August 29, 2019: Why i have chosen to 'silently' honor Michael Jackson
- 5 years ago
This year is the not only the 10th 'anniversary' of Michael Jackson's transition to meet the ancestors; this day is also the day he would have been 61 years old. While most people are not necessarily thinking about that (given the fact that he's not physically here), people in the fan community still openly celebrate and honor his life.
As a person who loves MJ's music, My love for him doesn't really have much to do with music or his 'celebrity status', so i consider myself more to be an advocate and a student moreso than a fan. i advocate for him because i want to see the end of the cycle of familial/childhood trauma. i advocate for/love/respect him because he was the catalyst for my own healing from childhood trauma. That said, he is not immune from critique, and no amount of good music he made, how well he danced, or the fact that he was a survivor of childhood trauma should excuse whatever problematic behavior he had.
i still openly advocate for MJ when i deem it necessary; however, i have chosen to step back from doing it as often, because it's emotionally draining to deal with reactionary people, especially from the fandom side. The 'groupthink' and lack of discernment/critical thought is disturbing. While that has always been an issue (in my experience), it has gotten worse since the release of 'Leaving Neverland'.
As a person who loves MJ's music, My love for him doesn't really have much to do with music or his 'celebrity status', so i consider myself more to be an advocate and a student moreso than a fan. i advocate for him because i want to see the end of the cycle of familial/childhood trauma. i advocate for/love/respect him because he was the catalyst for my own healing from childhood trauma. That said, he is not immune from critique, and no amount of good music he made, how well he danced, or the fact that he was a survivor of childhood trauma should excuse whatever problematic behavior he had.
i still openly advocate for MJ when i deem it necessary; however, i have chosen to step back from doing it as often, because it's emotionally draining to deal with reactionary people, especially from the fandom side. The 'groupthink' and lack of discernment/critical thought is disturbing. While that has always been an issue (in my experience), it has gotten worse since the release of 'Leaving Neverland'.