Michael Jackson dead?
- Thread starter Dusty
- Start date
I agree with those who believe that there are far more important issues in the world than the death of Michael Jackson. I do not believe that it is at all justified that CNN or any other news service is showing news related to the death of Michael Jackson for a few hours straight, and puts all of the other FAR more important and devastating tragedies which plague the world on the side.
Perhaps the death of democracy in Iran isnt such a great example, but the deaths of those people and the instability which WILL effect the lives of millions of people is a much greater tragedy than the death of one man who most likely will not contribute anything more to what he has already created. His music might have made a "great impact" on some people, but at the end of the day the music is still there, just the man is not. The music will not save the true problems of the world. Some might claim that it might "get people closer to each other" but it wont stop the persecution of people around the world. It might sound insensitive to some, but if I were to decide what should be on the news then it would be the genocide in Darfur, crisis in Sudan, the death of millions of people in Africa due to disease and malnutrition, or the Israeli Palestinian conflict among many others. Michael Jackson might get a few minutes on the bottom of the screen in text saying that he died.
The fact that so many people are suddenly out on the streets crying, commemorating his life and talking about him as if the world will never be the same, saddened by this etc, just shows how limited their knowledge is of what is going on in the world. If not, then they are simply ignorant and insensitive to what is really going on. Every day should be a day of mourning for those who are persecuted in the territories occupied by Israel in the Middle east; for those who have been already killed in Iran and for those who will be killed in the near future; for those who are imprisoned and tortured in Myanmar; and for the BILLIONS of people who live in EXTREME POVERTY. I find it so much more tragic that more than half of the worlds population lives under 2$ a day than the fact that a man who made some great music and had many health problems due to a series of plastic sugeries had died.
Someone said that the fact that the death of Michael Jackson got its own thread shows something about this "forum". It shows something about people in general.
Perhaps the death of democracy in Iran isnt such a great example, but the deaths of those people and the instability which WILL effect the lives of millions of people is a much greater tragedy than the death of one man who most likely will not contribute anything more to what he has already created. His music might have made a "great impact" on some people, but at the end of the day the music is still there, just the man is not. The music will not save the true problems of the world. Some might claim that it might "get people closer to each other" but it wont stop the persecution of people around the world. It might sound insensitive to some, but if I were to decide what should be on the news then it would be the genocide in Darfur, crisis in Sudan, the death of millions of people in Africa due to disease and malnutrition, or the Israeli Palestinian conflict among many others. Michael Jackson might get a few minutes on the bottom of the screen in text saying that he died.
The fact that so many people are suddenly out on the streets crying, commemorating his life and talking about him as if the world will never be the same, saddened by this etc, just shows how limited their knowledge is of what is going on in the world. If not, then they are simply ignorant and insensitive to what is really going on. Every day should be a day of mourning for those who are persecuted in the territories occupied by Israel in the Middle east; for those who have been already killed in Iran and for those who will be killed in the near future; for those who are imprisoned and tortured in Myanmar; and for the BILLIONS of people who live in EXTREME POVERTY. I find it so much more tragic that more than half of the worlds population lives under 2$ a day than the fact that a man who made some great music and had many health problems due to a series of plastic sugeries had died.
Someone said that the fact that the death of Michael Jackson got its own thread shows something about this "forum". It shows something about people in general.
At the risk of straying a bit off topic. I think what could be acheived in the middle east is far better than what we call democracy.
Right now our unelected prime minister is destroying whats left of the economy with random knee jerk measures.
We just had to vote on the european elections. But where was the box that says Id like them to all stay at home?
Tens of thousands of people turned out on the streets of Tehran, in fear of their own life to speak out against corruption.
Political protests are banned, so they march in silence carrying blank signs.
Maybe thats not democracy, I dont know what it is. But its a more dignified freedom than what we have here.
Iran overthrew their last government, they know they can do it again.
They still beleive that enough ordinary people can make a difference.
An ideal that was snubbed out over here years ago.
So while they dont have democracy. Id say they are capable of a much superior form than ours.
Also In some places over 100% of the eligable voters turned out to vote.
If thats not a shining beacon of democracy I dont know what is..
Yeah hes as innnocent as OJ simpson.
If you dont count all the times he settled out of court.
Fatal Flaw - If you had the Israel/Palestine situation on your show every day it would get a little boring, especially after a few hundred years, your news show would lose viewers, and you would go out of business. Then people would know even less about the middle east as the resource you provided would disappear. The fact is people don't want to mourn every day..
The guy was known around the world. He had major global impact, and almost certainly there will never be anyone like him again. I think his life should be celebrated, just as Ed McMahons or Farrahs should be.
There's a lot of 'things that could be said about people today'
The most recognised symbol in the world is the Coca Cola Logo, the 2nd most recognised is the Christian Cross, and the third are the Macdonalds arches. That also says something about people in general.
Half of the worlds population living on under $2/day? BILLIONS in extreme poverty? Where are you getting these stats?
MJ - RIP
Missy, I am getting these statistics from what I learned as a International Relations major, humanitarian organizations master, and my internship with a few humanitarian organizations in Geneva. Besides that, theres loads of information on this topic on the internet.
United Nations source:
http://www.un.org/jsummit/html/media_info/press_kit/fact3_poverty.pdf
I understand what you're trying to say in the beginning, but its going to an extreme which is highly unrealistic. I said that the there are much more important issues which should be put on the news, and the death of Michael Jackson is definately not important enough to set everything else aside. People do not see the truth about what is going on in these regions precisely because the media and those in charge hide the reality from the public. Just because its not "new" doesnt mean that it doesnt deserve to be shown continuously on the news. There is also a difference between saying "boring" news such as "oh this many people died in Iraq" and actually showing what is going on in these areas of the world (dead children on the streets, starving families etc). The power of the population is so great that if such images had in reality appeared on TV, the pressure on world leaders to act would be immense. When was the last time you turned on BBC or CNN and saw something about Sudan? How about Darfur? There hasnt been a significant report on these issues on TV for months now, if not years.
My comment about mourning was more to prove a point and not to put into practice. The fact that so many people are mourning like this over a musician (and more importantly that the media had set aside all of the other much more important issues in the world) baffles me when I see the amount of violence, death, and suffering all over the world.
What major global impact did he have? He sold over 700 million CD's. What impact did he have with regards to improving the lives of people around the world? He created a song called "we are the world". Did that actually make things better in the world? It might have motivated a few people to act, but seriously anything more? Besides the fact that he was a great musician and had a great impact on the music industry, thats about it for me.
Edit: I would like to ask you what you think his major global impact was? What I wrote above about him is all that I can think of, because at the end of the day he is still a musician. He had not authority or power to change the worlds problems, and those to me are more news worthy than his death.
Rumours and speculation
Suspected overdose could to be due to doctors misdiagnosis
MJ's doctors missing
Suspected overdose could to be due to doctors misdiagnosis
MJ's doctors missing
And if someone is getting bored of seeing people die and of hearing about the different conflicts around the world then they are under educated, insensitive, and ignorant. So I guess it kind of goes a long with my concern about the people who are preoccupied with a story like this.
I guess the moral of my story is that you should celebrate his life how ever long you want, but do not do so at the expense of issues which should be far more important.
I guess the moral of my story is that you should celebrate his life how ever long you want, but do not do so at the expense of issues which should be far more important.
missing because they were "kidnapped" by fans or missing as in gone in hiding?