The Poor Young Man

To appreciate Michael Jackson, you must try to put yourself in his shoes and see why he was the way he was. People saw Michael Jackson through different lenses. While some viewed him solely through the lens of child molestation allegations and the perception that he bleached his skin out of shame for his race, others recognised him as a legend, a man with human weaknesses like any other. So, I start with the death of Michael Jackson. On January 25, 2009, he was reported dead. I could not believe that the King of Pop could be dead. I first heard the breaking news on Vision Voice from Earnest Wasake a few minutes after 1 a.m. I could not believe that I was the first to break the news to my Mom because she is always on the BBC. But by the time the news of his death came, Mom had already switched off her radio and was asleep. I woke her up and broke the news to her. At that time, there were conflicting reports about MJ’s status. Some stations were saying he was in a critical condition, w...