He Wasn’t Trying to Die
Rest in Peace Michael.
A Reflective MJ
One thing that continues to trouble my soul since June 25, 2009 is the fact that Michael Jackson was not trying to die. He had too much to live for -first and foremost, his own children, along with his passion for healing the world through healing children. At 50 years old, he was aware of his abilities and had his own concrete plans to live long into old age. During the announcement of his then, upcoming concert tour he told the audience “This is it, this is the final call.” What’s sad is that he wasn’t talking about leaving this earth, he was talking about working himself into a frenzy to perform the quality his fans had become so accustomed. He was telling us… ‘I’m getting old, and as much as I’d like to keep going, I’ve got to slow down.’ And, as usual with Michael being the exacting professional, he gave it everything he had… including his life.
There are many young people, especially African-American 35 years and younger, who remember only the sensationalism brought upon him at the hands of others, or his ever changing physical appearance. They refuse to listen to his music, thus they are robbing themselves of his talent, his genius, his message. In a conversation with a young woman whom I consider highly intelligent, she admits that she doesn’t remember anything else about Michael Jackson except that he was a child molester. When I quickly responded to her that no, he is not, her reaction was “Yes he is. Look at all the publicity and the trial.” Here’s how the rest of the conversation continued…
“Don’t you believe he’s a child molester?” she asked.
“No, I do not.” I responded.
“Why not, it has been proven.” she continues “He was arrested and had to stand trial.”
“He was acquitted on all counts.” I responded.
“Just because he was acquitted, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. What about the child before? Why did he settle that one out of court? How can you say that he is not a molester?” was her rather agitated response.
My reply…”The God in me will not allow me to view him as a molester. I have never for one moment believed that he could hurt a child. He’d hurt you before he would harm a hair on any child.”
The young lady tried to paint a different scenario by asking “What if it was your child? Suppose your child came home and told you they slept in someone’s bedroom, with an adult.”
My response went something like this… “First, my child wouldn’t be with an adult I didn’t know and trust. I wouldn’t accuse the trusted person of molesting the child until I found out the facts, was absolutely sure, and had concrete evidence (both physical and psychological). Even if I were suspicious, I wouldn’t push the issue without being absolutely certain something portentous happened. I would have to speak to the adult (with or without the child present). Jumping to conclusions does not mean anything out of the ordinary happened. It speaks to my friendship and trust in the individual.”
And my young friend said…”Well, you are certainly different that I am.”
For the many who don’t know Michael and can’t imagine him beyond the entertainer, here is a glimpse into the man.
2001 Heal the Children Speech at Oxford University.*
This is part 1/4 of the audio w/full text. You can continue to listen to parts 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4.
* Heal the Children Speech on YouTube
© 2009, Sharon Moore Stenhouse – all rights reserved.
