BWC is a True *GIFT*, giving us a chance to all connect on the REAL issues surrounding Michael's amazing life & untimely passing. I am **SO** proud of the sisters on BWC -- we are rising to the occasion, and I believe (tearing up just thinking of him - again!) I believe Michael is PROUD OF US right now.
Sidebar: Good point to Rev. Al's comment yesterday - which I just *LOVE* about, "... before Oprah, Tiger, Jordan, or Barack, MICHAEL made the culture accept Blacks..."
But I wonder -- in a week - in 2 weeks, when we are back to our jobs, our children, our neighbors... what will "Michael Jackson"s life mean?
Will he just have been "The world's greatest entertainer"? Or will we Black folks be able to get the BIGGER issue of his death at 50. Doesn't that seem odd that a 50 year old man, who's -- for essentially his ENTIRE LIFE -- had the best foods, best medical care, always exercised -- dies of a heart attack at age 50.
HECK YES that's odd -- that's *** STRESS**.
I agree wholeheartedly with the sister that WS (white supremacy) is the EXACT cause of Michael's (and soooooooooo many other good brother's (and sisters)) tortured lives & early deaths. I am proud, proud, PROUD to have met you all on BWC, and thrilled to see that someone else is out there like me just SICKENED by what they did to him.
These wolves ate from Michael's plate, left him weakened emotionally, and as you said -- a Virgo cannot live for long in that emotionally stressful state. I know this firsthand.
Michael held on with us as long as he could. He deserved so much more than the bull* treatment he was given. I suspect not many of us who are NOT in the public eye have ANY POSSIBLE idea of the turmoil Black celebs go thru. They are pimped, treated with disdain, ignored if possible, and lied about. Are they perfect? No - they are human like us...
We don't know what Michael did in those speculated moments. We don't know why Michael needed/wanted to sleep in chambers, play with monkeys, and went so deep into plastic surgery.
>> BUT <<
We *DO* know that people got rich off of *HIS* hard work & vision. We *DO* know that his SKILLS (did Elvis write ANYthing?) beat Elvis & Sinatra - hands down. We *DO* know he was AN ORIGINAL, which is tough to do these days. We *DO* know that he forever --- C-H-A-N-G-E-D --- the music industry. We *DO* know that he gave his passion & gifts to make the world better.
Hopefully, what we will learn is that OUR OWN BEHAVIOR - right now - may be showing signs of SELF-DESTRUCTION as a result of how we are forced to live in this world as Blacks. Hopefully, Michael's death will have us all say,
"Ok, what self-destructive behaviors am **I** doing that are HIDDEN SYMPTOMS of being Black in this world?"
Hopefully, more of us will notice & understand that much of the - as my Grandmother would say - "foolishness" that Black folks are still doing is because of severe **INTERNAL** damage >>ALREADY<< done to our:
(1) spirits and (2) REASONING skills.
It takes a TOLL ... ... to watch TV and rarely see sisters be STRONG, (not just LOUD), ... to never see a Black woman as the damsel in distress or be "rescued" ... to regularly see tv shows, ads, commercials encouraging the white women/black man couple, ... to watch news stories about Rawanda, & see images of brown people laying sprawled dead in the street, ... to have to deal with the passive agressive treatment on our jobs from people threatened by our skills, and to know that we are NOT protected like white women, that if something happens to us we are probably on our own, ... to push ourselves to find the beauty in our lives -- because we MUST.
And more to the point, it takes a TOLL to be a Black man and ... hell, I don't even KNOW that part, but I know brothers have a type & level of bull* to deal with that we cannot even IMAGINE.
We've all heard the story about training a baby elephant with a small cord around it's leg so that WHEN IT'S GROWN it will not even **try** to escape because it's psychologically beaten down to even WANT to. The DAMAGE done to us >> is already in place <<. Michael was another horrible example of the toll this silent stress puts on EVERY ONE of us. It's not always a bad diet that leads to our racially high hypertension -- OUR STRESS AS BLACKS ON THIS PLANET IS **DAILY*** -- even on good days!
Sure we press on -- we find release valves where we can -- but not of of them healthy. And the HIDDEN MENTAL torture & torment we all experience EACH day, right now TODAY -- is very, very real. It's why we do the self-destructive things we do. We act WHACKED because of the **CURRENT DAY WHITE SUPREMACY POLICIES & INSTITUTIONS*** that silently guide and control...
... where we live, ... what we choose to put into our bodies as "food", ... who we date, what we think "pretty" is, ... what jobs we take, ... which leaders we choose to follow/listen to/give money to, ... what religious institutions we spend our precious spare time in, ... what businesses we give our grocery & clothing dollars, EVERY month (yet wonder why black business districts don't survive...
Personally, I believe he's glad to be gone from this - sometimes sweet - but always tenuous nightmare.
...to never judge a book by it's cover cause it's what's on the inside of a person's heart that really counts... that is what i will take from this moment
Friday, June 26th 2009 at 2:31PM
Jen Fad
Wow Felicia, well said. I think you just clearly explained why I almost cried driving to work as one of the black radio stations played Man in the Mirror. Because I listened to the lyrics with a new set of ears allowing me a glimpse into the soul of MJ as an artist. He was a gentle, generous, loving spirit whom was never publicly irate angry or aggressive. His fears, anger, beliefs all came out in his body of musical work. It was his most powerful way and ususally the only way he was truly himself..on stage and singing. I often wonder why those closest to him, like his siblings, that really had his best interests at heart, didn't try to help or counsel him more. I guess we can ask the same of ourselves in our own families, can't we?
Friday, June 26th 2009 at 7:36PM
Shelly Williams
Great post Felicia and Shelly. But I think Michael's death was a mistake that is becoming common with our stars. He was in pain both physically and mentally, however he was very stubborn and demanding. Don't be fooled Michael did what he wanted to do which is what made me admire him even more. He never allowed this society to define him and he never gave in to pressure. As far as his parents his father was his father and though he hurt Michael it was his choice to hold on to the pain and he acknowledged that. His mother gave him a view of the woman that she was and it was up to him to determine how he would treat women and from his life I can say that he treated black women with the upmost respect, honor and love can you say the same for the "black" artist of today? Not once did he put a negative light on us nor did he believe that blacks were evil and unworthy though many treated him that way. He was one of the greatest employers of black people (better than Oprah) and he opened doors that would probably just now be opening for us had he not become what he became. White people in america that never would have spoken to a black person was falling head over heals for him while his skin color was still black. He was too great for us and like most great people his true genius and appreciation will come in his death. I am grateful that he died knowing that he can still sell out stadiums within minutes, still has major influence with young people and received many honors for his work while he was alive and could appreciate them. Everything happens for a reason. His death has caused us to think, re-evaluate and reconsider how we treat each other. It made us forget about Iraq, Afghanistan, China, North Korea and all the other miseries of our current day. I can't think of any other death that has caused as much reflection. He went beyond Elvis and John Lemmon and yes he was a Black Man.
Wednesday, July 1st 2009 at 2:38PM
crystal smith
