“Thriller” will forever be one of my favorite songs, videos, and cultural phenomenons. From the subject matter itself to the ghoulish dance number which is still being imitated to this day, what other song can claim to have Vincent Price rapping?
On the man himself, heavy was the head that wore the crown, even upon the self-proclaimed “King of Pop.” Then I read things like this from people I know:
I think that it is a double standard to pay tribute to a man who (while reaching millions if not more by expressing himself through his art and music) still negatively impacted some individual children’s lives and their families – all who will forever live with the scars. I think paying tribute only glorifies a true villain.
To that I ask, when was MJ ever convicted of a crime? In a day and age where money is to be had merely for an implication, a grown man who genuinely wants to spend time with children in a caring manner is always going to be a target (Mr. Rogers? Capt. Kangaroo? Pee Wee Herman? Okay, well…) There’s even a story going around suggesting that, to his closest confidants who asked why he insisted upon having children close by even after the accusations, he answered “Children are the only ones who tell me the truth.”
Aside from all of that, it’s often less expensive to write a check for a crime that may never have happened than to give lawyers millions to prove the same thing to the court of public opinion, and settling behind closed doors is always assumed to mean the worst. Ask any male teacher in today’s public school system how many false accusations it takes before he’s out of a job and looking for a new career.
Only fifty years old, and the pop star who never grew up has departed for the real Neverland too soon.
ThinkingSkull.com 