Is Michael Jackson a good role model for kids?

[Philosoraptor]

In other words, would you want your own kids to emulate him?

[MNDemNY]

1. Is Roman Polanski?

[Philosoraptor]

2. Is Helen Reddy? Is Vanna White? Is Clint Black? Is James Brown?

[MNDemNY]

9. Are those four also child molesters? I did not know.

[JitterbugPerfume]

3. I will take his daughters word

she said he was the best father in the world

[hlthe2b]

7. ....

:thumbsup:




Kids could do far worse, his many controversies aside. His philanthropy and wide choice of causes was not insignficant.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

30. .

:wow: :hide:

[Howardx]

27. dont you think

her frame of reference might be a bit limited?

[sandnsea]

4. YES

Better than most of DU assholes.

[Philosoraptor]

8. What about all the drugs and hundreds of millions he ripped off?

[Inspired]

15. He 'stold' hundreds of millions? Huh?

[Boomerang Diddle]

24. Are people who think "stold" is a word good role models for kids? n/t

[Inspired]

28. OK...I'll bite now that you've edited. Who did he rip hundreds of millions off from?

[Philosoraptor]

29. Saudi Shieks, record companies, he died half a billion in debt

[Inspired]

32. Linky please. If he did rip off Saudi Shieks, good for him.

As for record companies? Someone is going to pimp that catalog of over 100 new songs he left his children. I think the record companies are going to be just fine. I'm sure that both appreciate your concern though.

[gkhouston]

5. Only if you want them to be very, very still. Dead people are great at the not moving thing. n/t

[leftstreet]

6. As a singer, or a dead person?

:shrug:

Did you mean 'was?'

[no_hypocrisy]

10. It depends.

There's the image and then there's the reality.

Like Bing Crosby, jovial and lovable yet he beat his sons brutally. Or Joan Crawford. Even benign characters like Ozzie Nelson screwed up Ricky. Do we totally condemn them and not give them an iota of merit for what they would have liked to have been?

I honestly don't know how to answer your question.

[BeyondGeography]

11. The whole role model thing is American bullshit taken to the extreme

:thumbsdown:

[KansDem]

13. I don't think there are many entertainers who make good role models...

That includes TV and movie stars, singers and dancers, professional sports athletes, etc...

Essentially anyone who achieves celebrity status as a result of the commercial media with their power of persuasion and propaganda through the marketing and advertising industries...

There are a few exceptions, like Paul Newman, Harry Belafonte, and Audrey Hepburn, to name a few...

Oh, and the Mills Brothers (and if anyone wants to know why the Mills Brothers make good role models, ask me...;))

[no_hypocrisy]

19. I love the Mills Brothers. Please tell me more.

[KansDem]

31. The Mills Brothers to me have always been a "class act"

Real gentlemen. Articulate and polite in the few clips I've seen them and heard them speak. And to consider all this was maintained during the most racist decades of the 20th century, always maintaining a sense of decency during acts of gross indecency.

They also sang inspiring songs during a time when America was at war. Their version of "Till Then..." comes to mind.

I played their CDs when my children were growing up. I wanted them to hear the Mills Brothers as examples of what the human voice could achieve as both solo instrument and as an ensemble.

But there is one story that I will always remember--
I worked as a bar tender for a comedy club in downtown KC during the mid-1990s. The kitchen manager--my boss--was older than me and had a background in theater; he had performed with some local repertory companies. Anyway, his career didn't pan out quite as he had hoped and he did a lot of backstage work: lighting, sound, etc.--theater technical work. He told me a story that, when I heard it I thought to myself, "Yep, that's the Mills Brothers..." He had been contracted to do some backstage work for a performance of the Mills Brothers in KC. I don't recall when this occurred but believe it was many, many years earlier. He said he set up the stage and oversaw the performance to make certain the equipment worked correctly... Afterward one of the Brothers came up to him and thanked him for his work. He extended his hand for a handshake and my boss completed the gesture. When the two separated, my boss found a neatly-folded $100 bill in his hand...

Class act...all the way :)

[NeedleCast]

14. 19

[Hepburn]

16. I have no problem except....

...my son could not carry a tune in a bucket! :hi:

[Coyote_Bandit]

17. No matter how well intentioned

every parent does something to fuck up their kids.

There are certainly far worse folks than Michael Jackson for kids to emulate. I'd include every fucking politician in the world in that group NOT to emulate.

[Inspired]

18. Who is looking for a role model? I just liked a lot of his music.

[TahitiNut]

20. Probably a lot better than his own father.

How easy it must be to judge without walking a mile in his shoes. The view must be something form the cheap seats. Is 'fame' and 'wealth' to be so envied that the horrors of his life can be ignored? Or that he overcame them??

Sometimes the humanity of others seems awfully thin to me. :shrug:

[Confusious]

21. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[Curtland1015]

22. Hell no I wouldn't. But I really can't think of many celebs I'd want my kids looking up to...

I'd rather they looked up to their parents.

[polichick]

23. I'd like my kids to emulate the "We Are The World" side of him, and for them...

...to use their natural talents the way he did ~ wholeheartedly.

His personal life had a lot of sadness, but that doesn't erase the good imo.

[ecstatic]

25. I wouldn't want my kids to be nasty grave dancers like

many people on DU. Some of you have no class at all.

[magellan]

26. Yes, for his generosity and love and joy of life

No reservation.

[Kahuna]

33. His talent is a good role model for aspiring performers. THAT's what

the hoopla is about.