Just a thought

Maybe this is just me being a cranky pants, but is anyone else tired of all the Michael Jackson coverage? Especially since there are other things going on in the world that actually, well, matter? (This is not to say that Michael Jackson's death does not matter to the people who were close to him, because of course it does, but it doesn't actually affect the rest of us in any tangible way.)

Here's my beef: To me, this whole media frenzy is not even about him. It's actually about guilt. You heard me. Now that Michael Jackson is suddenly dead, everyone wants to talk about him and play his songs and love him and make a huge stinking deal about the whole thing. Three weeks ago, no one was talking about Michael Jackson except to wonder if his tour was going to be a train wreck or not.

But now, NOW, it's a different story. So even though there are actual, ongoing things happening in the world that could use our attention (hello, Iran), all anybody wants to do is make themselves feel better about the part where they called him Wacko Jacko and thought he was a child molester for the last however many years. I can't blame the media for this, because they are a business and they run the stories that viewers will tune in for. And clearly, viewers seem to have an infinite capacity right now for Michael Jackson.

When someone's dead, though, it's kind of late for the love-fest. Heaven knows it's too late to do the recipient any good. Maybe guilt can occasionally be a useful feeling. Instead of trying to absolve ourselves of it with these huge misuses of our collective energy and attention for someone who is dead and can't actually benefit from them, maybe we can just say to ourselves, "Huh. Now that this person is gone, I find myself remembering all of the good associations and memories, rather than the bad. I will use this feeling to remind myself to show more appreciation, kindness, and understanding for the people who are still in my life."

Is it just me who's been thinking this?

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