Michael Jackson

As the mass media is reporting, Michael Jackson died this afternoon from a cardiac arrest. My personal reaction first goes back to few memories from the early and mid 1980s. Growing up without a television and as a strict Jehovah Witness, my exposure to popular culture, in particular music, was limited. In 1982-1983, when sitting in a car outside a house while "out-in-service" (when a group of Jehovah Witnesses go door-to-door), I remember a group of Witnesses gossiping about a "Michael Jackson" who was a Jehovah Witnesses.

After Thriller exploded and Michael Jackson became the cultural force he was at that time, I learned enough about Michael to know about his early history in the Jackson Five. At a family reunion at my grandmother Broughton around 1985-1986, my cousins Jason and Robbie asked me who my favorite bands where, I panicked, not wanting to seem like a total social hick, blurted out the first band I could think of, The Jackson Five. My cousins weren't expecting that answer and it shifted the conversation away from my lack of knowledge about Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Ozzie Osborne, and other hard, and heavy-metal bands popular with everyone.

My feelings are mixed on hearing of his passing. Michael Jackson was a great musician and entertainer but he also had the ugly associations of child exploitation and other lifestyle oddness. I'll enjoy the musical tributes, indulge in the gossip and facts of his life as they consume popular and online media, and finally smile when I hear him sing Billie Jean.