Pam, I'm also sorry for your loss.
In response to some of what Ann said:
Like others here, I couldn't relate to MJ after all his plastic surgery made him look so freakish. At the same time I could relate to the tragedy of his situation. He became a big star at what age, seven? He got all that attention and all that praise when he was a kid not only because he was a star, but because he was a child star. No wonder he would try to stay that cute and innocent forever.
MJ was 5 when he started performing with the Jackson 5 and I do agree that attention at a young age definitely can contribute to the child being "messed up" later in life, a lot of MJ's issus were from abuse by his father (physical and verbal) and his older brothers bringing women into their rooms (which Michael shared with them on tour) and having sex in front of him. This, I'm sure, contributed to his mental illness (he said as much in interviews and his biography). And although many people thought he was cute when he was a kid, his father (and other family members) told him his nose made him ugly. They also said this to some of the other Jackson children, hence Latoya and Janet's nose jobs.
But precisely because he was a child star and a hugely important bread winner for his family, MJ wasn't allowed to have a normal childhood. So not only did he learn to want to stay a child forever, he also started fantasizing about a much better childhood than the one he had really had. So he tried to give himself that kind of childhood once he had grown up and gained control of his own career and money. He tried to be a happy child when he should have been a man.
I couldn't agree more. His
lyrics to his song 'Childhood' pretty much sum up what you said Ann.
I'm sad that my children won't get to grow up with MJ like I got to, but at the same time, I'm glad that they won't see what he had become ~ they can know him only as he used to be.
