How Well Do You Know MJ?

[mykidsmum]

Well we can only guess but none of us knows the answer 100% for sure although we think we know the answer, or at least hope we know the answer.  Does this make sense?

What I mean is, we have our own pre-conceptions about Michael and what he would and wouldn't do so it's difficult to think of the possibility of the answer being anything other than what we pre-conceive and my guess is most of us have the pre-conception that he wouldn't harm ANY living thing.

OK I'm rambling now and probably not making much sense.  :roll:

you are actually making a lot of sense ... I agree with you now

you actually said exactly what I was looking for...I am one of those people who want answers about MJ and want to know why he is no longer with us.  I am one of those people who is willing to see both sides of the coin, so to speak.  There is the Michael Jackson that we, the public, the fans know, the one he created for himself, for us... and then there is the real Michael Jackson, who is like everyone else in this world...Human.  I wanted to bring this topic up because sometimes I feel that people are unwilling to look at anything that paints MJ in a negative light or goes against those "preconceived" notions we have about him.  I guess what I am trying to say, is that we are all fans of Michael Jackson and we Love the Michael Jackson that he worked so hard to create for us, but if we want to get any where in this mess we are in, we must be willing to see Michael for who he is...behind his public image.  We must be willing to accept his humanity and his short comings and LOVE him all the more for them.  If we can't see the negatives about him and accept him anyway, or even entertain ideas about him that go against what we think about him...we are not going to get anywhere in this.  
That is all I wanted to say and here is the article that sparked my question to begin with.  Speaking for myself only...reading this shocked me...not because it is Michael Jackson, but that anyone could do this and it rattled my preconceived notions I had of Michael Jackson...but I will tell you what...after I stepped back and thought about it, I realized Michael is human after all and fallible like us all.  I like him even more!

[DancingTheDream]

Around 1:20.  :cry:
It's cute. In the beginning, it sounds like he has an English accent.
 :lol:

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No he doesnt.  Im English and i can assure you, Michael sounds all American.  

[DancingTheDream]

I think the example you gave...  i dont think Michael is laughing because he is glad that the rats froze alive.  And he didnt do it purposedly.  

He could be laughing for a whole manner of reasons... nerves for one, or the fact he is talking about such a bizarre subject.

And rats do eat their young.  Rabbits do it too.. and if you witness it, it is sickening so i understand why he just put the cage outside because it was making him feel ill.

[CrazyBanana]

Oh I remember reading about that..but not quotes
I wuv u MJ <3

[truthprevails]

I think the example you gave...  i dont think Michael is laughing because he is glad that the rats froze alive.  And he didnt do it purposedly.  

He could be laughing for a whole manner of reasons... nerves for one, or the fact he is talking about such a bizarre subject.

And rats do eat their young.  Rabbits do it too.. and if you witness it, it is sickening so i understand why he just put the cage outside because it was making him feel ill.

I agree with you, DancingTheDream.  Michael simply left the cage outside, without realizing that it was so cold the rats would freeze... I don't think we have "pre-conceived" notions of Michael, as much as notions of who he was based on all the evidence we saw in 4+ decades.  And we saw a lot!  There was much evidence that MJ loved and cared for animals, and not one iota of evidence to show that MJ was a cruel person - to either animals or humans.  And I don't think a person can be fake for 4+ decades, especially when they're the most scrutinized person on Earth!!  So this little vignette doesn't change my opinion of MJ at all.  Besides, we seem to forget that people change and evolve over time... We kinda treat MJ as if he was a constant and didn't have the right to change his opinions or contradict himself in the space of 5 or 10 or 20 years!!  Compared to many other people, MJ actually stayed constant in his values over time... And that's quite remarkable for someone so successful.

Things that are not a matter of values (say smoking) would not shock me, and wouldn't change my opinion of MJ as a person.  He had to be fallible... He was human.  But given that he was at the upper border of humanity, where very few people reside, I don't think we should strive to bring him down by pointing at all the flaws (existent or non-existent), in the way the media have over the years.   :evil: Little things don't matter... Big things do, and MJ was all about BIG THINGS.  

[MJonmind]

When my kids were young, before we finally got a dog and then cat, we had other pets such as rats. One day the female (who'd had many litters) ate much of the male. I totally understand Michael being grossed out. Cute story of him!!

[loma]

Boys will be boys.  :lol:
My little cousin collects rollie pollies after it rains.
He didn't warn me when I opened the jar.
 :?

[Dancing_Machine]

Boys will be boys.  :lol:
My little cousin collects rollie pollies after it rains.
He didn't warn me when I opened the jar.
 :?

That's what I was thinking  :lol:

Uhh...what are rollie pollies? Please don't use a image if it's some kind of insect or something.  :lol:

[loma]

They're bugs.
Like the size of a ladybug. They're grey and when you touch them, they roll up into a little ball.
Hard to explain.  :lol:

[Dancing_Machine]

They're bugs.
Like the size of a ladybug. They're grey and when you touch them, they roll up into a little ball.
Hard to explain.  :lol:

Oh I know what you mean  :lol:
Those bugs are really cute, when I was a kid I used to pick them up and play with them hahaha.
Even their name sounds cute in English. You know how they're called in Dutch: pissebed.  :lol:
Sometimes Dutch isn't that different from English so you can might guess what 'pissebed' means.

I used to call them 'grandpa's bugs' when I was a little girl.  :lol: Don't ask me why cause I have no idea. Maybe because my grandpa used to have them around his house I think.

Did I just wrote a whole text about bugs???  :|

[loma]

:lol:
What a terrible name.
 I mean they're cute, but 100 of them crawling out of a jar was startling.
Yes. Yes you did.  

[XspeechlessX]

They're bugs.
Like the size of a ladybug. They're grey and when you touch them, they roll up into a little ball.
Hard to explain.  :lol:

Oh I know what you mean  :lol:
Those bugs are really cute, when I was a kid I used to pick them up and play with them hahaha.
Even their name sounds cute in English. You know how they're called in Dutch: pissebed.  :lol:
Sometimes Dutch isn't that different from English so you can might guess what 'pissebed' means.

I used to call them 'grandpa's bugs' when I was a little girl.  :lol: Don't ask me why cause I have no idea. Maybe because my grandpa used to have them around his house I think.

Did I just wrote a whole text about bugs???  :|

Indeed you did...

seems someone needs to get out more!!  :roll:

Just kidding, it is hard to stop yourself getting carried away whilst talking about tiny squidgy bugs isnt it...
   :lol:

[mykidsmum]

I think the example you gave...  i dont think Michael is laughing because he is glad that the rats froze alive.  And he didnt do it purposedly.  

He could be laughing for a whole manner of reasons... nerves for one, or the fact he is talking about such a bizarre subject.

And rats do eat their young.  Rabbits do it too.. and if you witness it, it is sickening so i understand why he just put the cage outside because it was making him feel ill.

I agree with you, DancingTheDream.  Michael simply left the cage outside, without realizing that it was so cold the rats would freeze... I don't think we have "pre-conceived" notions of Michael, as much as notions of who he was based on all the evidence we saw in 4+ decades.  And we saw a lot!  There was much evidence that MJ loved and cared for animals, and not one iota of evidence to show that MJ was a cruel person - to either animals or humans.  And I don't think a person can be fake for 4+ decades, especially when they're the most scrutinized person on Earth!!  So this little vignette doesn't change my opinion of MJ at all.  Besides, we seem to forget that people change and evolve over time... We kinda treat MJ as if he was a constant and didn't have the right to change his opinions or contradict himself in the space of 5 or 10 or 20 years!!  Compared to many other people, MJ actually stayed constant in his values over time... And that's quite remarkable for someone so successful.

Things that are not a matter of values (say smoking) would not shock me, and wouldn't change my opinion of MJ as a person.  He had to be fallible... He was human.  But given that he was at the upper border of humanity, where very few people reside, I don't think we should strive to bring him down by pointing at all the flaws (existent or non-existent), in the way the media have over the years.   :evil: Little things don't matter... Big things do, and MJ was all about BIG THINGS.  

You all have your own ideas on MJ and by all means you can have them... I'm just trying to show that MJ is Human.  Did you all know that he would throw rocks at his caged lion with one of his friends (Wade Robson) to get him to roar? (that is in the transcripts from testimony given at his trial) and a reporter covering the vibe shoot (I think she was there that same day) said that MJ took them to the monkey cages and got everyone really close to the cage and then screamed so the monkey would get scared and jump and screech at one of the women who fell backwards from fear and MJ died laughing...(I would have been right beside him laughing too!) but it shows you that there is another side to MJ...

[mjjveritas]

The idea of MJ throwing rocks at a cage to agitate an animal to react depresses me. I don't know if this really happened or not, so I will give MJ the benefit of the doubt. I always try to see things from an animal's viewpoint. One would not frighten a young child so why an animal? People need to be advocates for animals. Switzerland was trying to introduce into their court system, lawyers for animals but this plan has been rejected, unfortunately. I remember seeing someone on "Cribs" and he had a big cat in the grounds of his house. The poor animal was in a see through container. If the animal can't live in the wild or next best thing a large Safari/animal park then don't bother. Just because someone has enough money doesn't mean you should have everything your heart desires. Obviously not an animal lover. Probably more interested in the cachet/status of owning an exotic pet than the animal's welfare/needs. Rant over.

[Dancing_Machine]

:lol:
What a terrible name.
 I mean they're cute, but 100 of them crawling out of a jar was startling.
Yes. Yes you did.  

I have no idea where that name came from  :?
Hahaha a jar full of them isn't really a nice thought no  :lol:

@XspeechlessX, this hoax got me even talking about bugs!  :lol: