In the weeks following Michael's death, the most his loving nurturing father, Joe Jackson, would say to Larry King or ABC when he was pressed to elaborate on his accusation of murder was "something went wrong". And that's the very same thing Latoya Jackson said both in her one on one interview with Barbara Walters and again this week as one of the co-hosts on The View. Yes, LaToya Jackson on The View. Barbara Walters, you go girl! Still striking gold with the gets Miss Thang!

Remember when LaToya's ex husband, Jack Gordon, kidnapped and brainwashed her to make all those statements about how her father sexually molested both her and Rebbie, and how her mother had shown her all these huge cheque's made out to the parents of these young boys who were sleeping with Michael? I think one of the most memorable lines she said before she was, um, deprogrammed, went like this, "I will not be a silent collaborator in these crimes against young boys". Wow. Thank god she escaped the horrific influence of her ex because there's no way anyone would ever believe an accusation like that! And remember her autobiography? The one where she details the sexual abuse she and her sisters suffered at the hands of their father and the very detailed, brutal beatings Michael and his brothers were also subjected to at the hands of Joe Jackson? And remember how Michael described in haunting detail, on camera, in his very own words, to both Oprah Winfrey in 1993, then years later to Martin Bashir in the documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" how just the sight of his father made him vomit? How he and his brothers had been savagly beaten for years? We're not talking about being "disciplined" here, which is exactly how Latoya described her father's behaviour this week on The View. I listened to her as she talked about what a "disciplinarian" her father had been when they were growing up, and how grateful the whole family was for the way he guided their careers. I just couldn't believe it, it was surreal. And then she went on to explain what her father had actually meant to say when, two days after Michael died, he shows up on the red carpet at the BET Awards with his partner, talking about all the great acts they had lined up for their new record label. Thank god for Latoya's explanation because for a moment there I actually thought Joe Jackson was more concerned about his bottom line than the death of his very own son. But no, I had been mistaken. What he honestly meant to convey was how excited he was that he could share with the world all of the great music Michael had recorded but which hadn't been released yet. That's what he meant. I can see how easy it would be for him to get those two very similar musical issues mixed up and was grateful to LaToya for the, um, clarification.

It appears as if LaToya is the one who is representing the Jackson family, at least to the press. She's the only one who has given any lengthy interviews in the weeks since Michael was finally layed to rest at Forest Lawn. Jermaine spoke to Larry King and Matt Lauer in interviews that were pretty heavy, but he gave those just after the public memorial at The Stapels Center and hasn't been heard from since. I have always loved and respected Katherine Jackson, all you have to do is listen to her to know she is something special. I've always thought that were it not for her the Jackson family wouldn't have been much of a family at all. She's the glue and I'm sure the whole family knows it. I saw this old black and white photograph of her in one of the many shows broadcast after Michael had died. I was so struck by the power, by the beauty and the strength that she had in this one little photo, it just glowed out of her.

As for Michael Jackson, I love his music. I always have and I always will. I was hanging out at Studio 54 every night in the late 70's, dancing to Don't Stop (Till You Get Enough) way before Britney was sucking on Crack pipes or Paris was doing porn, I've had my eyes and ears on him for years, from One Bad Apple to that crazy day in 1984 when I called his suite at The Four Seasons in Montreal and he answered the phone sounding like a woman, right up to the trial and the subsequent fallout. It is really hard to say anything negative about someone who is so beloved the world over, especially after they die! But the truth is the truth and as far as I'm concerned he started weirding out in the mid 1980's, during the years between Thriller and Bad.

Shortly after his death, MuchMusic, the Canadian video channel, broadcast Michael Jackson Live in Bucharest. I had never seen him performing in concert by himself, only with his brothers, on TV and once during The Victory Tour. Of course like everyone else I've seen his videos and was mesmerised by his performance of Billie Jean in 1983 on the Motown 25 special, but for some reason I've never seen him performing in a full length concert, either on TV or live! Maybe, like Diana Ross, he had such control over his music and his image and just never allowed a whole concert to be broadcast on public TV or perhaps the licensing fees were too high, who knows. The point is the wait was worth it.

The whole show was a blow out, just insane. I don't think anyone has ever doubted his talent, he's one of the most exciting performer's to ever hit a stage. He cries, he flys, people are passing out, he sings the old songs the old fashioned way, he does the new songs the new way with the crotch grabbing and the shreiking, you know, the whole deal.

But when you look at his life beyond the music, beyond the touring and the recording, something really unfortunate started happening. It's called "the cult of personality" and it was on full display in all it's brightest colors way before the trial. After watching the concert video I suppose it's easier to understand why he was so detatched from reality, the way people were fainting was just nuts, it made no sense to me. People react that way because of an image, because of what has become their perception of reality, a reality that was well conceived, generated and perpetuated by Michael and his handlers. When you combine that kind of publicity, that level of global corporate support with his musical talent, that's what turned people into fanatics. I don't think it's very realistic to think that anyone with that kind of following can look at themselves and see the truth about what's really there. The allure and the privelage of the public's slanted peception is just too powerful next to the ho hum of an everyday existence. He probably thought it was nothing out of the ordinary to float a 40 foot statue of himself down the Thames, but to anyone not blinded by the cult of personality, that entire production seemed, um, shall we say, a little off? Yeah, I'll leave it there and let the reader come up with their own evaluation. But I will certainly say that at the very least that's exactly what it was, a little off!

We all know what happened on the first day of his trial, when he had an obvious break with reality and gave his fans an impromptu performance on the top of an SUV. That incident alone spoke volumes about how he sees himself, but as delusional as that behaviour was, it wasn't the most blatant.

The most obvious break from reality also came on the first day of the trial, when he walked into the courthouse. I'm not sure how many people picked this up because I never heard it mentioned, but as he walked into the courthouse he had to stop for the metal detector, he had to raise his arms and turn around so the officer could do a thorough check. Michael was not amused and went through the motions as if he were allowing the search to proceed, as if he were giving permission. This is borne out entirely when you see what he does once the search is over. He walked into the foyer of the courthouse and began pointing at people, delegating, coordinating, doing his own inventory, trying to call the shots. You can see Mark Geragos trying to get him to go inside, but Michael resists, he wants to make sure people understand he's in control, not them. There was only one other occasion when something similar happened, before he finally got a clue and began acting like the defendant that he was. It was subtle, but one day he arrived dressed in a beautiful white suit and strutted into the courthouse. Strutted? Yes, he walked in like he was the new sherriff in town, like heads were gonna roll, so ya better have all yer ducks in a row partner!

After that he started to take the trial seriously. But these were the kinds of behaviours that Michael was use to, that his fame had allowed him and that few, if any, objected to. His guilt or innocence is really irrelevant now. The trial had destroyed him.

If Tom Sneddon and everyone else at the Santa Barbara DA's office had wanted to ruin Michael's career they were most likely satisfied with the outcome. However, any prosecutor who is convinced a defendant is guilty of a crime as hideous as pedophilia has just one intention, to see the defendant sent to prison. Were Michael Jackson just another defendant who was found not guilty in a case where pedophilia were being alleged I'm sure Tom Sneddon would have been seriously dissapointed. But he wasn't just another defendant and for someone like Michael Jackson I'm not sure the fallout from the trial was worse than being sent to prison.

I was sorry to see Michael so lost, so tortured, and I think the London concerts were probably the only way for him to get back in touch with the love he was missing so much, the kind of love that was really at the heart of everything he lived for. He may have found himself out of touch in a world few ever find themselves in, but the love he got from his fans sustained him, protected him from the mundane. It should never have been that way of course, because that kind of love, that level of adulation has nothing to do with the real world.

Unless that's how you perceive it.

------------

Email Cyberdish: Cyberdish@webtv.net

Comment on this article here!



------------

All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal).

	Web useless-knowledge.com