Who was Michael Jackson to you?

^^This.

It's sad, but its true that it's the first thing to pop in my head

i agree!!!!!!

Great singer

i remember being five or six, and my parents were watching vh1 and thriller came on. first music video i can remember seeing.

I had a huge crush on him before he started bleaching himself and all the plastic surgery... he still made great music no matter who or what he had become

I've been poking around here for a while and was ecstatic when I came across this thread. I see this thread was published the day after his passing; I have the perspective of several years with which to answer. I am a HUGE Michael Jackson fan and have been since childhood. His music is the soundtrack to the 80's and 90's.

To me, Michael Jackson is the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen. Many people don't know that he not only wrote most of his lyrics, he wrote and arranged much of the musical accompaniment to his songs and even played instruments on his albums. He choreographed the dances and came up with the concepts for his short films and live shows as well as many of the costumes. He was a visual artist. Have you seen his drawings and paintings? They are incredible. He was a phenomenal dancer and has influenced music, dance, music video, and live show entertaining across musical genres.

He was a humanitarian and an environmentalist before it was cool. He wrote many songs to highlight the plight of the poor, downtrodden, children, those who suffer abuse, etc. He also put his money where his mouth is by donating much of his fortune to causes he believed in: hospitals, poor communities, college scholarships, diabetes research, schools, I could go on and on, but instead, have a look at MJIL: the Michael Jackson International Legion at MJIL.net. They explain much of it there.

I know it is popular to bash Michael, and I see many mean-spirited and misguided responses here. I'll address a few of them.

1. Michael didn't bleach his skin. He had vitiligo, a condition in which the pigment cells lose their ability to produce pigment. He revealed this years ago, it was confirmed by his physician, and confirmed again by the coroner who did his autopsy. His condition embarrassed him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
2. Michael didn't wish to become a woman. This is a ridiculous assertion and a troubling one in a space that is supposed to be welcoming and supportive for all people. He was very much a man in every sense of the word, and a sexy one, too.
3. Michael was NOT a pedophile! This is the most serious fallacy. Did you know that the FBI investigated Michael for 17 years? They sent agents to the farthest ends of the Earth to interview people and collect evidence for almost 2 decades. Bottom line is they found absolutely nothing. They released their files on him a few years ago and reaffirmed they unearthed nothing in their quest. Michael was acquitted on all counts in his last molestation trial and the family in the first trial is on tape plotting to blackmail him for money. His insurance company settled because it was cheaper than a long drawn out trial and Michael's health was suffering.

I know this is a long response, but hopefully it will cause a few people to reconsider. For more information, visit MJIL.net. I'm a Legionnaire for MJIL!

Pedophile should have been added to that list.