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As I was reminded of all the music, all the stories of his life. … I suddenly found my perception 
about him changing just a bit. Pity crept in slowly, and a little sadness too. He was obviously tormented deep inside to some degree, and I wonder what his life would have been like if all that ugliness (or potential ugliness) was simply cut out like a cancer leaving all the good stuff behind? What would his gift have been like? Don’t get me wrong. I still think the guy was guilty of some of the behavior he was accused of, and I have zero tolerance for pedophiles … but I guess all this coverage has made me stop and wonder about the true measure of a man and perhaps allowed me to glimpse some of the other facets that made him who he was/Life And Times Of A Gay Man In Idaho. More here.
Question: Any last thoughts re: Michael Jackson and his memorial service Tuesday, before we move on?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Phaedrus on July 08 at 10:24 a.m.
Is he still dead?
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OrangeTV on July 08 at 10:39 a.m.
Today is the coverage of the memorial and that's fine, but that needs to be the end. Time to move on to other topics, for sure. His legacy should continue to live on in his music rather than endless tabloid-y media cycles and pointless dirt-dragging.
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jreighley on July 08 at 10:51 a.m.
Like Elvis, I think Jackson's death will be argued a hoax for years to come..
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Lewis on July 08 at 11:16 a.m.
I have wondered if it is possible his death is some kind of weird stunt. I was telling my mother the other day dieing of drug overdose could easily happen to many of us. In my life time I have had many injuries, so I have gotten used to buying pain pills from drug dealers, when I needed them. Not all the time mind you but more often then I should have. Add to that the common muscle relaxers that for some reason doctors love to write prescriptions for, and add to that a Tylenol PM so you can sleep. And you have a Jackson cocktail. It will take the pain away so you can sleep, but you may never wake up again.
He was abused by his father as a child that does so much damage the people that don’t have to go through it don’t understand what it does to your sub-conscious. Feelings that society frowns on come to the surface over and over for our entire lives. He tried to live a normal heterosexual life but the demons kept coming back. And sadly he was in the spot light, so there was no hiding it. And I do feel he acted on the demons and that in itself sentenced him to doom..
Michael was a showman beyond most we have seen, and very talented. But he was human like the rest of us and when we live through something devastating it shows for years to come. Rest in peace Michael I love you.
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