Reply to "When did it become compulsory to respect Michael Jackson?"

quote:

Originally posted by Queen of the High Teas:


Of course they are, but that should work both ways. If a relative of mine had died that I didn't like, I certainly wouldn't want to upset anyone who didn't feel the same way, so I would show my respect for THEM by just not going to the funeral. That way I wouldn't feel as though I was being expected to compromise my feelings, or theirs, by showing or hiding my true feelings. You're clearly a more magnanimous person than me. I don't really have feelings about MJ's death one way or another tbh. I think if he'd died 20 years ago I would have felt much sadder about it than I do today though. I certainly wouldn't deliberately try to upset anyone who felt they were affected by his death, but at the same time I think it's unfair to demand that we should all now show respect for someone just because others do. I agree that using Myrah and Adolf as examples was extreme but it was a reaction to PCE's statement that she was taught "to never speak ill of the dead no matter what because the wages of sin is death and after that their slate is wiped clean... " Which in my (highly irreligious) opinion is wrong. PCE clearly has a religious view on death and judgement, my view (shared I think by a few other FM's) is more humanist. As well as his deservedly fantastic musical reputation, MJ had a dubious, albeit unproven, reputation as far as children goes. For some the music will dominate their memory but for others it will be his sad and strange later personal life. For me it will be a combination of the two. MJ and his life is much too complicated a subject to be portrayed and judged in black and white terms (no pun intended, honestly!).