“…everytime you delete me, you lie to yourself and your followers.”

Again we have a difference of opinion. I was under the impression that every time I allowed you to post your comments I was allowing you an opportunity to mislead the people who come to my blog. I have no problem with deleting or editing distasteful comments. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve been called a coward, a fucking nigger, or something really nasty. You probably think I’m misleading people when I don’t post those comments as well.

However, I made the decision a long time ago that I am allowed to delete lunacy and comments from people who have no sense of etiquette. People who make it a point to blatantly wear out their welcome cannot really expect their comments to be published. People who come to my blog should understand that this is not a public forum. This blog is a reflection of me and the things that I value. And one of the things I value most is other people’s opinion. A dissenting opinion is always welcome as long as we can maintain a modicum of civility.

But when people, such as you for example, accuse me of trying to manipulate people, then I really don’t think I’m under any obligation to post such defamation. I believe the work that I put into my blog entitles me to reject comments at my discretion. The way I see it, it is no different than someone coming into my house and provoking an argument or just making a nuisance of his or her self. I would have every right to ask people to leave my property. I have every right to relieve myself of people I don’t particularly care for.

You think I lie to the people here? That’s your opinion and you are more than titled to it. But like you said in one of your earlier comments, your disparagement gets us nowhere. But one place your disparaging comments will get you is edited or deleted. People who come here don’t come to hear from you. I have yet to receive a comment from anyone asking for more from that Carlton fellow. In fact, most people who come here and left comments regarding you were more likely to ask why I indulged you for so long when you’re obviously more concerned with protecting the dominant community’s interest at the expense of the black community’s interest.

You may have felt you were making strong arguments to support your less than enlightened position. But the majority of people here recognized your arguments as nothing but bold faced justification for acquiescing to the racially defined status quo of disparity. While it is a fact that there are many people who share your thinking, generally speaking those people do not frequent here. I think I know my audience. You simply are not that important here. If none of that convinces you then let me say that I no more lie to the people who come here than you lie when you make your selective cuts of the exchanges we have and make edits to prove your point to the people you try to convince to ingratiate themselves to the racially generic dominant community at the expense of the black community.

” Question: if you have followers, does that make you a golden calf?”

This is a rather simple question of comparison to support a simple argument. The implication would be that since I have an audience of regulars then I have an appeal that on a small scale mimics the overwhelming support given to Michael Jackson by his global audience. I dare say the implication is one that borders on an accusation of hypocrisy. And a simple question deserves a simple reply.

You have your own group of people who follow your word. I do believe the last time you gave a progress report you said I was scoring about thirty five percent while you were making a killing with a majority of sixty five percent (click here to refresh your memory). Would that make you their golden calf? You may have a different opinion but I really don’t think so. When you die, I seriously doubt if anyone is going to put you in a golden casket and mourn you from the far corners of the globe because of the incidental happiness you brought into their life. The people who will mourn your passing will be people who have a direct relationship with you and you have a relationship with them. Your comparison might be rather simple, but it is also rather ludicrous. Maybe I’m wrong, but I really don’t think you’re that important.

Peace

Thank you for your permission to do whatever I wanted with my column. And if you believe that I have decided that accuracy is to be discarded then I might as well pull out the old censor wand and go to town as well. The only view that matters is mine so you’ll excuse me if I dismiss yours. It is my column after all. And like some of my unruly guess, who cares about civility?

Peace

We may have similar ideas but not on this particular topic. It does as much good to disparage people who worship idols as it does to disparage people who write articles about people who worship idols. The fact that it doesn’t do us any good never stops people from making disparaging remarks. I find it bizarre that some people only focus on the disparaging of others and never examine their own.

Whether you call it worship or not doesn’t matter. You are more than welcome to write your own articles about what constitutes worship. In my article, I see the connection between the golden casket and the golden calf. You are free to disagree (as if you need an invitation). But it is here nevertheless. You have people tweeting you about Michael Jackson and honoring his contribution to their happiness. It only confirms our skewed collective of what constitutes a personal loss. I enjoyed some of Michael Jackson’s songs as well. Yet, his death is in no way, shape, or form a personal loss for me. I have experienced happiness from a wide variety of forms from people who have done a lot of things. None of them have a personal connection to me and I have no problem saying so. I find it rather interesting why we as a global collective will focus on the death of this one man while looking over the mentally impaired family members. It appears that this is a case of the perception of happiness being thicker than blood.

Michael was a sponge. So was SpongeBob SquarePants. I seriously doubt if Mr. SquarePants being cancelled will impact me. A lot of entertainers do their all to become important to their fans. Mr. Jackson is no different. He pandered to his audience. He would do anything to get people’s attention. Grab his crotch. Perform in a corset. Sleep in an oxygen chamber. He did whatever he thought it took to remain relevant. Yes he transcended race and gender and it cost him. And just like the disparaging comments you mentioned earlier, where did it get us? A little happiness? I get more happiness from listening to the Diane Rehm Show these days. But I seriously doubt if Ms. Rehm’s passing will impact any more than Mr. SquarePants being cancelled.

As far as Ronald Reagan’s death having the same impact as Michael Jackson’s, I’m afraid I’m just not convinced by your link. Just another one of those instances where we have dissimilar ideas. I don’t remember getting any phone calls or emails or tweets or people coming by my cube telling me that President Reagan died. However, I will say that I find it natural for a nation of people to mourn their former president. If Michael Jackson was the president of the world I could see the comparison. But he was just an entertainer that a lot of people seemed to have lost perspective on.

Peace

But now I’m intrigued. You see, although I enjoyed Mr. Jackson’s music, I would never compare his achievement in the world of entertainment to the achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who worked tirelessly and sacrificed his life for the benefit of the community. And forgive me but I don’t think former President Ronald Reagen’s passing achieved the notoriety of Mr. Jackson’s death.

There have been many entertainers who entertained the world who have passed over the years. Some of my personal favorites were Barry White, Bob Marley, and Biggie Smalls (at least he was a favorite when he passed) never received the amount of attention the Jackson circus achieved. If the man truly meant so much to so many people he probably would’ve been a hot commodity prior to his death like he is now.

I understand that funerals are for the living. But it is interesting that so many of the living are putting so much of themselves into a high profile expression of personal loss to a man who knew few if any of them. So many people shed so many tears for a man who could not care less about them, while the passing of their mentally limited great aunt would barely register.

But because we put so much emphasis on our American idols we perceive their loss as greater than the real loss of family and friends. In typical modern culture fashion we have yet another manifestation of how skewed our lives really are.

Peace

These people are now doing the same thing. It is incomprehensible to me that these people have formed this fantasy relationship with this man. So much so that they have to have closure.

Who needs closure from someone they don’t know personally? That makes absolutely no sense. He was a man plain and simple. A weird eccentric man, a talented man, but yes a man. Not some second coming or any other craziness they are portraying him as.

I just think this should stop. I am surprised you haven’t had death threats for writing anything at all not going with the worship that has been going on. I personally see exactly what you are talking about and it disgusts me. I will be damned if I start worshiping a person who stands on the same ground as me.

And as close as I can get to the adoration that these people have for him is for my children. And that will suffice for me at this point.

Thanks, great post.

I also hope that God brings consolation and protection to his children. It appears that they will be going through legal and media storms themselves in the days, months and years to come.