities, and the similarly stunning abuse anthem, The Burning Bed.

For the guys of my generation, she may not have been the prettiest or the sexiest, but she definitely one of the most memorable.

She died of cancer.

Next, a slightly harder bit to write:

Michael Jackson.  While I am not quite willing to say good riddance, I am unable to really feel saddened.

I regard myself as a fair and just person, and also a compassionate one.  But Jackson stretched my tolerance to a breaking point years ago, simply because he was so bizarre and so troubled.  For examples, I have two pictures of him that had you not grown up and seen the evolution, you would be hard pressed to believe they were the same person.

For all practical purposes, Jackson started his life as an amazingly gifted young black boy, and ended it as a messed up and uber eccentric white man.

The pictures tell the story.   It doesn’t matter to me whether he bleached his skin, as some insist, or if he had Vitiligo as he claimed, that that his skin lightened naturally or even a combination as some believe he had Vitiligo and lighten his normal skin for consistency. 

What was more striking was his radical complete change of appearance due to repetitive plastic surgeries, which left him a scarred caricature  of a human.

During his life he was a legend in pop music, creating dance styles, musical styles, standards in production and ticket and record sales that are still not rivaled by any of his peers.  But in his later years, things changed.

There were the accusations of child molestation that followed him throughout his adult life, and caused him to pay millions in settlement (hush) money, along with the systemic double standard his celebrity status gave him.  No regular man could have weathered such accusations and behavior and still kept his kids.

The accusations were never proven though they exist to this day, and in reality they are his own fault.  A 40 something man having sleepovers with adolescent boys and giving them alcohol would never has passed any normal sniff test, and coupled with rumors of warning systems to alert him to people approaching his bedroom, it painted a picture of a serial rapist.

As a father of three kids (no I am not going to deal with the accusations they are not his) he should have faced intense court scrutiny during his molestation trial, but his celebrity shielded him from the normal consequences of such accusations, as it had shielded him from the consequences a normal parent would have faced after dangling their child over a 4th story balcony railing shortly before that, and other strange behavior.

I am going to be candid.  As I said, I feel no particular sadness for his death, because to me, Michael Jackson, the child star and amazing singer/performer I grew up admiring, died decades ago when his personal whims become his trademark more than his talent.

I feel for his family.  They have had to endure the conflicting emotions as they loved him, and still watched him implode.  I wish they had been more ready to talk to him, and to stop him from his self destruction.

And I do feel for his kids.  Being named ‘Prince’ Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II aka Blanket is…well, you make the call.  Growing up in his shadow will be a blessing and a curse, as the world will be handed to them by some while they will be freaks and oddities to others.

To his fans, I have no comment.  I will sit back and watch as the world mourns and wonder at the overriding belief that some people have in the face of such a harsh reality.

What does it really say about our culture when a man like him reigns as a national heartthrob despite actions that would have jailed anyone else?  He can sing and dance, he can do no wrong.

The abject hero worship is really more troubling to me that anything else.

And to his victims, assuming the rumors are true, I hope you find peace as you watch your abuser hailed and mourned.

The king of pop is dead and the world will mourn. 

A few last thoughts:  A couple comments in various places sums up another aspect of this:

What gets me the most and is a perfect example of how the media rules our view of what is really going on in this world, is the line up of news stories for the day…..

Michael Jackson dies
Farrah Fawcet dies
Unfaithful Govenor
and lastly…..North Korea threatens nuke attack if provoked by the U.S

UM HELLLLLLOOOO???? Gee i’m so sorry about the famous people dropping off the face of the earth but i’m a bit more concerned with the whole human race being fried at this moment….Does anyone see the insanity here???

And:

today, thousands upon thousands of quiet, hard working, hard loving, fairly nornal people died, beyond the pale of any spotlight or headline. 

Both are very true and I am complicit.  Look how long I have written on this and how little on many more important issues.

I am my own worst enemy.  I may be criticizing it, but I am still trapped by a desire to be a part of it.

 Trackposted to Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, Sister Toldjah, The Virtuous Republic, The Pink Flamingo, Rosemary’s Thoughts, third world county, , Woman Honor Thyself, and DragonLady’s World, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.