The Circus Comes to Town

The circus comes to Los Angeles this week at the Staples Center sports arena. It's free to attend but so crowded that you can only get in by lottery. Do not expect any elephants, high wire acts, or clowns although I wouldn't, at this point, be surprised if such things were included as part of the spectacle.

Up until now I avoided commenting on the death of pop star Michael Jackson. I knew that we would all be up to our eyeballs in Michael Jackson related commentary, so why should I annoy myself and whoever else happened to read my blog with yet more discussion about that "king of pop"? It was only after reading about the public memorial service that my feelings of disgust became strong enough to demand a blog entry. I apologize.

Why are they even bothering to call what is happening on Tuesday a memorial service? I thought memorial services were quiet ceremonies attended by the departed person's family, close friends, and acquaintances. The sideshow they are calling a funeral involves thousands of people, many of them giddy with excitement, clamoring for tickets in huge lines. The winners are twittering statements like "OMG, OMG, I'm so happy I got tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial." Such persons sound far more like children who have just won a trip to Disneyland than grief-stricken fans.

Of course public funerals are nothing new. Every time a world leader dies there are crowds of people that come to pay their respects in some form of public procession. The death of Abraham Lincoln affected a great number of people, and throngs of mourners attended his funeral. However, the key word here is "respect." Even when funerals are public, I would think they would be subdued events where people quietly and respectfully gather to remember a person they admired.

I didn't personally know Mr. Jackson, but, perhaps he would not have wanted his passing to be viewed as if it was the latest Ringling Brothers act. We do know that he was a very private person in his last years in spite of his great fame and eccentricity. What Michael Jackson would have wanted, though, is probably beside the point. I believe that funerals are for the living and not for the dead. While I am not a religious person, I do think memorial services are a way to help people mourn loved ones who have passed. It would be perfectly natural for Jackson's family and friends to hold a memorial service for themselves. Even if the family decided to hold a wake to celebrate the man's life instead of a traditional memorial service, it seems prudent that the occasion should belong to those who truly loved Jackson, remaining free of gawkers and curiosity seekers.

So why is a city with a $530 million dollar deficit sponsoring an opportunity for all of these crazed and jubilant fans to cram themselves into a sports stadium? Something about this just seems terribly disrespectful to Jackson's family and friends. These thousands of other people might have great enthusiasm for Michael Jackson's music, but they did not know who he was. They only know what he did while in the public eye. It's as if they do not realize that he was actually a person just like you and me. Perhaps they looked up to him as a role model and entertainer and just want to show their admiration for his achievements, but is there not a more polite way of doing this than creating a bigtop extravaganza out of what should be primarily a gathering for those that knew Jackson? There are a lot of other ways individual groups could pay tribute to his career.

I was not a huge fan of Michael Jackson. I thought he was among the world's most talented dancers. I felt sadness when I found out that he had died so young just like I felt sadness following the death of Heath Ledger who's work I probably admired more than Jackson's. I also know that Mr. Jackson was a human being with people who loved him. They deserve greater respect in their time of sorrow.

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