Hey! Michael Jackson died a week ago…but it seems the hullabaloo will go on for a few decades. The overwhelming flood of ‘regret’,'sympathy’, and ‘praise’ for MJ recently serves to highlight the deep-rooted hypocrisy of the world. Wherever I go, I hear strains of ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Dangerous’. Even I almost got swept away by the tide of new-born MJ fans.
I feel angry and sick hearing to the endless drabble of superstars claiming Jackson to be their ‘inspiration’. Well, what happened when he was alive? Was it too demeaning for stars to praise a guy surrounded by controversy, and bankrupt to boot? Maybe they were afraid he’d turn up at their doorstep for fundraising. Till yesterday, everybody loved to hate Jackson, mocking him in movies and labelling him as a paedophile, and this is a direct qoute from Vir Sanghvi’s article in HT. Today, converts to Pop, from rock and metal genres are to be found in the streets, shouting out MJ’s name for all in audible range. Damn, if I could receive so many posthumous laurels and hymns in my name, I’d kill myself today. But the tiny problem is that it wouldn’t do me any good in hell.
My point is that Michael Jackson was as good as any of the talented artists who languish on the dark side of the moon.If anything was extraordinary about him, it was his ability to bring together drama, music, and dance in one dazzling package. Apart from that, his personality had many faults, and it cost him everything, so I don’t think he should be put beside Gandhi as a role model.
So respect MJ for the artist he was, but don’t make me kill myself for not liking ‘Black or White’.
