And yet, today, for our teen-agers, he is an even more spellbinding superstar. Our youth know all of the tabloid details, but he is still their idol. According to them, no one ever said Michael Jackson wasn't weird. In fact, many of my students don't agree with his close pal, Elizabeth Taylor, who doesn't think Michael is really way out there. They acknowledge but are not really concerned about his profound weirdness - they accept the glove, the seaweed hair striping his face, the blanched skin, the pained eyes, the seemingly mournful soul.
Psychoanalysts have their opinions, too.
The superstar has proclaimed his addiction to prescriptive drugs. The child molestation charges are there. His behavior on stage is deplorable. In an age when lurid lyrics, sniggering sitcoms and trash-talking stars work to rob children of innocence, the public reacts with wide eyes and a foreboding glint about abusive parents. In fact, the public becomes puritanical and voyeuristic at the same time.