Re: The "Leaving Neverland" Rant & Support Thread
I would argue that the worst time to be an MJ fan was 2003-2005. Because then, literally EVERYONE was against Michael. He had no support from anybody, other than his fans. Comedians dedicated their entire routines to MJ jokes, the media reported downright false information about the case. We didn't have social media to communicate easily with other fans around the world, and us MJ fans were seen by the general public as the lowest of the low.
At least now, we have more skepticism towards the claims. Even people who aren't Michael Jackson fans are saying "it just seems like wade and Jimmy are after money from the estate."
Hi. Just a random old fan school fan passing through in light of the media blitzing going on. Out of curiosity I couldn't help but wonder what the fan community was doing and stumbled on this reply and others.
I thought I'd weigh in a bit. I'm still moderated so maybe no one will see this, but it's intended to make people feel better.
I personally think the darkest time to be a fan was 1993. For those who didn't live through, or weren't old enough to remember, it might be hard to understand why. We were just coming off the high of a few significant positives. There was the television special, "The Jacksons: An American Dream," the Michael Jackson Super Bowl performance, and perhaps best of all, the high of the Oprah special (hard to imagine any sort of high from an Oprah commentary now) where fans of MJ finally got to hear his response to some of the accusations of weirdness that had already dogged him for years. More importantly though, we got to see the humanity of the person that most of us had only been privileged to see the performance side of.
Suddenly culturally he was okay again, like he'd been in the 80's. As a young teenager at the time, I could start to be open about my interest without getting backlash. Then within a mere six months it all turned upside down with the first accusations of child molestation. This was 1993 though - all fans were treated with was an endless array of alleged bombshell evidence - articles rarely shared any actual data, but they alluded to claims that damning evidence existed in droves. You wondered each day if there was going to be an announcement of an arrest warrant or something that made you question your choice in entertainers, and by extension doubt yourself as well. It was virtually impossible to find any article writing about problems with the allegations. The only thing they would grant for you to latch on to was that the abuse was "alleged," and sometimes
not even that.
Most importantly though, you felt alone. Completely and utterly alone. The world largely convinced you there was only one Michael Jackson fan in existence left,
and it was you - and the world argued that you were quite possibly a freak yourself.
What a difference the internet makes. Now you can check out evidence - seek it out and examine it rather than be left to the whims of what the major news organizations publish. You can then examine the evidence that exists, check for your internal biases, and make your best judgement as a human being.
Most important though, you can know you're not alone. You can verify you're part of a community, that your not crazy, and you can share and revel in the joys, and share in the sorrows that sometimes comes, from your shared fandom.
Because of this there will never be a time as dark for Michael Jackson fans as August of 1993, and that's a good thing! I ached in November of 1994 to have some idea of what the strip search of MJ revealed - now you can quickly find out opinions on that. When I finally passed the GQ article in my local K-Mart which brought up sodium amytal it was like being hit by a lightning bolt (I practically framed the magazine).
Even more than the desire for real data though, I wished - ACHED - for a fellow fan that I could talk to.
Now any MJ fan can have that in droves, which assures that you'll never feel like the only tree left in a forest. You can all gain strength from each other, and it is a reason that you can hold your head up and know that things aren't as bad as they appear.
