Michael Jackson’s Second Death
Michael Jackson’s sudden death by cardiac arrest is less shocking than the slow, but steady demise of his soul, which turned him into a music machine fueled by addictions to drugs, money, possessions, fame and plastic surgery. As my friend and fellow journalist Josh Resnek has remarked, Jackson’s body died at 50; the rest of him died much younger.
Jackson’s life story is a cautionary tale about what happens when a child is deprived of his core self. That deprivation likely stemmed from what Jackson himself described as the physical and psychological brutality of his father Joe, who reportedly whipped him and verbally abused him and monetized his talents from age 10 through endless rehearsals and performances of The Jackson 5. Now Joe is planning a big, public funeral for his twice-dead son, keeping him on the stage even after he is gone from this earth.
Jackson’s first, long, tortuous death was a gradual stopping of his metaphorical heart—the heart of a boy harnessed to a father’s tyrannical plans to enslave him. It left him uncertain whether anything at all was authentic about him, whether there was anything whatsoever he could embrace as the truth.
He was forever ambivalent about his race, bleaching or otherwise altering his skin tone to appear Caucasian.
He was forever ambivalent about his facial structure, undergoing plastic surgeries until his nose seemed in danger of falling off his face, his chin became a caricature of the kind with a cleft he must have admired on other people’s faces, and his jaw line became a haunting skeletal representation of just how dead he really was inside.
He seemed forever ambivalent about his gender, because he could not claim even that as his own, morphing from tough guy to girl in appearance and garb.
He seemed ambivalent about his age, living in an amusement park he built, with zoo animals on display. Could he have actually missed the fact that he was a caged animal himself, thrilling crowds with his exotic movements and appearance?
He may have been ambivalent or twisted about what pleased him sexually, given his habit of inviting young boys into his bed and his history of having paid out $20 million to settle a child sexual molestation suit.
He staged sham marriages and “fathered” children who appeared wearing carnival masks in public—all part of the show. He dangled his baby boy over a railing for his fans, in what may have been the starkest representation of how he felt his own life had ended shortly after birth.
The distance between a man’s mind and his core self — his soul — is the breeding place for anxiety and depression. And Jackson apparently tried to contain those unwieldy emotions in the predictable ways — drugging himself by acquiring possessions and trying to shut up the long-dying person inside him with opiates and tranquilizers. Then the truth asserted itself in the final way it sometimes does. It stopped his heart suddenly, when, for all intents and purposes, it had not been beating (not for real) for decades.
Tags: abuse, cardiac arrest, children, death, Dr. Keith Ablow, heart, heart attack, Jackson 5, Jacksons, Joe Jackson, Michael Jackson, plastic surgery
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Well said!!!
The media-fueled hype over Michael Jackson’s death adds to the tragedy of his life. This was a person with great musical gifts but an empty shell of a personality. He made no contribution to society and was literally caught with his pants down in bed with little boys. Now that he has died, he is being made into some kind of hero. What a sad commentary on our society.
What is with the constant insistence that Jackson hated his race or bleached his skin. Any idiot can look up and find multiple sources that he suffered from Vitiligo, as well as photos showing that he used makeup to even out his skin tones. The glove he wore in the eighties was used to conceal the fact that his hand had white blotches on it. You are doing no more than pushing tabloid beliefs rather than actual news.
Proof of Jackson’s as well as general info on vitiligo can be found at the following links.
http://www.wat.tv/video/michael-jackson-vitiligo-pictures-u0ak_tp3v_.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15TSEKXXIvI
http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=vitiligo&sa=N&tab=wv&um=1#
Nice homework you’ve done there, “Doctor”.
Amen!! RIP Michael!
I really wish that people would get their facts straight before writing about Michael Jackson. He had a skin disorder. My aunt has the same thing. She was about MJ’s color and she got Vitiligo, now she is the same shade of white with jet black hair. There is a medical treatment that pretty much “evens” out the skin so that it won’t be spotted.If you look at pictures, you can see that his arms are still spotted.
Oh and big deal, he got a nose job.There are black people with small noses too!!! So for people to say that he got a nose job to look white,then what is the reason white people get nose jobs?
I also saw a picture of Katherine Jackson and she was turned to her right. I could see a large white spot on her neck, so she may have the same skin disorder.
MJ”s spouse state the marriage was not a sham.
Just like the child molestation case that he was proven innocent, it seems that no one thinks the justice system works unless a black man is in jail. Oh and don’t forget, that it was proven that the boys father lied. And now the son, Jordan Chandler, has a restraining order on his father!Also, I have a family member who was the victim of sexual abuse,there is no way I would take a pay out!
But in the end,you choose to believe what you want,no matter what people tell you.
Kind of like white people believing that black slaves liked being slaves,or all black people like watermelon,or women deserve to be raped.
Some people just choose to be ignorant, and you’re one of them
I think we all knew he was a troubled soul with amazing talent. You couldnt of sum his live up any better. Great article
What does the massive emotional out pouring over his physical death say about all of those so identified with him?
How many of them will see his tortured life as a lesson for themselves? Jackson was unable to live his life because it was taken from him so early. Do those who grieve for him ask whether it is themselves and their own lost lives that they are grieving for?
How many who are grieving for him are actually feeling guilty for having participated in Joe Jackson’s theft of his son’s life? How many of the grieving contributed to the objectification of Michael as a child and to the monetization of his life?
Jackson’s life is an archtypic example of how not to live one’s own life. As Kafka created a man who awoke to find that he had become a beetle in The Metamorphosis, so Joe Jackson created a son who, like in Thriller, really was a dead man walking.
The greater trajedy may be that far too many people around the world are just like him. Only writ small.
Dear Dr. Ablow,
Thank you for giving such a wonderful description of Michael Jackson. You hit the nail on
the head. It surely looks as if the father will certainly make a Barnum and Bailey Circus
out of his funeral. These people seem to think they can do anything, from what I’ve
seen,most of the members in the family have had lots of cosmetic surgery which leads
me to believe they either get high on the affects of the drugs in doing so, or are not
pleased with who they really are. Again thank you and may God be with all those who
seem to want to mask who they are.
Papillon
Sadly enough You have summed up his sad but inevitible life-a definite victim-thats for sure-I dont think his Dad realized at the time what he was doing-but unfortunately looking back it was too intense for someone like MJ-true artists can be very fragile -esp. inside-thats why it wasnt as hard on the older children-he being the lead and soooo talented put him up front and where most often the pressure was.
WOW this was the most poignant reflection on what was wrong with this musical genius. It was hard to read and take in but absolutely right on I believe.
Living the truth should never be about making broad assumptions. This article is no more enlightening than a common tabloid. It is simply a regurgitation of years of accusations.
He was not ambivalent about his gender, nor race, nor sex. He did not invite any child into his bed and stop it with the story of his baby dangling off the balcony, he himself admitted it has been a terrible mistake. Did you already condemn him doc? This is not psychiatry, it’s a sentence or scum psichiatry at the most. Even the masks on his children were to protect them, not for a show. He only tried to be a good man in life amidst a crowd of jackals and never hurt anyone, reversedly he’s been hurt a lot of times.
Leave him in peace at least now.
He was not ambivalent about his gender, nor race, nor sex. He did not invite any child into his bed and stop it with the story of his baby dangling off the balcony, he himself admitted it has been a terrible mistake. Even the masks on his children were to protect them, not for a show. Did you codemn him doc? This is not psychiatry, it’s a sentence or scum psychiatry at the most. He only tried to be a good man amidst a crowd of jackals and never hurt anyone, reversedly he’s been hurt a lot of times.
Leave him in peace at least now.
I THINK IT IS SAD BUT TRUE, HE NEEDED TO COME TO TERMS ON WHO HE WAS AND WHAT HIS LIFE WAS AS A CHILD, WHEN HE BECAME AN ADULT HE CHANGED WHO HE WAS ON THE OUT SIDE HOWEVER YOU CAN’T CHANGE WHO YOU ARE IN THE INSIDE BY PLASTIC SURGERY. AND THE PAIN OF WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM SEEMED TO BE TOO MUCH FOR HIM, SO HE DEALT WITH IT BY DRUGS.
Dr. Keith!!! I’m shocked and surprised at you!! I always look forward to reading your columns and watching you on FNC but this time I really believe you missed the mark. The first part of your column is probably quite true based on MJ’s own statements.
From,”He was forever ambivalent about his race,” to the end, however, it sounds like you read every tabloid story about him and believed it without any further thought. You’ve made a lot of assumptions about him and his life that I don’t think we’ll ever know the truth about. I know this is your opinion and you are definitely entitled to it, but I respectfully disagree with you completely.
the only problem i have with your theory is stating that Michael bleached his skin to appear caucasian . you may want to look up the many african american people who have similar problems with the pigmentation of their skin. This is a real medical issue that normal people have happen to them just as it has happened to michael. please take a poll on the issue and ask the people who are affected by this problem whether or not they bleached their skin to be white. i know what the answer will be as i am sure you will too.
I think Dr. Ablow is 100% RIGHT ON here…sadly. People can be totally DEAD inside, even if they “Appear” to be alive. MJ’s actions were very peculiar and strange. Forget the molestation charges which still could have been people going after a Wealthy Celebrity (ALTHOUGH…it is NOT normal to have young people IN your bed!! In your HOUSE, maybe, but not your bed!!)…we COULD SEE the rest!! The plastic surgery (he admitted to only one or two surgeries…ridiculous!! he obviously had many!!)…the skin bleaching, supposedly for Vitiligo (doubtful he had that condition), and on and on…BUT…in the Final analysis…he also didn’t WANT help!! Those who really DID care about him and tried to offer SANE counsel were fired or dismissed in other ways…it is a tragic, tragic story for sure. I hope and pray that you are at Peace, now, Michael and that you are Right with God…
This is an excellent analysis of Michael Jackson. I agree that he died a long time ago. And on some uncpnscious level this death was a suicide because he was so unhappy. He was a tortured soul. It’s tragic that someone so talented had this tragic ending. I hope his music will live forever. His father is a monster. Even after death all so many think about is the money they’re trying to get – his father, the biological mother, etc. I feel sorry for the children. I hope they have a chance at having a normal life so they don’t end up skrewed up.
ITS A SAD SAD THING. SO MANY OF OUR MOST LOVED AND TALENTED PERFORMERS END THIS WAY. ITS HARD TO IMAGINE WHAT HIS LIFE MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE. GROWING UP THE WAY HE DID, AND THEN BECOMING SO FAMOUS. HE HAD SUCH TALENT. BUT THE RUMORS THAT STARTED AGAINST HIM EVEN WHEN HE WAS YOUNG MUST HAVE HURT HIM DEEPLY. BUT HE STILL TRIED TO KEEP UP HIS IMAGE. ITS LIKE I GREW UP WITH HIM AND HE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED. SUCH TALENT AND THE FUTURE HE COULD HAVE HAD, IF IT WERE NOT FOR DRUGS. WHEN WILL PEOPLE LEARN THAT NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, DRUGS WILL DESTROY YOU! AND THE DOCTORS THAT SUPPLY THEM SHOULD LOOSE THEIR LICENCE. ALSO WE SHOULD NOT BE SO QUICK TO JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. I UNDERSTAND WHY HE LOVED CHILDREN SO MUCH. ESPECIALLY YOUNG BOYS. HE WAS JUST TRYING TO GIVE THEM WHAT HE NEVER HAD, A HAPPY CHILDHOOD.
You hit it on the head! As a Mom of a child with disabilities, who led a life of joy and grace, I watched Michael Jackson with sadness. His talent so great and yet he was so sad. Contrast that with my child, blind and disabled, who never walked or danced, and lived at home until her death at 26.
she loved to hear his music and would smile and blow kisses to Michael all her life.
we celebrated each of her milestones with gratitude. How sad to have been so abused by his parents that all his money and fame meant nothing. Too bad there was not an intervention with his parents and relatives to cherish Michael as a child and thank God for his life then, not just now that he is gone. We will always have his music, as I will always have my memories of my daughter’s brilliant smile and joy at hearing Michael’s mucis.
this is the truest article i have read regarding michael jackson. i fell in love with michael when he was young, sweet and chocolate brown. watching him slowly kill himself, mutilating the face i loved, was one of the saddest things i had ever seen. when state farm started showing their commercial with a young michael singing “i’ll be there” i cried every time. i cried for michael before he died; such a lost soul – such a tragedy that he could not find his way. now i am too sad for tears.
The media and the public are just as psychotically sick as the deceased with the endless euology for a man who was just an entertainer and who committed suicide day by day.
I grew up with Michael Jackson. I loved his music, his dancing, and his smile when he was a young kid in “The Jackson Five”. I even watched their Saturday morning cartoon.
Some years later I saw a candid photo of him in “Rolling Stone”. In the article, he was still a young kid, and still trying to put on the happy face required of him by his family and the music industry. The candid photo, however, showed a picture of a profoundly sad and tormented little boy. The expression on his face was a testament to the unfathomable abuse he experienced, and a portent of what was to come later in his life.
MJ lost his childhood. There’s no question about that.
It’s no wonder he tried to rebuild a new one, albeit a very confused and dysfunctional one, with his “Neverland Ranch” (how could anyone miss the symbolism of the ranch’s name?), and his desire to spend time with little boys… Other little “lost boys”, like him, at least in his own mind…
Thank you, Dr. Ablow, for painting such an honest portrait of this tormented soul!
Do you own a glass house?
Have you ever noticed doctor’s in this field can’t seem to deal with their own lives? Therefore, they judge others lives and destroy many. I know this to be true as I have seen it happen to a number of people. I have also been told a person in this field have a high divorce record and an alarming suicide rate.
This is the most honest assessment of the life of Michael Jackson I have ever read. I liked his music but must admit never admired him as a person. I worried about his addictions mostly for fear of children. Maybe he really didn’t need to be adult. How sad was this man? Now he can rest in peace. What a terrible price he paid for his fathers greed and brutality. I feel for these three children, whovever their parents are. Will they pay the price Michael paid?
Ummmm, Lynn…?
What’s up with the attack? Are you OK?
Clearly Dr. Ablow wasn’t judging Michael Jackson, he was just trying to analyze MJ’s life and his psychological problems in an empathetic way. He certainly was not “casting stones”, as you implied, and then proceeded to do yourself.
I hope you’re all right, Lynn…