Michael Jackson dead at 50

[DMN in the House]

Wasn't the point of why I posted that, but conceded.

There's a story that my family had Elvis over for dinner while he was in the military. Heh.

[GoGo Yubari]

Yeah, I've just always wanted to make a comment somewhere rolling my eyes at the "Elvis was racist" urban legend. Go shoehorning comments!

[DMN in the House]

I would tend to think that he wouldn't have been any more, nor any less, racist than the average white male who grew up when and where he did.

[Clawson]

So Michael Jackson has gone from crazy person, great musician to BEST PERSON EVAR!!! in a span of 2 weeks. Crazy how quickly everything changes when you die. He's almost overrated now because of it.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Unfortunately, the people who have picked up on the "he's the new Kurt Cobain" bandwagon are themselves fairly annoying.

[GoGo Yubari]

I would tend to think that he wouldn't have been any more, nor any less, racist than the average white male who grew up when and where he did.

The Snopes article on it is pretty interesting and well-written, in my opinion.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/...supergroup.html

Joe Jackson wants Michael's kids to tour as the Jackson 3.

Chalk up one name in the losing side of the custody dispute.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I wonder if John Wayne was racist.

[GoGo Yubari]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/...supergroup.html

Joe Jackson wants Michael's kids to tour as the Jackson 3.

Chalk up one name in the losing side of the custody dispute.

Oh Christ. I'm also rolling my eyes at the continual use of "Jacko" in that article. Way to undermine any sense of actual news reporting in there, The Sun.

[DMN in the House]

I wonder if John Wayne was racist.

Judge for yourself. Per wikipedia, from an interview with Playboy.

He then continued to discuss race relations, including his opinions regarding the current civil rights of African Americans:

I believe in white supremacy until blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.... The academic community has developed certain tests that determine whether the blacks are sufficiently equipped scholastically.... I don't feel guilty about the fact that five or ten generations ago these people were slaves. Now I'm not condoning slavery. It's just a fact of life, like the kid who gets infantile paralysis and can't play football like the rest of us.[37]

When asked how blacks could address the inequities of the past, Wayne replied:

By going to school. I don't know why people insist that blacks have been forbidden to go to school. They were allowed in public schools wherever I've been. I think any black man who can compete with a white can get a better break than a white man. I wish they'd tell me where in the world they have it better than right here in America.[38]

[GoGo Yubari]

Classy man, that John Wayne.

[Scott McFly]

The Sun are pretty much the epitome of a trashy tabloid in the UK, they've always refer to him as "Jacko", usually preceded by a dig at him. "Crazy Peter Pan-like Jacko showed up somewhere, blah blah blah."

But I'd say due to his massive influence and inspiration reaching nearly every corner of entertainment, the huge amounts of money, time and effort he's given to charities (including his own foundations) and the people across the entire world he's affected in one way or another, I'd say he's earned the distinction of being remembered as more than just someone who made good music.