Christine the Lioness (3122)
Christopher the Pyro (1985)
ProphetJoe the Irreverent (1242)
Trouble the Pirate (601)
Keith the Director (573)
Mara the Peacemaker (532)
eric the Lil' Devil (351)
AJ the Zen Master (305)
Ben the Kingpin (213)
Haas the Addict (187) Bellatmot the Addict (179)
Christine 2 the Mercenary (131) Lei the Mercenary (124) Katie the Mercenary (115) ProphetJoe the Irreverent up'n wrote this
Please tell me you’ve been Photoshopping again, Christopher….
Would anyone in the african-american community like to comment on this issue?? Do y’all *really* think Michael and OJ are just victims of the white majority??
Help me understand…
Btw, nice follow-on to the Register Sex Offender post, Christopher 
Mara the Peacemaker thought this
It’s an actual issue, PJ. I just can’t over how feminine he looks…I really dig his eyebrows.
ProphetJoe the Irreverent uttered
Mara: Surgically applied, no doubt 
But my question is, do you find him attractive and authentic as a black man? Personally, I *loved* little Michael Jackson when he was signing “A-B-C”. Hell, I liked him in Thriller and Off the Wall. What I see before me, though, is a mere caricature of the real person that once was Michael Jackson. His cheeks look fake. His skin looks fake. His hair looks fake. His lips look fake — and don’t EVEN get me started about that freakish nose of his! Worse yet, he dangled his baby from a balcony and has young boys over for deviantunusual overnight stays.
Someone who should grace the cover of a famous magazine? I think not.
ProphetJoe the Irreverent scribbled
HEY!! This is my 777th comment in __________ months. (Christopher, when did I make my comment here??)
Seriously, Christine, what’s my 
Christine the Lioness said this
Your gift… ready for this… is a weekend in Nambia with none other than the king of pop himself… Tell what he’s won, Bob!
You and a friend will relax in this island paradise (?), collecting bones from the Elephant Man and frolicking with tree monkeys. You’ll enjoy wine from Coke cans and blow boatloads of cash on sunscreen (keep in mind, the fairer you are, the worse you burn– ask Michael). In the evenings, you’ll spend hours on the beach watching young boys romp through the waves in the nude. It’ll truly be a weekend you’ll never forget…
ProphetJoe the Irreverent asserted
You and Michael are both depraved individuals — oh, and you too, Bob.
And yet, maybe I could keep a tree monkey… Trouble has his parrot, after all.
Mara the Peacemaker scribbled
“But my question is, do you find him attractive and authentic as a black man?”
I’m afraid I don’t understand this question. What is an authentic black man?
I suppose perhaps Michael’s appearance on this cover begs the question what it really means to be “black.” He was born of two black parents so as far as I’m concerned, he’s a black man.
ProphetJoe the Irreverent remarked
“Do you think he’s proud be be black?” may be the better question.
I think he is trying very hard not to look “black”. He’s spent a get deal of time and money having his skin bleached, his hair straightened, his nose and cheeks reconstructed, and so on. I don’t know if he feels that appearing “less black” would help his entertainment career, or if he’s just unhappy with his natural body image, but it seems to me that he has gone to great lengths to look white — so why does Ebony want him on the cover? After all, wasn’t Ebony based on the principle of “Black is beautiful” and should be celebrated? He seems to be the antipathy of that concept.
As an aside, if he only had 1 black parent, would you still consider him a black man, or for that matter, would it matter which parent is black in a interracial relationship?
Mara the Peacemaker commented
““Do you think he’s proud be be black?” may be the better question.”
Ah, well this is an entirely different question. At first glance, I would say no. It does appear that he has tried to rid himself of his “black features” if you will. On the other hand, his issue may not necessarily be with blackness itself. In other words, I cannot say that he’s gone to great lengths to look white, per se, but more generally, to look like something other than what he was.
But I also think your question raises another: what does it mean to be black? Does it mean that if you were born with stereotypical black features you should embrace them? (should we not embrace our natural looks regardless?). If you attempt to change those features, does it mean you do not like being black as opposed to simply not liking the way you look? Are our physical characteristics somehow inherently connected to our race in such a way that to reject one’s look is to reject their race? I do not have what one might call stereotypical black features. If I wear long straight hair and colored contacts, am I trying to look white? Perhaps I simply like the look of long straight hair and colored contacts.
“As an aside, if he only had 1 black parent, would you still consider him a black man, or for that matter, would it matter which parent is black in a interracial relationship?”
In my opinion, a biracial person, by definition, isn’t one race or the other, but both. I have never understood why people who are of mixed race (white and black, for example) are considered black. Well, I know *why* from a historical perspective. I just find it irritating that such a notion continues to be perpetuated.
“After all, wasn’t Ebony based on the principle of “Black is beautiful” and should be celebrated? He seems to be the antipathy of that concept.”
Well, if that is the case, Jackson’s appearance on the cover of Ebony presents a certain irony. Clearly, Ebony considers Jackson black, even if he doesn’t.
ProphetJoe the Irreverent penned this
I should have clarified one point which may have come across as racially motivated — I find that I have a fairly high distain for people who radically change their appearances trying to reach some self-delusional level of perfection. I am not trying to single out Michael Jackson because he’s black. I am as disgusted by the women on Dr. 90210 who think if they have larger breasts, tighter tummies and fuller lips, they are somehow worthy of our admiration — pffft.
Christine the Lioness added
“I have never understood why people who are of mixed race (white and black, for example) are considered black. Well, I know *why* from a historical perspective. I just find it irritating that such a notion continues to be perpetuated.”
I understand it from a historical perspective too, but honestly, it’s really about how someone looks. Barack Obama looks black so people see him as black. So does Tiger Woods and Halle Berry. I was watching Oprah once about black women (or biracial women) who look as white as I do and people assume they’re white. I mean, it’s not really about what you are but how you look. And really… what difference does that make anyway? I think it’s ridiculous for people to feel forced to embrace features they don’t like simply because it represents their ethnicity. If Asians want to get that eye lid surgery, let ‘em. If Michael wants to chisel his nose down to the point he looks like a genetic mistake, let him. I agree that when you feel like you need to constantly change how you look, it could mean you have esteem issues that could be better served by therapy than rhinoplasty, but to accuse blacks of being “sell-outs” so to speak because they change their features from something that’s naturally black to something that is naturally white, is putting a burden on them that’s just ridiculous. If you look better than you did before, then good for you.
Regarding the women on Dr. 90210, I think it’s sad that these women feel the need to alter their bodies so much and that their entire being revolves around how they look. But many of them do look better afterward than they did before, and whether or not you agree with getting those results surgically, you can’t deny that they look better.
In Michael’s case, I do believe he’s rejected his “blackness” along with many other things that probably came from having the fucked up childhood he had, but again, I think he has some serious mental problems that aren’t being addressed. And I feel sorry for him in that respect.
Trouble the Pirate got all philosophical
Yes… Fake titties rock… This is the sum total of what useful insights I can glean from a post about Michelle Jackson… I tried…
Mara the Peacemaker pontificated
“I understand it from a historical perspective too, but honestly, it’s really about how someone looks.”
Sometimes I think it goes further than someone looks, at least to some black people. Of course, we respond to people the way they appear to us. Thus, if a biracial woman looks white to you (and assuming you don’t know she’s biracial), then you’d consider her white. But I think people also get caught up with what biracial individuals “claim.” For example, when I was in college, I knew several black/white racial women who looked white. But a lot of the black students felt those girls were black. It didn’t matter that they were biracial or that they “appeared” white. As long as someone had a black parent, they were black. So that’s really more of what I was talking about and perhaps that is a separate issue.
“In Michael’s case, I do believe he’s rejected his “blackness” along with many other things that probably came from having the fucked up childhood he had, but again, I think he has some serious mental problems that aren’t being addressed.”
Agreed. I just brought up those questions because while in Michael Jackson’s case this might be true, it may not in other cases (the black woman who wears colored contacts, for example).
Trouble the Pirate stated
When you have money you don’t need to address your mental issues… You can revel in them…
Mara the Peacemaker got all philosophical
Poor people are weird, but rich people are eccentric.
Christine the Lioness pontificated
“Sometimes I think it goes further than someone looks, at least to some black people. Of course, we respond to people the way they appear to us. Thus, if a biracial woman looks white to you (and assuming you don’t know she’s biracial), then you’d consider her white. But I think people also get caught up with what biracial individuals “claim.” For example, when I was in college, I knew several black/white racial women who looked white. But a lot of the black students felt those girls were black. It didn’t matter that they were biracial or that they “appeared” white. As long as someone had a black parent, they were black. So that’s really more of what I was talking about and perhaps that is a separate issue.”
Mara, I want to make sure i understand what you’re saying here. You’re saying that some white-looking biracial women are claiming to be fully white?
If everyone who sees them thinks they’re white (obviously I’m referring to the people who don’t know them well), then aren’t they, for all intents and purposes, white? They aren’t experiencing racism, etc. the way blacks would.
Mara the Peacemaker uttered
“Mara, I want to make sure i understand what you’re saying here. You’re saying that some white-looking biracial women are claiming to be fully white?”
Oh no, not at all. I’m saying that other people may consider them black despite the fact that they look white.
Christine the Lioness asserted
So call me totally ignorant… but… what’s wrong with people who are half black half white being considered black if they look black and white if they look white? I mean… it’s not exactly untrue.
If a black and a white get together, maybe they’ll have a black kid and maybe they’ll have a white kid. They just have to wait and see what pops out. Instead of just wondering if it’s a boy or a girl, they have an additional surprise to look forward to. It’s kinda nice actually.
Seriously though, I don’t see what all the brew-haha is about. Why would anyone consider someone black if they LOOK white? I mean, why would anyone else care? They are as much black as they are white so… why can’t they choose one without being criticized for it?
I guess what I’m getting at is why is it a big deal to some people to think that someone is “denying” their African-American ethnicity when on a daily basis people who interact with them assume they’re white because they look white? Why would anyone else care what that person claims to be their ethnicity? It’s not really any of their business.
I know I’m making light of it a little, but seriously, I do want to understand this animosity some blacks have for biracials who claim they’re white instead of black. Because quite frankly, I couldn’t care less if they call themselves white or black– I don’t feel slighted if Barack calls himself black instead of white even though he has a white mother.
Mara the Peacemaker chimed in with
“Seriously though, I don’t see what all the brew-haha is about. Why would anyone consider someone black if they LOOK white?”
I am as puzzled as you are. But anyway, I was just pointing this out to say that for some people, race does go beyond what someone merely looks like. That is why I am bothered by the idea that a black/white biracial person has to be considered black, but not white or not white AND black (which they technically are).
Can’t people just be?
Christine the Lioness chimed in with
Yes, they should just “be.” And imho, that is one of the problems with people who feel they need to “bond” with other people based on their race (ie– the organizations that exclude rather include that we’ve discussed on this blog before). But there are definitely people who make race such a big part of their lives, it tends to outweigh individuality.
Joy the Virgin stated
My God! I’m a woman….and younger than he…..be he’s prettier than I am!! Gotta love airbrushing!
Christine the Lioness spake, and sayeth
Thank God for the airbrushing I say. Had they not, even subscribers would probably be too repulsed to pick up the magazine and see if there were more pix inside…
Keep_up_with_katie the Groupie got all philosophical
I seriously think he is really La Toya, …..google that… seriously…
If he had that much surgery to alter basically everything about him that made him look nothing like his brothers or his father or mother, just mostly LaToya, maybe a little Janet, I would say he had some serious freakin issues with separating himself from the women and men aspect…. Look at him, and how far he took the altering of his features, I mean do you think he went so far as to alter the stereotypical “hung like a donkey” feature that most every man, wishes they had. Not to bag the average 5-6.5, but come on, why wouldn’t he just go all the way….he looks like a little shim..(she him) that never blossomed, and rode roller coasters with monkeys and flamingo s until he got accused three or four times of having full on sleep over’s with young boys, and set a standard of complete insanity for the rest of his life. Eccentric is not interchangeable with a bleached used to be black man child molester with monkey’s, roller coaster, flamingo’s, and the ability to be his sister LaToya at any given moment, which screams… holy mother of lamb chops.. you are a scary freaky weirdo that is no longer mysterious and misunderstood, you are f’ed up dude, and no flamingo, roller coaster, elephant or other country can cover that up… i don’t even think there is a pill to take to set you straight, or another adoptive wild animal that doesn’t want to live in your Never Land rapetuary….that will make you come back to planet earth… Was Ebony serious? Because it’s like it was opposite month and they had to put the most jacked up white black person they could find, on the cover… 
i will admit that he had some really kick ass music, but since his voice never changed, my LaToya theory could be considered).. and that would explain why LaToya is always so pissed off, and feels so underappreciated because her alter ego…MJ… gets all her credit… It just seems a little Cybil- ish….except..they have a lot of money, wild animals that aren’t supposed to be pets, and killer music, and over abundance of crazy genes…I mean i freak a little when I don’t think I look good, but I think all of this is a bit higher maintenance than any of the women you could compare him to. I bet his getting ready for anything, turns into a full on frenzy of confusion, and temper tantrums and crying and screaming, more than any woman, and it’s worse because he has even more outfits to make you wait so he/she can come out and ask you “Does this outfit look good? You tilted your head to the left, Are you saying it doesn’t look good? Hang on I have over 160, 000 different parachute pants and 1million pairs of shoes, it will just take a year to finally get out into public.” The reason there is no comment back to his questions, flamingo’s don’t talk… and monkeys use sign…if I was a monkey I know what sign I’d give him, especially if he made me wait that long to get ready….The monkey probably just wanted a freakin banana from the northwest wing of the Neverland compound kitchen….That freakin monkey has more answers to all of our questions than the Secret Service or FBI could ever scrape up… The monkey is trully the missing link to answer all these questions. Has anyone asked the monkey.. of course not….
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