I agree and I was truly hoping this thread - an serious invasion of some people's privacy - could be closed.
There are things I must add to this already public problem, because certain opinions cannot be overlooked. Michael Jackson was not washing his dirty laundry in public. He began addressing his childhood issues as a way to make people understand he cannot keep being misunderstood and laughed at forever, because he was and is still thought by many as a "wacko", a "weirdo", a child abuser, a plastic surgery addict, a painkiller addict, a closeted homosexual and the like. "Why are you behaving like this?", "Why are you estranged from your family?" "Why are you secluded?", "Why don't you speak up and stop being secretive"? "Why you keep whining in your songs? Is it for real?" Those questions have been made endless times somehow, even subconsciously, a flood of rumors overwhelmed him from his early years, from the most stupid to the most disgusting ones. He kept his skin condition hidden for so many years; he kept his relationships or friendships hidden in order to keep the family's name untainted, until the rumors became unbearable so he had to speak, eventually, beggining with 'Moonwalk" partially. The phone tapes reveal an extremely wounded soul in need for love and understanding, a person in a cold world trying to find comfort in and outside his family. Everyone was expecting things from him, and his father used to treat him as a commercial product, also his siblings wanted to have a share of his success, some reaching the point of speaking publicly things that deteriorated their relationship. I am not attacking any member of the family and am able to empathise and want to see justice seen.
How much more a person can take? Michael had to answer some questions, because he was forced by the consequences, and he did; he had to speak out his love for children, because he was hurt by how people accused him in courts of law; in spite of all that, he is a forgiving person and not once did he publicly say anything wrong about any other member of the family, just that he was made fun of by his brothers as well, not with rancour or anything, but with an outstanding sadness. Everyone's level of sensitivity is different, and Michael's happened to be major and was still able to suffer alone; in those tapes, he spoke about how he would keep things to himself and turn the other cheek, leave places, instead of retaliating on people and scream at them and create conflicts. He needed a break from his family as well (though he always was in contact with his mother), in order to heal; did it ever occur to people why his other members of his family did not look for him themselves, instead of only by phone, instead of complaining publicly that they cannot get to speak to him? They expected him to appear to them, without asking themselves about his wounded soul; that was not childish behaviour, that was misunderstanding. To him, those things hurt him deeply, too many people hurt him, as he was more sensitive than all of them, yet diplomate enough to ackowledge his sincere love for his family and concern for the world whenever he could, publicly or not. Today, he appears to be more serene than ever. It all begins with childhood; Michael was never a spoiled child, he met life the hard way and when you are called all those things above, when you are are treated in the way you are and sued left and right, when you have skin conditions, you have to speak somehow. His sister, Janet, or any other member was not called any names by the media, not even after the overreacted Superbowl incident. Michael has always been the most understood one and the most victimized one, because he dared to be different and independent; it all began with his sister La Toya's book (in his Moonwalk he even tries to subdue the effects of that book by not telling everything he knows and by right...up to a point), and not once did he bash his sister or other people, ex-wives and stuff when being bashed by them. That is gentlemanly behaviour.
Did it ever occur to some people what it is like to be him? That getting whipped and laughed at as a little boy must have delved that deep into his heart, because of his extremely sensitive nature? Most of you, if not all, would have been dead by now, after all the traumatic experiences he endured, and he still is a serene person, in spite of it all. Michael had to speak, but he also stopped from speaking, out of respect for him and his family; and, when given the circumstances at some point in his life, he had to speak. Funny with this paradox: people complain he isn't speaking to clear his name, contrary to that he is seen as an impaired person, at the same time they want him to shut up and keep things to himself until he bursts, and lets himself drowned in rumors. He saw that there was not much point in trying to justify anything to anyone, so he stopped addressing any type of rumours, like he used to: "People are crazy".
Other families have went through beatings and cheatings and the like, but, as I said before, the level of sensitivity in people is different, and their way of life is too. he is an international star, the most famous on the planet, and the most victimized one. he is not your average John Doe, wanting to deal with certain things that are injust. Do you think that having material things on a silver platter and prestige were truly Michael's life blessings and he should stop whining about them? According to him, they are not, obviously. He is a father and an outstanding person, in spite of certain flaws,and he still is better than most people. To him, disciplining a person means not beating a person, but treating it with respect and love; look at his children, he does whatever he can do for them, to detach them from his life.
Focus on the present, instead. I can't believe I had to go through intimate things again and postpone a serious project for this, but whatever it takes; I cannot and will not let people attribute wrongful deeds to a person from certain perspectives, without considering all aspects of a problem or at least more, based on facts and common sense. Try to empathize more with a person;s situation, and yes, even Janet's.
I'm done, sorry again for being long.
