I finished watched the documentary last night. It's a difficult watch.
I think about how our people have had so much stolen from us by whites, both through colonization and slavery. They referred to us as apes with small brains in their science books. Then, they rewrote our history and even in up into the mid-20th century depicted Africa in history books and almanacs as some dark, unknown, uncivilized jungle. I remember leafing through a world almanac from the 1950s that for the countries of France, Germany, Spain etc had a minimum of 5 pages apiece describing them - complete with color photographs. They had one page for the entire continent of Africa - with zero photos or illustrations. An entire continent of 54 countries was all compressed into a single paragraph that began, "Little is known about the dark continent".
Our heroes are vital to us because they dispel the centuries old lies of the oppressor surrounding who we are and the greatness we are capable of. In an American society soaked in white supremacy, being able to look to great people like Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Nina Simone and such is like an exorcism of and a middle finger to the poisonous lies promulgated by a racist system.
And so then there is Michael Jackson, a Black man who was perhaps the greatest American entertainer in the history of this country. We've grown up with his presence. Some of us were kids who literally grew up with him- his amazing talent a source of pride and also the soundtrack to our lives. We loved him and his family. The Jackson clan was like our royal family.
I have always seen Michael Jackson as proof that there could still be goodness and purity in the world - a man of great compassion, a prolific humanitarian, protector and respecter of children and a helper of sick and downtrodden people. I always rooted for his innocence through all these legal proceedings leveled against him. Speaking honestly, still some things were disturbing. As much of a fan of his music as I've always been, would I have let a child of mine be alone with him him for extended periods of time? No I wouldn't, just as I would not with any non-relative adult as well as many who are relatives. Was MJ capable of hurting children?
The status of our Black icons is important to our collective Black psyche. It's really difficult to accept the possibility that someone we looked up to might also be a predator. Where I'm at personally on the subject is that knowing how much time he spent alone with children and continuing to say that he absolutely never could have messed with any, is unrealistic. He wasn't a god, he was a human being. Also, we can't defend him by saying he was a grown child innocently and naively reliving his childhood through kids - but then turn around and uplift him for the shrewd businessman he was.
This too was Michael Jackson:
"Perhaps the best move of Jackson's financial career was one that had nothing to do with his own music. In 1985, he shelled out $47.5 million to buy a publishing catalog that included 250 Beatles songs. Ten years later Sony paid Jackson $90 million for half the rights, forming a joint venture called Sony/ATV.
Today, the Jackson estate and Sony share ownership of the catalog, which now boasts half a million songs including titles by Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Eminem and other artists. Insiders place the catalog's value somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 billion, based on estimated proceeds of $50 million to $100 million per year. The estimate marks a 3,000% increase in value from the catalog's initial purchase price -- better than the 1,650% return on Class A shares of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway since 1990."
MJ was a man with a childlike demeanor, but he was by no means a man with the mental capacity of a child. He was a musical and a financial genius.
The documentary was compelling. It's long as hell, so it took a couple sittings to get through. It was also detailed not just in terms of fucked up pedo methodology but as far as locations and events and family involvement goes. I don't want to but I gotta say, a very good case was made for his guilt. I recommend to watch the doc - not to prove MJ's guilt, but because it's impossible to accurately comment on it if you haven't watched it. Draw your own conclusions as to whether or not Michael was guilty.
Dude got all this money and goons. Wonder why people not talking or flip flopping. Little boys and square families man. 
This bitch should just die.
