Michael Jackson's Tragedy

By the time I reached pop-cultural consciousness, there were already a lot of jokes about Michael Jackson.

In the second grade at the Olmsted School in Buffalo, the most popular one was that he "grabbed himself." Doing an impression of Jacko in concert was a quick way to get one letter erased from your name on the board (if you had that kind of teacher).

Nevertheless, Jackson was a superhero.

From the funky hits of the Jackson 5 to the bass line in "Billie Jean," his music was great. And though we knew he was kind of flaky, we thought he wanted to save the world - at least when we watched him perform "Black or White" at the '93 Super Bowl as sections of fans held up colored signs that formed sweeping pictures of doves and children holding hands.

So what happened between then and last November, when Jackson dangled his tiny son, Prince Michael Jackson II, from a balcony high above a Berlin street?

How did things get so bad that earlier this year Jackson announced on national television that he let boys sleep in his bed - and then grew defiant when the interviewer suggested there was something weird about it?

And how could things decline to the point of Wednesday night's sad but not shocking news that law-enforcement officials issued a warrant for his arrest on multiple counts of child molestation?

Michael Jackson's freakish tragedy divides people along two lines. Some people blame the star for his own problems. They say plenty of superstars, like Bruce Springsteen or Tom Hanks, find a way to lead relatively normal lives.

Others blame society. They say that Jackson is a victim of the culture of celebrity, and that no person could survive the incredible pressures placed upon him.

To get to the bottom of this dilemma, let's look at the most famous Jackson scandal - the mystery of his face.

It's clear to most people with two eyes that a lot of work has been done on Jackson's face. He has a deformed nose and an oddly clefted chin. His skin is white as a NASCAR audience. Earlier this year, NBC devoted a single highly-rated show to deconstructing his face.

Plastic surgery has a certain allure for people with a low self-image. Many who consider it, however, are set straight by their friends. If an editor or writer came into The Spectrum's news room one day and said they were getting plastic surgery, we'd tell them they were nuts.

Michael Jackson's tragedy, however, is that he has no real friends.

Jackson is no saint. But all his life he's been surrounded by the worst kind of sinners. He's surrounded by people who want his money, so they'll tell him anything he wants.

No one is there for him to say "you're fine the way you are," "get some help" or simply, "stop."

No one in the "entertainment" business has the decency to step in and help the guy out because they're making money off his destruction.

Consider that when he was asked to explain the rash of documentaries about Jackson's problems, Jeff Zucker, the president of NBC Entertainment, said, "Mr. Jackson is the ultimate traffic accident. People can't take their eyes off him."

In America, we consume tragedy the way we consume popcorn chicken. Because of the voyeur in all of us, there will always be demand. And Zucker and his soulless Hollywood executives will continue the supply.

Most superstars - like Springsteen and Hanks -are ready for this culture because they've already been grounded by a set of values.

A better analogy for Jackson, however, is Mike Tyson, who also fell into the world of celebrity from a troubled life. Tyson grew up with Brooklyn gangs. Jackson was denied a normal childhood by a domineering father.

When these people become famous, rich and powerful, they're not grounded enough to watch out for people who will take advantage of them.

Capitalism is the greatest economic system in the world. But a capitalist entertainment culture with no restraint destroys lives as millions of dollars changes hands and millions of people watch.

The result for Jackson is a life out of control. And much less innocent jokes for the world's second-graders.