There is so much I can say on this subject regarding Michael Jackson, his talent, the effect he had on millions of people from around the world, etc. Over the last few days though, I'm sure you've seen a ton of those thoughts, probably from people who are able to express them in writing much better than I'd be able to...
Instead, I want to take this opportunity to say that I feel we really need to take better care of people. Certainly, Michael Jackson made his own decisions about how he lived and, as you know, lifestyle changes happen only when people want it themselves, but with so many artists going out this way, you'd think people would have learned at least how to redirect people a little better, in order to support them in getting the help they deserve.
But instead, we enable entertainers to continue their destructive behavior, milking every last amount of money we can. Amy Winehouse is a perfect example. There is something about watching a trainwreck which we love...
Everybody knows what she is doing is destructive, yet we enable it by buying her records and buying the tabloids that cover her.
And everybody knew what Michael Jackson was doing as destructive...
It's a pretty dramatic change to go from this...
To this...
Like gaining weight, or learning a new skill, it certainly happens slowly and over a long period of time. Surely though, in 2009, we can get better at seeing these thing as they're happening. And, believe me, there were plenty of people who saw it happening. Morals get fluid when money is involved though...
Everybody has a "Michael Jackson" in their lives. As people in the music business, which seems to attract people with this type of personality, we probably have several.
I hope you'll take the time to reach out to your friends who are making poor decisions and otherwise acting stupid. Again, you can't change people...I get that. You can let them know you support them though and you can stop supporting bad behavior.
