RIP Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

The music industry suffered a great loss yesterday as Michael Jackson, aged 50, passed away from what they believe now to be cardiac arrest resulting from a heart attack. And I must say, that I have never seen such a diverse spectrum of reactions to the death of someone so well known and who was such an icon as I have seen today.

There are those that appreciate the musical Michael Jackson and will remember him for it. There is no doubt about it, Michael Jackson is the King of Pop. Thriller is one of the biggest selling albums of all time and I am sure that sales of that album and many will posthumously skyrocket. Personally, I was never a huge fan of Michael Jackson's music. But at the same time, I think everyone has to have a good deal of respect for him and what he did in this industry. When you think greatest singers/bands of all time, Micheal Jackson has to be one of the first that comes to mind, perhaps right along side of the Beatles.

And then there are others who remember the other side of Michael Jackson. The Michael Jackson that was accused of being a pedophile and molesting children. I have heard from numerous people that they do not feel bad for Michael Jackson's death today. And you can't blame them for feeling this way. We can't say for sure the exact veracity of those allegations, but if there is any amount of truth to them, then yeah, child molestation is a serious crime and perhaps they are right in believing that someone like him is not worthy of the amounts of sympathy that some people are giving him today. After all, the American public does not feel bad for Joe Schmo The Child Molestor when he dies in prison. And while Michael was never convicted like I alluded to the fact that Joe Schmo was, it still is a very serious allegation and one that everyone in the national media completely blew up and made it more of a game and late-night comedy material instead of focusing on the seriousness of those allegations.

I don't think neither side is wrong here. Some will remember him as one of the greatest singers of all time. Others will remember MJ as a sick, pedophile who beat our American justice system. As cruel and heartless as it may sound, both have a legitimate point and there is no convincing either side that they are wrong in their beliefs. Only history will say which side truly is the more dominant line of thinking. My inclination is that 10-years from now more people will remember Michael Jackson the singer instead of Michael Jackson the freak who got plastic surgery and molested children. I know that I will remember him as the great singer. But that does not mean that the person who remembers pedophile Michael is a bad, ill-willed person. It's something that the American public will forever have to agree to disagree on.

And in perhaps the cruelest senses of irony, at around a little past 3 PM ET, myself and some others were actually discussing Michael Jackson as the extended music video of Thriller played in the background on the computer. And I had asked the question of "where is Micheal Jackson now?", as it had been a long time since I had heard anything about him and where he was living and what he was doing in such. A few hours later when I got home and logged into my Facebook account, I got my answer.

RIP Michael Jackson.