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It was a nasty thing to say indeed because MJ had a skin disorder (Vitiligo) that destroyed the pigmentation of his skin. To make jokes about this is just cruel.
To say MJ was not overly talented is insane, IMO. He wrote most of his songs, including his biggest hits like Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Heal the World, etc. He co-produced almost all of his songs since Thriller. He pioneered the medium of music videos. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest dancers that ever lived (including by people like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly). He may not have invented the Moonwalk (he never claimed he did) but he extended it. He was a huge fashion icon (the zipper jackets, the regal outfits, the arm bands, the white socks, the fedora hats, the penny loafers, the white glove, etc.) - all of which he designed himself. He (co-)composed almost all of his songs (esp. since Thriller) even though he didn't play musical instruments as you said. He was already a huge star before Quincy Jones ever came in the picture. He sold over a 100 million records with the Jackson 5 / Jacksons. But most importantly of all, MJ crossed over to all races, genders, ages, nationalities all over the world like no one has done before or since. He sold more abroad than he did at home. His music still sounds as relevant today as it did 30 years ago. Whether you like his voice or whether you think he was handsome is a matter of opinion. He certainly was unique in both aspects
Quincy Jones gets WAY too much credit for his work with MJ. Here's a demo of Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, recorded at MJ's home before Quincy ever got involved:
It doesn't sound too different from the final version. Quincy Jones didn't even want Billie Jean to be included on the Thriller album. Quincy didn't work on Dangerous and that's considered by many people to be MJ's best work. It's a shame you dismiss everything he did after Thriller because you're missing out on some great music, in my opinion.
MJ was also talented in other areas. He wrote a beatiful book of poetry and reflections (called Dancing the Dream) and he was a great artist in terms of drawing and painting. Here's some examples:
Sorry for the rant You're entitled to your opinion of course and I understand that not everybody is a fan of MJ's music. It just bothers me when people don't give him the credit he deserves as an artist.
Loved Michael in that video. He was such a handsome young man. People can say all sort of things about Michael Jackson but really you can't deny his very great talent.
Please don't call me my friend - you are not on my friends list so to say that is just creepy and weird.. Also i'm not confused and if you read my post you wouldn't/shouldn't have found it at all offensive or confused for that matter... it was logical and based on facts of population in the western hemisphere and based on the very name of your country.
Having said that, sometimes one needs to know when to pull back from dialogue when the decision has been made that the person you are engaging in dialogue with Is not engaging and receptive to anything other than a narrow view, is angry and likes to call people stupid whilst going around banging his head.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentoo
Yes I say so and obviously you can't argue with that so stay confused my friend.
If the United States of America is so horrible, so terrible, such an evil nation, then why do millions of people clamor to get here, by hook or crook?
Answer: For all the easy money that is floating around that promises a life of a luxury they have never known before, and can be sent back home to support their family.
Nest Question: Then, if the USA is so wonderful, why, when they get here, the first thing they buy is a gun, to protect themselves from other Americans, something else they have never know before?
Loved Michael in that video. He was such a handsome young man. People can say all sort of things about Michael Jackson but really you can't deny his very great talent.
Michael Jackson was nothing but a child molesting paedophile and it makes my blood boil that he got away with it just because he was rich and famous!
Please don't call me my friend - you are not on my friends list so to say that is just creepy and weird.. Also i'm not confused and if you read my post you wouldn't/shouldn't have found it at all offensive or confused for that matter... it was logical and based on facts of population in the western hemisphere and based on the very name of your country.
Having said that, sometimes one needs to know when to pull back from dialogue when the decision has been made that the person you are engaging in dialogue with Is not engaging and receptive to anything other than a narrow view, is angry and likes to call people stupid whilst going around banging his head.
You are really special. I was being facetious
Quote:
fa·ce·tious [fuh-see-shuhs] Show IPA
adjective
1.
not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.
2.
amusing; humorous.
3.
lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous: a facetious person.
Its not that other developed nations cant do what we do, its just they cant do it as good.
It's not that they "can't" - they simply don't want to serve the ephymeral idea of a state that is trying to project an image of a happy "medium," culturaly attractive for anyone and everyone on Earth.
The other developed nations prefer to stick to their original cultures and to see ( and reflect ) the world through their prism. That's why American culture is marketed for the rest of the world - (to sell an idea that the ruling country is really "approacheable and friendly,") while other developed nations, not striving to rule the world, feel free to serve their own taste as far as culture goes, leaving it mostly to conosseurs with acquired taste to explore it.
Nest Question: Then, if the USA is so wonderful, why, when they get here, the first thing they buy is a gun, to protect themselves from other Americans, something else they have never know before?
Michael Jackson was nothing but a child molesting paedophile and it makes my blood boil that he got away with it just because he was rich and famous!
He didn't "get away" with anything. He was put on trial and unanimously acquitted of all charges. There was not a shred of evidence he ever molested any child. The FBI investigated him for over a decade and didn't find anything incriminating against him. His home was raided on numerous occasions (with over 70 police officers at a time) but there was nothing to suggest he had a sexual interest in children.
I am convinced that if people only took the effort to do some research for themselves, instead of relying on what the media reported on the cases, they would come to the conclusion that Michael Jackson was innocent. There's a reason the Michael Jackson trial was termed "One Of The Most Shameful Episodes of Journalistic History". Here's an excerpt from the article:
Quote:
Looking back on the Michael Jackson trial, I see a media out of control. The sheer amount of propaganda, bias, distortion and misinformation is almost beyond comprehension. Reading the court transcripts and comparing them to the newspaper cuttings, the trial that was relayed to us didn't even resemble the trial that was going on inside the courtroom. The transcripts show an endless parade of seedy prosecution witnesses perjuring themselves on an almost hourly basis and crumbling under cross examination. The newspaper cuttings and the TV news clips detail day after day of heinous accusations and lurid innuendo.
Few people realise just how absurd the Arvizo family's allegations were. They claimed that MJ kept them hostage at Neverland and planned to kidnap them to Brazil in a hot air balloon. Meanwhile, receipts show that the family was going on shopping trips - on MJ's dime, of course - while MJ was supposedly keeping them hostage. They contradicted themselves and each other constantly on the stand, even about basic things like when, where and how the abuse took place. The family have a history of attempting to extort celebrities, as was revealed during the trial.
Then there's the 1993 case. A lot of people are apparently under the impression that MJ "paid off" the Chandler family so that he wouldn't have to go to jail. The truth is quite a bit more complicated. First, there is nothing about the settlement that prevented the Chandlers from filing criminal charges against MJ. It is in fact illegal under American law to "pay off" victims this way. They simply had no interest in doing so. After the Chandlers received their settlement money, they were unwilling to cooperate with the authorities investigating the criminal proceedings and were unwilling to testify in a criminal court. The criminal case was convened before two Grand Juries (one in Los Angeles and one in Santa Barbara) in February/April of 1994. After seven months of investigation, multiple house searches, interviews of dozens of children and other witnesses, police officers traveling all around the world to find corroborating victims and evidence, strip searching MJ's body, both Grand Juries determined that they had not seen sufficient evidence to indict him. Second, a major factor in MJ's eventual decision to settle the case (which was for negligence, not sexual abuse) was that he was not guaranteed a fair trial. The Superior Court decided that the civil proceedings were allowed to precede the criminal proceedings even though precedent cases described this as an improper invasion of the defendant's constitutional rights. If the civil trial is held before the criminal trial it can give the prosecution in the criminal trial a major advantage because they have the opportunity to monitor the civil trial and study the defense's strategy. They can then adjust their claims and strategy in kind. Furthermore, unlike in a criminal proceeding, where the defendant can constitutionally refuse to be deposed without consequence, a defendant in a civil trial cannot refuse to submit to a deposition free of consequence. A deposition in a civil case, held prior to a criminal proceeding, has the potential of violating a defendant's Fifth Amendment right to refuse to testify in a criminal case. The prosecution can use the testimony from the civil deposition in the criminal trial and adjust their claims in kind. Also, the burden of proof or the rules for admissibility of hearsay evidence in a civil trial are more relaxed than in a criminal trial. MJ's attorneys were aware that a civil trial was riskier for a defendant, even if the defendant is innocent. And they knew that if MJ lost the civil trial it could prejudice the jury in an upcoming criminal trial. That's why they advised him to settle the civil lawsuit and, if it came to it, fight for his innocence in a criminal trial. The law is now changed so such situations can no longer occur, that's why the Arvizo family had to go through a criminal trial first. Finally, keep in mind that the allegations had a huge impact on MJ's physical and mental health. He stopped eating, he couldn't sleep, he developed a dependency on painkillers, he got into a major depression, he had frequent anxiety attacks, etc. He had to stop his Dangerous tour because of his failing health. The people around him didn't believe he would be able to handle the stress of this situation for years to come. They encouraged him to settle, even though MJ insisted for a long time that he wasn't going to allow himself to be extorted this way.
Even after two decades of desperate digging by the media and the police, there is still not a shred of evidence that MJ was a pedophile. Nothing. Mere allegations, which are without exception riddled with holes and directly linked to money, were enough to ruin an innocent man's reputation. I have no doubt that more opportunists will try their luck in the future and one by one, they will be exposed for the shameless money-grabbers that they are. To say MJ "got away" with anything because of his money and fame is quite ironic. Do you think his house would've been raided with 70+ police officers if he wasn't "Michael Jackson"? Do you think police would've spent years traveling all over the world trying to find victims? Do you think police would've set up a 24/7 hotline to encourage victims to come forward? Do you think the FBI would've investigated him for over a decade, keeping meticulous files on his every move? Do you think the Arvizos, with their stories of being whisked away in hot air balloons, would've ever made it to court? Do you think tabloids would've paid people hundreds of thousands of $ to say they saw him molesting boys (but didn't bother to contact the authorities)? No, MJ was a target exactly because of his money and fame. Going back to the mid-80s, the media have relentlessly pushed the idea that MJ was "weird", "eccentric", "wacko", "a freak", to the point that people will believe the most absurd accusations about him without requiring any proof at all. Unfortunately, it seems you are one of those people.
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You're entitled to your opinion of course and I understand that not everybody is a fan of MJ's music. It just bothers me when people don't give him the credit he deserves as an artist.
