It’s been impossible to avoid: the disturbing—yes, even ghoulish—outpouring of grief following Michael Jackson’s death. My first reaction to this reaction, the latter being the only interesting part of the story, is one of disgust: how could people be so moved, to the point of tears and wails, by a past-due-date entertainer? Surely it must be mere distraction, as Michael Jackson’s life has been a distraction for decades, his death no different. The people moved to tears must be indulging in the easy grief, the collective one, and ignoring the pain clutching them tightly on their backs.
I might have granted the reaction a pass, if Jackson had lately been in possession of a talent, if he weren’t merely a shell, but his behaviour over the past two decades was that of a deviant; and perhaps the tragedy of his life is that his music granted him so much, so many excuses, that there was no one to pull on his black and white robe. But I think there is something to say about the medicine behind this story.
This part is indeed odd: Jackson had a cardiologist at his side when he died. In his rented home. Who has a cardiac arrest next to a cardiologist outside of the CCU setting? I fear that once the revelations start we will be in Graceland, learning about physicians too willing to feed Jackson’s drug habit and unaware that once you get caught up in the circus of strange celebrity, you will get bitten by it. In Graceland the doctor becomes an excuse-granter: he sanctions use through his prescription pad. It is a fraud, but so was Jackson.
But there is one cause of death I’m just not abiding. It has been said that we killed Jackson, that we tortured him and that we are somehow to blame. This is the meta-excuse for Jackson’s oddity, one that is his ultimate convenience. Jackson was a very rich man, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, and his major problem not fame, but his own reaction to it. The fame problem is a very old story and it usually ends in addiction and, if not addressed, in death. Surely no one is surprised that Jackson is dead? Even the wailers and the disconsolately tearful, who merely had to survey Jackson’s torrid tabloid showings at the checkout counter and realize that something was very wrong, and had been for some time? That it wouldn’t be long?
I admit that Jackson was once an impressive entertainer, that he had the eye of millions and in this spasm of grief he does again, but the true genius of Jackson has to be recognized for what it is: self-destruction, the squandering of prodigious gifts, and the ability to have falls protected by the pillows of celebrity and money. It is my sincere hope that this cardiologist, whom I fear may have merely abetted Jackson’s behaviour, sat him down, as I have sat my own patients down, and confronted him about his inevitable annihilation. And I hope this talk came before the shot of Demerol.
But back to the original reaction: perhaps it is the ultimate folie-a-deux of fame, to think that we, the audience, are somehow complicit in a star’s demise. All madnesses have their share of excuses. When I see all the mourners on television imitating Jackson’s signature moonwalk, I note that they are all moving backward.
Shane Neilson is the author of one collection of poetry, Exterminate My Heart (Frog Hollow Press, 2008) and a memoir, Call Me Doctor (Pottersfield Press, 2006). Neilson practices family medicine in Erin, Ontario
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FOlLOW MAISY!
RIP WACKO JACKO
The world reacts with disbelief at the death of the King of Pop -- but who are we kidding?
June 29, 2009
4 Comments
It is interesting but your Mum emailed me to ask what I thought about his death.My first statement was he has not been in the lime light for the past 10 yrs!Why the grief Shane?I have been an Emergency Room Nurse for 15 yrs and we were fed up with these addicted people coming in repeatedly and taking our time to prepare injections to make them addicts.Shane ,our Union questioned it and we were told to shut our mouth's,that we had no right to question these order's???We were making them addicted and no right to try and educate them.The gluteus maximus 's were in such an abscessed condition,the meds ran back when we had to check to see where we were with the injections,thus,they did not benefit from that injection and they came back for more!!!!Therefore,I do not have patience for these people who will not help themselves!We were there to teach and not allowed.It does start with the Physician Shane and you sound like a great Doc.Keep up the good work and I hope many see your reasoning about Jackson,as I totally agree as a Retired Nurse under your Mum's direction then at OPH.
Posted by Etta Davis on June 29, 2009
Here's the thing: Michael Jackson, in all of his numerous forms, represented America, and, by extension, the developed world. Success and youth and unity and love and passion and innovation, all hiding anger and fear and self-loathing. Of course, we expected him to die, but we hoped he never would because as long as he lived he offered the possibility of redemption, though exceedingly slim that possibility became. Also, he was more illusion than man, throughout his life, not just at the end: he could be whatever anybody wanted him to be--their "sweet prince" or "wacko jacko" (both are perhaps equally burdensome and dangerous); and while he lived, so did the illusion. But in death, we all must face the reality of a hollow man who probably never knew how to live--and the hollow culture that raised him to stardom. I don't want to excuse any of his actions or apologize for his behaviour; but I refuse to speak ill of someone about whom I know very little in truth. Which story should we accept as official? Where is Michael Jackson? If he was addicted to drugs, does that mean we should not lament his passing? If he listened to too much poor advice from too many people of poor morals, does that mean he doesn't deserve sympathy? Ultimately he was responsible for his own fate, I have no interest in denying that; but rather than try to understand the man during his life (or even now, after it), we (everyone who is not him) raised him to the status of demi-god and expected so much of him. We created the illusion of Michael Jackson, and no doubt that illusion of godliness placed a great weight on him. And now, why shouldn't people mourn someone like that? It may be ghoulish, but so it is with false idols. The naysayers are equally repugnant in their derision. While I appreciate your opinion, I say let people react as they will. Then maybe, eventually, we can come to examine his life intelligently and ask tough questions of ourselves, rather than simply shouting at each other.
Posted by Adam Gorley on June 29, 2009
The bourgeois standard of moral excellence to which Mr. Neilson holds Michael Jackson, and by which he exempts Mr. Jackson from mourning, is a sad, sorry argument; there won't be many artists left to mourn if our appreciation of their artistic achievements are, as Mr. Neilson suggests, revised by our revulsion to their private struggles.
Posted by Michael Lista on June 29, 2009
Dear Mr. Shane Neilson, Pls have the decency not to call Michael Jackson 'Wacko Jacko'. Being called such has always been offending to him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pwinJ2__5Y He's already dead and it's only but proper that people don't call him that to show at least a modicum of respect. Pls have a heart. Thank you.
Posted by rama on August 13, 2009