A Final Word on Michael Jackson

There are a great many people out there who disregard the reality of death. They ignore the fact that when people die, no matter who they are, they are missed.  It doesn’t matter if they had a past, wasted they’re life, fought in wars, or affected the entire world.  Regardless, there are people in their life who will miss them.

The same is true with Michael Jackson.  I realize that there are a lot of people talking about him and his legacy.  Some people know him from the Jackson 5, others  for his music, others for his dancing ability, and still yet others who ignore all of this and focus on his faults.  They have called him a “monster” or a “freak.”  And he doesn’t deserve this…he never did.  No more than you and I do.

But regardless of his accomplishments, he will be missed.  Many people fail to recall that Jackson had a family.  He is survived by his children.  And this, perhaps, is one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve watched in a very long time.  For a father to die, and leave his 11-year-old daughter behind…Children take things very hard.  They aren’t emotionally stable to rationalize things.  And believe it or not, they will hear the slurs and the insults Jackson has and will receive.  They have, and no doubt will be, mocked for being related to the man.  For their sake, for Paris’s sake, please.  Please refain from your facebook statuses, your jokes, your negative thoughts.  Your opinion is your own, and keep it that way.  Put yourself in Paris’s shoes, and attempt to imagine the hardship she will go through.

Show the love that we’re called to.

- Ian