Why Should I Pay for the Death of A Pop Star?

I'm going to preface this by saying that to the many of you who will strongly disagree with me or feel the need to make nasty comments about my thoughts - well, just remember... opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one and most of the time they just blow shit. So this is my rant.

Yesterday, here in Los Angeles, there was a circus. That circus was also known as the memorial service for the King of Pop (though I have to disagree with that moniker, I don't think he was the king of anything except the crazy train), one very insane, if beloved Michael Jackson. At 50, the most famous of former child stars passed away on June 25th (in case you have been living in a cave, but then again, I think even the survivors on Lost's island heard this news). And so began the media frenzy.

First it was the multitudes of fans and paparazzi that descended upon the UCLA medical centre where he was taken. I happened to be working on a set just down the street that day. There were no less than six helicopters circling the building just after the news broke trying, I assume, to get a shot of the body. Someone succeeded. It was disgusting and horrible and a blatant disregard for humanity. But after a few days, it started to subside... the news went back to talking about things that actually mattered - the state of the economy, the near-revolution taking place in Iran, the fact that our troops are starting to come home from Iraq - you know, NEWS.

And just as the world seemed to be getting back to normal, the announcements were made. A public memorial service to be held at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, and tickets were being given away by lottery. Celebrities to play, speeches to be given by friends and family, blah blah blah...

One question - does anyone not remember that this man who has passed, no matter how groundbreaking his music may have been at one point in the past, was all but convicted of being a pedophile? That his acquittal was questionable and the victims of said behaviour seem to be a lot more well-off these days than they were before. I'm not blatantly saying that he or his people paid off the plaintiffs. I'm just saying that it's strange that the case had so much convincing evidence, yet he got off.

But I digress. My issue here isn't whether or not Wacko Jacko was a pedophile. My issue is that the quickly announced memorial service was estimated to cost upwards of 4 million dollars. The city of Los Angeles, has for some time now, been broke. And I do mean BROKE. If a city could file for bankruptcy, I think LA would have several months ago. Teachers are getting laid off, school programs are being cut, police forces are being downsized, and construction sites have ceased to construct half way through projects because they don't have the money to finish.

So enter the overindulgent costs of a memorial service for Jackson. Who is going to pay for this? In fact, the nightly news brought it up. Amongst the repeated coverage of the memorial itself, the next highest news story last night was that in a city with no money, how did Los Angeles get stuck with the bill for this?

Someone I talked to yesterday insinuated that there was a city fund that was designated for "extraordinary events." Fine. That may be, but somehow I don't believe that the death of a pop star counts as an extraordinary event. I think that fund, if it exists, was started in the wake of the Northridge earthquake 15 years ago intended to be there in case of another massive seismic catastrophic event. I don't think that the taxpayers money set aside to help them in their time of need should be used to pay for a circus.

My friends are getting laid off from their jobs, but you expect that my tax money should go to pay for a port-a-john at the Staples Centre so that some deluded fan who "knew the real Michael" cause she met him once at a meet-and-greet way back when he was still Black can take a shit in a city parking lot while she stands crying about her personal loss? I don't think so.

The Jackson Family realized that there was a need for MJ's fans to say goodbye. I get that. I get that he had a lot of fans. I don't think he should be canonized as anything but what he was - he was a pop star. He wasn't a great humanitarian like Princess Diana. He wasn't even a good human, as witnessed by his constant plastic surgeries and deluded way of living. Sure he grew up in a bubble. He was not a normal well-adjusted person. He had problems. But that doesn't excuse his insanity or questionable behaviour over the years.

I think that the Jackson family needs to cough up the money. So should the friends and family. (MJ's estate was estimated at a worth of over 15 mill, no matter his financial difficulties at the time of his death.) If this media circus was their idea, then they should pay for it. Don't make the citizens of Los Angeles suffer further for the fiscal irresponsibility of one family whose patriarch drove his kids crazy.

Now, who should we send the bill to?

XO

The Tank Gyrl

ALL OF THE ABOVE

In a couple weeks, several of the pieces from the Carnival Series go up in a group show in Highland Park, Los Angeles. Hope you can make it.

XO
The Tank Gyrl