Last week, Taj Jackson, the son of Tito Jackson and nephew of the late Michael Jackson, went on his twitter account and express his anger about something. He was angry that "fans" of Michael have been trashing him and his family for almost a year. Taj was simply tired of the harassment and disrespect and wanted to set the record straight. Here were some of the things that he stated on his twitter account -
http://twitter.com/#!/tajjackson3
After reading Taj's tweets, I started to think why Michael Jackson fans (not all but some) have such a hatred for Michael's own family. I remember during the trial era in 2005 when, it seemed, fans were supportive of the family. The fans would greet the family when they arrived at the courthouse and online, fans would post nice things about his parents and siblings. There were always those certain fans that didn't like some members of the family and would often criticized them.
When Michael was murdered, the fans were hurt and devastated and felt terrible for the family, at least it seemed that way. After the public memorial, the Jacksons started making the media rounds to the tabloids and started talking to these people. That action and rumors of the Jacksons getting paid to talk to the tabloids were angering the MJ fan community. However, the one thing that fans were becoming very upset about was that there were some family members were questioning the validity of Michael's will. Fans started to accuse the family of being "greedy" and "angry" that Michael did not put them on the will.
I can understand the anger from the fans because they were angry that Michael was gone and they have to deal with members of his family that they were not particularly fond of. I can understand their anger when some of the Jacksons were questioning the and it is easy to believe that some of the Jacksons wanted to be in the will because of the money. However, the fans never stopped and think that there are two sides to every story.
I cannot defend the Jacksons going to the tabloids and telling/selling their stories about Michael. However, I view things in a bigger picture concept - it was what they were saying that was most important and not really who they were telling their stories to. However, when you really think about it, all media is tabloid and they pay for interviews. Any type of sensationalism is a form of tabloid. Fans should already know this.
As for the questioning of the will, it was odd that days after Michael died, John Branca comes out of nowhere and showed a 2002 will that stated that he was one of the executors of Michael's estate. Considering the fact of the history Michael had with Branca regarding Michael firing and re-hiring Branca, the will that he presented should have been questioned. The date of the will was July 7th, 2002 the same day Michael was in New York City fighting Sony regarding their lack of promotion of his Invincible CD. Branca and company claimed that Michael signed the will but it is basically impossible that he did when he was having issues with Sony as a whole and Branca was a lawyer who had serious ties with Sony. Also, he was not physically in Los Angeles, Ca to sign the will. So, I can completely understand why Randy, Joe, LaToya and at one point, Katherine, would question the will.
The fans got angry when Michael's children stop wearing the masks and veils and started to show their faces. They were angry that Michael's wishes were not being granted. Hmmmmm, I did not know that the fans, who buy his music and who are basically consumers, know about Michael's wishes. Did Michael told them personally, face to face, his wishes for his children regarding their appearance? Michael gave all guardianship and legal parental rights to his mother, Katherine, and she makes the decision regarding their appearance and things of that nature. Fans do not make the decisions. They can have an "issue" with it, but it is their issue not Katherine's or the children's.
There are so many things that the fans did and said to the Jackson family that were uncalled for, disrespectful, despicable, evil, sinister, nasty, malicious and disturbing that I am not going to get into discussing. Fans should stick to being fans because the truth is we all do not know what is indeed going on. For Taj to take some time out of his busy schedule to implicitly remind the fans to know their role and be respectful towards his family says a lot about him and his love and respect for his uncle. The fans, ALL MJ FANS, should respect that. Taj did not have to do that but he did because he cared that much for his uncle and his legion of loyal supporters/fans. Fans should control their emotions and listen to what the Jacksons are saying and if they agree, that is fine and if they disagree, that is fine as well. Fans have to remember that all of us, including the family, miss Michael dearly and we will always have his best interest at heart.
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Links:
Twitter-
Taj Jackson's tweets and twitlonger tweets comes from his official twitter account, @tajjackson3 (verified)
Picture-
Picture comes from my personal harddrive and has been seen in the People magazine special issue on Michael Jackson from 2009.
http://twitter.com/#!/tajjackson3
Then, he states more -
In a series of twitlonger tweets, Taj explains what it is like to be a Jackson and the things that he has to deal with -
Everyday I feel blessed and lucky to be "a Jackson". Sometimes I wake up and wonder "Why me?". Out of all the babies born each day, I was born into the most important and successful musical family of all time.
I am naturally a shy and quiet person, but I have always been proud to be "a Jackson" and I wear the Jackson name like a badge of honor.
The hardest lesson I learned being "a Jackson" is that you can't please everyone. Someone will always complain, someone will always have something negative to say about you, someone will always twist your story, and yes, someone will always route for your failure.
I don't know what it is about this last name, but with all the love and happiness it brings to most, it also bring out so much hostility, animosity, and hate in others.
What I did not expect was for certain MJ fans and fan clubs to spew or tolerate so much hatred and lies towards my family.
Fans that stood by my uncle through thick and thin. The same fans that witnessed first hand how the media told lie after lie about MJ trying to destroy his character. The same fans that always had my uncle's back.
Now these fans are watching the Jackson families every move. Reading and contributing to tabloid sites. Hoping and praying that we as a family mess up or fail. Getting pleasure out of ridiculing us whenever they can either by twitter, facebook or on online message boards.
Don't these fans know that they have turned into the same thing that my uncle Michael loathed? - Negativity.
Spreading lies, rumors, hatred and poisoning others.
Yes these fans spread MJ love but not love in general.
Although my uncle strove for perfection, he would be the first to tell you that he was not perfect.
He sometimes would make bad deals or business decisions or hung around and trusted the wrong people.
If my uncle had one "flaw", it was that he had such a pure heart and wanted to help others, even before himself.
Where do you think my uncle got this pure heart from?
You already know the answer.. His mother. Katherine
However when it comes to my Grandma, it sometimes feels like there is no tolerance or support out there. Just criticism. Without people even knowing the whole story. The easiest thing to do is sit back and only criticize. My uncle was a victim of that his whole life.
"Before you judge me, try hard to love me"
Oh... and just for the record...I am not attacking anyone, or angry, or picking fights with fan clubs. I am merely expressing my point of view. If my tweets offend you that much, please unfollow me.
When I speak of my uncle Michael's legacy, I am not only speaking about the "MJ" legacy. I am speaking about the "Jackson" legacy.
Anyone close to my uncle would tell you that one of the things he wanted most was for both the "Jackson" name and legacy to carry on from generation to generation.
That is one of the reasons why he invested so much time and energy into our group 3T.
He told us that we would be responsible for continuing this legacy and the Jackson name. And that our kids would have to continue it after us.
I know my uncle told his children the same exact thing because I was right there in Vegas one of the times he said it to them.
So for me, it is not only about protecting and continuing the "MJ" name and legacy... but protecting and continuing the Jackson name and legacy as well.
Please don't contribute to the media's attempt to try and destroy both.
After reading Taj's tweets, I started to think why Michael Jackson fans (not all but some) have such a hatred for Michael's own family. I remember during the trial era in 2005 when, it seemed, fans were supportive of the family. The fans would greet the family when they arrived at the courthouse and online, fans would post nice things about his parents and siblings. There were always those certain fans that didn't like some members of the family and would often criticized them.
When Michael was murdered, the fans were hurt and devastated and felt terrible for the family, at least it seemed that way. After the public memorial, the Jacksons started making the media rounds to the tabloids and started talking to these people. That action and rumors of the Jacksons getting paid to talk to the tabloids were angering the MJ fan community. However, the one thing that fans were becoming very upset about was that there were some family members were questioning the validity of Michael's will. Fans started to accuse the family of being "greedy" and "angry" that Michael did not put them on the will.
I can understand the anger from the fans because they were angry that Michael was gone and they have to deal with members of his family that they were not particularly fond of. I can understand their anger when some of the Jacksons were questioning the and it is easy to believe that some of the Jacksons wanted to be in the will because of the money. However, the fans never stopped and think that there are two sides to every story.
I cannot defend the Jacksons going to the tabloids and telling/selling their stories about Michael. However, I view things in a bigger picture concept - it was what they were saying that was most important and not really who they were telling their stories to. However, when you really think about it, all media is tabloid and they pay for interviews. Any type of sensationalism is a form of tabloid. Fans should already know this.
As for the questioning of the will, it was odd that days after Michael died, John Branca comes out of nowhere and showed a 2002 will that stated that he was one of the executors of Michael's estate. Considering the fact of the history Michael had with Branca regarding Michael firing and re-hiring Branca, the will that he presented should have been questioned. The date of the will was July 7th, 2002 the same day Michael was in New York City fighting Sony regarding their lack of promotion of his Invincible CD. Branca and company claimed that Michael signed the will but it is basically impossible that he did when he was having issues with Sony as a whole and Branca was a lawyer who had serious ties with Sony. Also, he was not physically in Los Angeles, Ca to sign the will. So, I can completely understand why Randy, Joe, LaToya and at one point, Katherine, would question the will.
The fans got angry when Michael's children stop wearing the masks and veils and started to show their faces. They were angry that Michael's wishes were not being granted. Hmmmmm, I did not know that the fans, who buy his music and who are basically consumers, know about Michael's wishes. Did Michael told them personally, face to face, his wishes for his children regarding their appearance? Michael gave all guardianship and legal parental rights to his mother, Katherine, and she makes the decision regarding their appearance and things of that nature. Fans do not make the decisions. They can have an "issue" with it, but it is their issue not Katherine's or the children's.
There are so many things that the fans did and said to the Jackson family that were uncalled for, disrespectful, despicable, evil, sinister, nasty, malicious and disturbing that I am not going to get into discussing. Fans should stick to being fans because the truth is we all do not know what is indeed going on. For Taj to take some time out of his busy schedule to implicitly remind the fans to know their role and be respectful towards his family says a lot about him and his love and respect for his uncle. The fans, ALL MJ FANS, should respect that. Taj did not have to do that but he did because he cared that much for his uncle and his legion of loyal supporters/fans. Fans should control their emotions and listen to what the Jacksons are saying and if they agree, that is fine and if they disagree, that is fine as well. Fans have to remember that all of us, including the family, miss Michael dearly and we will always have his best interest at heart.
Jackson Family Reunion, 2003.
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Links:
Twitter-
Taj Jackson's tweets and twitlonger tweets comes from his official twitter account, @tajjackson3 (verified)
Picture-
Picture comes from my personal harddrive and has been seen in the People magazine special issue on Michael Jackson from 2009.
