In Memoriam

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

What a shock the sudden death of this great artist has been. He was only 50 years old and suffered cardiac arrest, which I learned is much worse then a heart attack, since with cardiac arrest there is no blood flowing at all. The full story of what happened won't be known for a few weeks, but already has transpired that he had a few health issues that required him to take several medications and that too many might have been administered to him, although no foul play seems involved.

My feelings about Michael Jackson are mixed. I think he was an incredibly talented musician, a good singer (although his cherubic voice, interesting as it might have sounded when he was in his 20s, could sound creepy now that he was a mature man), a cool dancer (although I often found his dance routines to be quite repetitive), and a great self-promoter and marketer of one's image.

I am ambivalent about such image as well. Born African American, Michael Jackson was now whiter than myself and had lost any resemblance to the cute guy who sang timeless hits like "Beat It" and "Billie Jean." He obviously underwent countless plastic surgery procedures, and yet always denied having had any, which only attracted more speculation and curiosity, the same curiosity he would often attack as unfair.

And then there is the whole issue of the child molestation accusations. Investigations were launched twice. The first time, he ended up settling to avoid a trial. The second time, his trial became a total circus and he was portrayed like a freak show.

Was he guilty? I don't know, but I do think there was something to the accusations. Yes, some accusers might have done it for the money, but I just saw clips from interviews done with Jackson and what I saw only confirmed my feelings.

In the first, shortly after the huge settlement was paid out, Jackson was asked if he thought there was anything odd for a thirty-something year old man sleeping in the same bed with tween boys. He replied no, it was all innocent, and his wife at the time, Lisa Marie Presley, was sitting right next to him saying she saw it and saw nothing weird. And I thought, Shouldn't you be sleeping with your husband instead of some kid who is not related to him? Furthermore, only deepening my uneasiness, when asked if he'd promise not to do it again, Jackson refused, and pretty much admitted he would continue engaging in that kind of behavior.

In the second, now a 44 year old man, he was asked about the behavior again, and Jackson again said he didn't see anything odd in a man his age sleeping in the same bed with very young teens. He insisted it was all innocent, and some kids confirmed his words. But what I thought was, What about girls? Why only boys? If you're simply attracted to the innocence of children, why the gender selection? And that's what makes me think that there was indeed something shady going on.

Regardless, now the guy is dead and his secrets died with him. At least those that won't come out in future tell-all interviews with former employees now safe from retaliation or from autobiographies of kids who want to cash in on their chance encounter with a star.

So Michael Jackson is dead, and now all we have is his legacy. Is it a good legacy? Overall, I think so, because he created ingenous music and was a great artist, but the oddity of his transforming physical appearance (a clear sign that he was greatly uncomfortable in his own skin) and the accusations of impropriety with children will always tar it a bit.

In the end, I think Michael Jackson was a great artist and a very tortured soul. A man who never had a childhood, which brought him to forever try and recapture it from other kids. A kid at heart, who never fully grew up because of how he was raised, always shoved in the limelight, handled by many, adored by hordes of fans, but who ultimately felt misunderstood and probably alone and even removed from a world he saw at times as cold and unwelcoming.

Rest in peace.

A Quote By:

Nassau County executive and former NY gubernatorial candidate Tom Suozzi, a practicing Catholic who came out against same-sex marriage and in favor of civil unions in his primary for governor against Eliot Spitzer in 2006:

"I was wrong. I have listened to many well-reasoned and well-intentioned arguments both for and against same-sex marriage. And as I talked to gays and lesbians and heard their stories of pain, discrimination and love, my platitudes about civil unions began to ring hollow. I have struggled to find the solution that best serves the common good. I now support same-sex marriage. This is a subject of great debate before the New York State Legislature (although the legislators there are a little distracted right now), and I hope that same-sex civil marriage will be approved within the month...Many civil marriages are not considered 'holy matrimony' by religious institutions because they do not conform to the rules of the religious institution. Those marriages have not challenged religious liberty. We must see that civil marriage, which has always been separate from religious marriage, will remain so. But most important, gays and lesbians have suffered too long from legal discrimination, social marginalization and even violence. They are entitled to clear recognition of their equal status as citizens of a country that is founded on the principle that we are all inherently worthy."

Homosexuality is not a lifestyle, stupid!

Another counterpoint to the argument always put forward by the religious right and those who oppose LGBT's civil rights, that homosexuality is only a lifestyle that people decide to live, and not an innate part of a person's life:

Homosexual behaviour is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom.

The pairing of same sex couples had previously been observed in more than 1,000 species including penguins, dolphins and primates.

However, in the latest study the authors claim the phenomenon is not only widespread but part of a necessary biological adaptation for the survival of the species.

They found that on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, almost a third of the Laysan albatross population is raised by pairs of two females because of the shortage of males. Through these 'lesbian' unions, Laysan albatross are flourishing. Their existence had been dwindling before the adaptation was noticed.

Other species form same-sex bonds for other reasons, they found. Dolphins have been known engage in same-sex interactions to facilitate group bonding while male-male pairings in locusts killed off the weaker males.
[...]
Writing in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Dr Nathan Bailey, an evolutionary biologist at California University, said previous studies have failed to consider the evolutionary consequences of homosexuality.

He said same homosexual behaviour was often a product of natural selection to further the survival of the species.
[...]
"Same-sex behaviours – courtship, mounting or parenting – are traits that may have been shaped by natural selection, a basic mechanism of evolution that occurs over successive generations," he said.

"But our review of studies also suggests that these same-sex behaviours might act as selective forces in and of themselves."

These studies are incredibly important to further our cause to show the world that there is nothing wrong, sick, or chosen about homosexuality.

A Quote By:

Kate Kendell, leader of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education, on the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold the legality of Prop8:

"Today, the California Supreme Court diminished its legacy as a champion of equality. By upholding Prop 8, an initiative that stripped the right to marry from same-sex couples in California, the Court’s decision has undermined the central principle that all people are entitled to equal rights and has jeopardized every minority group in California. No minority group should have to defend its right to equality at the ballot, and the Court should not have permitted such a travesty of justice to stand."

A Quote By:

Manohla Dargis, a film critic for The New York Times, in an open message to all straight filmmakers:

Enough with the gay slurs, the gay baiting, imitating, limp-wristing, so-not-funny lisping — in other words, enough with the hating. Yeah, some gay men are hilarious (Oscar Wilde). But people are funny, their identities are not. Try this simple test: Every time you feel the need to mock or denigrate gay men or lesbians, replace that joke with an equally vicious dig about African-Americans or Jews. Doesn’t sound so funny anymore, does it?

New Hampshire legalizes same-sex marriage

And that brings the total number of states currently guaranteeing full equality to all their citizens to six. Rhode Island, ironically considered the most liberal state in the union, is now the lone holdout in New England:

Governor Lynch makes history with the stroke of a pen.

Traditionally conservative New Hampshire today became the sixth state in the nation -- and the fifth state in New England -- where same-sex couples will be allowed to marry.

"Today we're standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear they will receive the same rights, responsibilities, and respect under New Hampshire law," Governor John Lynch said before signing the legislation in a State House ceremony at about 5:20 p.m.

Lynch said it was a New Hampshire tradition "to come down on the side of individual liberties and protections, and that tradition continues today." The room, filled by scores of the bill's supporters, resounded with applause as he signed.
[...]
Gay marriage is now legal in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts -- all of the new England states, except for Rhode Island. Gay marriage is also legal in Iowa.

Lynch signed the bill after it was approved by both the House and Senate earlier in the day.
[...]
Lynch said in mid-May that he would sign a bill legalizing same-sex unions as long as the Legislature made it clearer that religious groups would not be forced to conduct "marriage ceremonies that violate their fundamental religious beliefs."

Lynch said at the bill signing ceremony that the Legislature had amended the bill so that it met his concerns.
[...]
In early May, Lynch reiterated his position that civil unions were best for the state. But two weeks later, he said his thinking had changed. He said society's views on civil rights have "constantly evolved and expanded" throughout our history. "That is what I believe we must do today."

What an exiting time to be around and to witness this incremental betterment of our society.

Hopefully, the legalization of gay marriage in yet another neighboring state will improve the chances that Maine will vote down a referendum to overturn it there.

Thank you New Hampshire!!