Michael Jackson, R.I.P.

Earlier this week, Michael Jackson, known as the "King of Pop", died at the age of 50 from what appears to be heart failure due to an overdose of a sleep-inducing drug. I have somewhat mixed feelings about this, so I will try to be as fair as I can to this deceased superstar.

First, given his childhood and background, there is little chance that he could have grown up to be anything other than a troubled, disturbed man. He was driven mercilessly to great success at a very young age, he was beaten and abused constantly by his father, and he became so famous that he literally could not go anywhere without being mobbed to the point of nearly inciting a riot. That may not sound like much in the cell phone, internet, and paparazzi age, but Michael Jackson was suffocating under the glare of the media and the crush of his fans 15 years before the 24 hour news cycle. He was easily the most famous musician since Elvis Presley, and there may never be another performer and entertainer like him.

There can be no doubt that Michael suffered from self-esteem issues (see his numerous plastic surgeries), racial identity issues (see his constant skin lightening), stunted emotional growth (see his preference for hanging around children as opposed to grown ups well into his adulthood), sexuality issues (see his farce of a marriage to Lisa Marie Presley), and medical issues (see his constant self-medication and addiction to prescription drugs, which ultimately appears to have killed him), among many other things. It is nothing short of a miracle that he became, by all accounts, a good father to his 3 children, and that he was able to successfully shield them from the intense media glare that caused him to wilt and suffer so badly throughout his life.

Musically, there was no one like him. He was to pop music what Elvis Presley was to rock and roll. I remember songs like "Thriller", "Bad", "Billie Jean", "Man in the Mirror", and "Smooth Criminal" vividly and fondly from my own childhood. Perhaps my favorite Michael Jackson song of all time was "Beat It". To this day, I remember the surge in my young blood the first time I heard the distinct sound of Eddie Van Halen ripping those now immortal guitar chords into the chorus of "Beat It", and I still enjoy playing that song on "Guitar Hero" on Nintendo Wii way more than I should. Everyone from early rap artists to Chris Brown to Justin Timberlake and a hundred other artists most people recognize were influenced by him musically, lyrically, and in their style of dancing.

Unfortunately, no memorial post about Michael Jackson would be complete without mentioning his two child molestation cases. In 1993, a 13 year old boy came forward with allegations that Jackson had molested him repeatedly. Despite a thorough criminal investigation, no criminal charges were ever brought against Jackson. However, in order to avoid a civil trial, Michael Jackson's insurance carrier agreed to a settlement of over $20 million dollars against Michael's wishes. Because this case was settled prior to trial, there was never a finding that Michael Jackson molested this child, but paying out an 8 figure settlement in a case where nothing supposedly happened doesn't look entirely innocent either. Later, in 2005, Michael was criminally charged with child molestation in California. After a trial where the accuser's family turned out to be shady criminals and the accuser's testimony appeared inconsistent, Michael was found not guilty on all charges.

Here is my final take on Michael Jackson: 1.) He was a once in a lifetime talent, who dies entirely too soon, and I thoroughly enjoyed his music; 2.) He seemed to be a wonderful father, and his children loved him very much; 3.) He had an entire encyclopedia worth of personal problems that most of us could never even begin to understand, some of which manifested themselves in odd, dangerous, and self-destructive behavior; 4.) As Glenn Beck said on his radio show, no one truly knows what did or didn't happen with those children except Michael Jackson and God, and the only way we will know if he did anything bad to those kids is when we get to heaven and see Michael there or if we (God forbid) get to hell and see Michael there.

As a lawyer, the system in which I work and believe found him innocent of criminal charges, and he paid a settlement to settle a heavily disputed civil claim, so I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt about his guilt or innocence and let God sort it out. In closing, I guess I would say that Michael Jackson is finally at peace...no more leeches sucking him dry, no more physical pain, no more mental and emotional distress, and no more of anything that hurt him while he was alive. I truly hope his soul is in heaven right now, and that he is teaching some angels how to moonwalk as we speak. Rest in Peace Michael Jackson, we will miss you.