i'm sure some of those iranian protesters are taking a moment to listen to their smuggled bootleg copies of "thriller." - tiffany

Yeah, the ones who haven't been shot yet. - Steven Perez from IM

pop culture and music are our outlet. don't dismiss them. it's how we get by / through some things. - tiffany

We send regards after their supreme leader orders them to shout death to America, & death to Britain ? .. We should "rock the Kasaba" dance and sing a little MJ might be a good thing. - Uva Be Dolezal

I dismiss how easily a great many people lose themselves in pop culture. I've never been one to live vicariously through someone's else hijinks, not when I could have my own. - Steven Perez

every culture has popular music and something like the blues. it's a way to escape for a bit. and in repressive cultures, pop -- yes, like michael jackson -- and rock are ways to subvert the control your government imposes. call it "frivilous" if you like. but pop frivolity is how folks everywhere make it through the day. - tiffany

He actually died pickin his nose, don't blame it on sunshine, don't blame it on moonlight, good times, blame it on the boogie (via @Rain83) - Chris Loft

words right out of my mouth SP - nothing more important happening in the world. - BEX

You're missing the point, Tiffany. This doesn't have anything to do with music or pop culture. This has to do with overreaction. Think about it - people have been getting their brains blown out all week in Iran, a country smack dab between two of our armies (and if you don't think that this fact is not too important, ask someone who has family serving in the Middle East), and Twitter stays up. But let one pop icon die, and the service goes down like a lead weight. I guess we see what's most important to us here in the States. - Steven Perez

There is enough grief, empathy and sympathy to go around. If my heart had limits then I could agree with you but it doesn't. - Lindsey is Fierce!

My heart has few limits, Lindsey. My patience, on the other hand, ... - Steven Perez

Steven: not to excuse or defend, but a possible understanding. I know that I, for one, become very weary when confronted with the images of suffering that I feel so helpless to stop. Starvation. AIDS orphans. Somalia. Iran. Afghanistan. North Korea (who hears about the stavation and disease in N. Korea? it's all about the nukes, because they're so much sexier). There are times when I just can't even look at the headlines, much less actually read the content of the news, because I just want to crawl off into a corner and weep. Yes, the US media is completely overreacting (and overkilling) to MJ's death. Notice also how much more attention it's getting than Farrah Fawcett's; of course, hers was not a surprise, but the *suffering* behind her death had been in the media for some time already. - Ladybug Heather

The suffering in Iran is not any less important. It's just that, for many in the US, it's become wearying. It's far away. We don't see what we can do about it. But Michael Jackson, well, we can find our old vinyls and play them once again. Maybe the media should help bring the struggling and suffering in Iran closer to us; maybe we need more people who can help us find something to do, so that we don't stare at the images and videos in utter helplessness. I don't know. But... well, I guess that's all I had. - Ladybug Heather

I'm the same way as Heather and as another point, MJ was a worldwide icon. The world will grieve his death. - Lindsey is Fierce!

Heather: I think that's the problem. We've become so imbued with an aesthetic that demands total immersion in a 24-hour information cycle, that we have a difficult time discerning when to unplug ourselves from the news. This is a perfect case in point: 24-hour news saturation of Whacko Jacko and his exploits over the last 30+ years leads to this type of reaction. The superficial has no interest with me, because it is just that: a veneer, designed to distract. To be honest, the death of the Iranian girl Neda is of greater importance to me than Michael Jackson's passing. No one is holding up Jackson as a martyr to impel change in their way of life. So I compartmentalize his death as I do all others who I do not know personally: it's tragic, but death is a constant feature of this world. Note it and move on. - Steven Perez

And while we're on the subject: I wonder how many people who are weeping in their proverbial beers were among the same people who made snide jokes at the man's expense over the years. Because that's what we do in this culture: we build people up with dreams of riches and celebrity, and then take great pleasure in knocking them down. That is sport to us. So you'll excuse me if I want no part in that today. I treat Jackson's death the same way I would treat Ed McMahon's or Farah Fawcett's passing - a tragedy to be noted for a moment, and then we move on. - Steven Perez

I also wonder how many people actually cared about the Iranian elections before that Friday... - Johnny Worthington

I did, but I'm a news junkie. :) - Steven Perez

As am I, plenty of news coverage about Iran still going on. Just need to look in the right places. Maybe it's not the fault of the media, just which media we choose to consume. - Johnny Worthington

I wouldn't let the media off that easily. If all you ever offer people to eat is a steaming pile of dung, one shouldn't be surprised if they get picky about which flavor dung they like. - Steven Perez from IM

If all that was offered was dung, then yes. But more than dung is offered by a number of outlets. - Johnny Worthington

NOW there is. The trick is convincing people that something better is out there. And it doesn't help if the chef serving up the dung keeps talking against the guy serving real carne asada down the street in his little push-cart. - Steven Perez from IM

i totally agree with you mr. perez. it's become downright trite. - Cee Bee

In effect, you find yourself fighting 60+ years of ingrained education that says, "If the information didn't come from an APPROVED source, then it's crap." - Steven Perez from IM

I'm not ashamed to say that my attention will be squared on MJ and not Iran. Sorry. - Mike Nayyar

Steven, all morning I have been listening to ABC News Radio. Only brief updates on Jackson mixed with reports on Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and China, economics and local politics. The Associated Press isn't just at the hospital - Johnny Worthington

Again, it's a matter of priorites, and celebrity "news" rates less than zero with me. - Steven Perez

Taryn: given the fact that the majority of people used the man for a pinata for the last decade and a half, you'll excuse me while I laugh at your assumptions. And nice list - I see it ends somewhere around the early 90s, when the public at large decided that they liked the man more as some sort of freak rather than an entertainer. I repeat: "Because that's what we do in this culture: we build people up with dreams of riches and celebrity, and then take great pleasure in knocking them down. That is sport to us. So you'll excuse me if I want no part in that today. I treat Jackson's death the same way I would treat Ed McMahon's or Farah Fawcett's passing - a tragedy to be noted for a moment, and then we move on." - Steven Perez from IM

And given what I've seen today, "icon" is the correct choice of word. - Steven Perez from IM

That's fine, Taryn, because this whole topic was no more about the man or his achievements than it was when I made much the same point last week about the Lakers' fans who smashed up stuff. It never fails to amaze me what will get some folks excited enough to comment on something. - Steven Perez from IM