Ted Rall for July 02, 2009

Mr. Rall,

Don’t you think he deserves the benefit of the doubt, especially now that he is dead? Do you really think him that monstrous? An artist like that, (with what appears to be a form of undiagnosed Asperguer’s syndrome by the way)? Haven’t you paid attention to his lyrics? Did you look into that man’s eyes? You don’t have to be so angry; though you might be justified for being angry at the world (I am sometimes), is it really fair to take your anger on him? We don’t know what happened Mr. Rall. Would you sell your child’s honor for any amount of money? Well that’s what the supposed victim’s father did. I choose to believe Michael.

Or are you using irony to show how people’s cynicism was willing to sacrifice him when he was alive, concurring with the decision of The Supreme Media Court, and how now they are ready to put him on an apotheotic pedestal now that he is dead? I surely hope that’s the point you are trying to make. It’d be more fair.

People honor the courts then they provide decisions that they personally like and ignore those same courts when a decision doesn’t agree with there personal grievances… so sad, so two-faced, so very stupid since those same courts are the only thing that, theoretically anyway, defines any society as civil or NOT. Given that US courts are presently afflicted with the leftovers of the Reagan & Meese, et al - it may be quite a while before justice is simply a question of money… for better or WORSE, much worse.

Congratulations Mr. Rall, as on the mark as usual, without the tons and tons of hypocrisy and bland “feel-goody” of mainstream media. Mr. Jackson’s music was nothing sort of awful (although I reckon that’s a matter of taste, and most people seem to disagree on that one), and it was pretty obvious from his public persona he was a very flawed, very troublesome piece of humanity. However, now he is dead everybody would rather focus on how great he was and remember only the good parts (were there any?)… no pain (and no truth), no learning

The guy (?) was a total wacko. Give it a rest.

santiago_ojeda, I agree. He reached his peak with the Jackson 5. I couldn’t stand his over-produced, self-indulgent pop when he hit it big. As far as his legal problems, they seem to prove that we have liberty and justice for all in this country. All of those who can afford it.

IMHO, Jackson should have been punished for the crimes he commited. But he was a remarquable musician and dancer, an icon nonetheless.

Aw, give the guy some credit. Until MJ, Elvis was the biggest certified Freak ever produced by the American “fame machine.” Michael Jackson managed to out-freak the King.

Great work as usual, Ted!

Poor Michael – he didn’t get to have a “real childhood.” Well, neither did a lot of kids in Bosnia, Gaza, and Darfur.

You know what? I’ve heard MJ’s hits over and over and over again so many times, they’re just part of the background noise. I think at one time I disliked them, but now they’re so overplayed, they don’t even register any more.

And as for his supposed crimes? I don’t know; I wasn’t there. Maybe he was a pedophile; maybe he just liked kids too much because he never grew out of childhood.

I don’t see the point in getting all worked up pro- or anti- Jackson.

This comic has barely been posted and already we’re going round again. Rall is late this has been done and done to death, so to speak.

When Farah died and went to heaven, god granted her one wish. She wished to protect the children. So MJ was killed.

Gladius, unlike some other cartoonists Rall doesn’t have the opportunity to publish every day, so this is probably as early as he could have done the piece. Also, since it’s as much a commentary on the ongoing public reaction to the molester’s death as on the molester himself, as long as the “tributes” keep pouring out it’s valid to keep the counterbalances appearing. Finally, Rall is, as is his custom, being far more blunt in his statements than most of the other cartoonists would dare (only a handful of whom have even ALLUDED to the specific allegations against the deceased, rather than just labelling his legacy “problematic”).

Wow. I think this may be the most hard core negative Jackson ‘toon yet.

parker, he was not “declared innocent”; he was found “not guilty”. There’s a difference. A jury decided that, given the evidence presented, they could not convict him. Had the case against him been shown to be without merit (through fraudulence or malice, in which case the plaintiffs might well have been sanctioned or even prosecuted, or through complete ABSENCE of evidence), the judge could have (and should have) dismissed the action before it even went to trial.

After viewing the coarse Jamie Foxx and Beyonce butchering “Ave Maria” BET special, I agree, Tigger; it’s funny that ABC bumped John Stossel’s special, critique on the Obama healthcare plan for additional, week-old coverage on the “Gloved One”. Ted Koppel was right, journalistic integrity is dead in this country.

not bad here, Rall. even if it is about a very minuscule story compared to the complete implosion of the world economy, coupled with absolute global theft and enslavement.

6/10

Elvis had his excesses, but Jacko moved in orbits previously travelled only by the likes of Tiberius and Caligula.

Dysfunctional-family weirdness compounded by child-star weirdness, with Global Pop Icon weirdness piled on top. There’s also the possibility that he was just weird by nature, to boot.

Once the tell-alls start coming out (I particularly await LaToya’s reminiscences), I think we’ll see that we were only aware of the half of it. It’s third-hand, but I’ve heard a story involving MJ and Bubbles which unfortunately didn’t surprise me at all.

“”Tell me what has become of my life I have a wife and two children who love me I am the victim of police brutality, now I’m tired of bein’ the victim of hate You’re rapin’ me of my pride Oh, for God’s sake I look to heaven to fulfill its prophecy… Set me free

Tell me what has become of my rights Am I invisible because you ignore me? Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now I’m tired of bein’ the victim of shame They’re throwing me in a class with a bad name I can’t believe this is the land from which I came You know I do really hate to say it The government don’t wanna see But if Roosevelt was livin’ He wouldn’t let this be Some things in life they just don’t wanna see But if Martin Luther was livin’ He wouldn’t let this be””

I thought I could paste some of his lyrics.

Guilty people do not harp about their supposed innocence untiringly, they move on fast and quickly.

Not Michael, he wouldn’t let it go. Just watch the latest rehearsal. Guess what, these lyrics are there.

R.I.P.

The beatification of the dead always puzzles me. Someone can be the most miserable so-and-so on the block, but at his funeral everyone will weep and say what a pillar of the community he was and what we’ve lost.

I much prefer to remember people the way they were, with their good AND bad points. I’m often chastised for “speaking ill of the dead” when all I’m doing is sharing a memory that is true. I really don’t get it.

edmondd, what world do you live in? Guilty people “harp about their supposed innocence untiringly” all the time. Go to any prison and ask how many of them are “really innocent.”

Wow, I usually like Rall, but I don’t get why he’s all for the railroading prosecutors now in this case when he’s usually (rightfully IMO) against them. Michael was a weirdo, and put himself in highly inappropriate situations, but he was never convicted, even in a courtroom bent on convicting him, which to me says a lot.

Shame on you Ted.

In general, the guilty will not be as insistent and relentless as one who is actually innocent when it comes to defending their good name, Adora68. If you think guilty convicts harp about their innocence “all of the time”, imagine what a Kirk Bloodsworth, a falsely accused man who spent seven years on death row before being freed, would do.

Had Michael been guilty he would have dropped the subject a long time ago, especially when a court had found him not guilty, yet he wouldn’t let it go.

I like Ted Rall’s comics. I like that they are provocative and irreverent. I like that he pokes fun at both the right and the left. I like that he’s been critical of Obama lately. Also, I have no love for Michael Jackson. I loved his music when I was 11 years old but I outgrew that a long time ago. I think Michael was ultimately a sad character- robbed of his childhood, abused by his father, forced to grow up in the spotlight. I don’t think this excuses all of his behavior, but it does help to explain some of it. Now, was MJ a child molester as Rall’s comic asserts? I don’t think he was. I’ve read ideas and looked at the available facts of the allegations and it seems more likely that he was the victim of his own naivety and the cunning of some shrewd gold diggers. I would generally expect Ted Rall to be more informed about this. There’s plenty of approaches that Rall could have taken to make a comic about the passing of MJ and the stupid media attention that it is getting. Unfortunately, Mr. Rall has missed the mark completely on this one. Too bad, as he is usually very insightful and funny.

rot in heck, pedophile.

Jordan Chandler Admits He Lied About Michael Jackson

http://sjsandteam.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/jordan-chandler-admits-he-lied-about-michael-jackson/