1. Frichy wrote:

Yes! White heroes are treated with a far greater amount of respect than black heroes. I think that the destructive nature of the American collective killed Michael Jackson. The media has now launched a ruthless attack on his name and his image and I believe it is partly because they do not want him to out do Elvis’ dubious legacy. But too late! MJ has already soared to heights that Elvis could never even imagine. This society is not humane enough to be worthy of a son like Michael with such monumental talents. Had MJ been a son of the soil of any other society, he would have been valued, embraced and treated like the national treasure that he was. A greedy, racist, jealous, American society chipped away at his heart and soul, took his kindness for weakness to the point that he could stand it no more. MJ’s family deserve respect for their dearly departed son and the time they need to mourn his loss. But the media is a corrupt, hound dog . So, why should we even expect them to give Michael Jackson benefit of the the doubt in death that they refused to give him in life! Now, he is no more! My his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.

2. DoesItMatter wrote:

I am a very big Michael Jackson fan. As I child of the 80’s, he was one of my biggest idols. I completely agree that a grace period of mourning should take place in the day or two following his death. The child molestation accusations should not be brought up during that time. The man’s life should be honored. I do feel however, that the drug accusations are fair game as that could have been one of the causes of his death. I watched your segment on FOX and I felt compelled to write as I did not feel the coverage was slanted to reflect race. I feel that the media, unfortunately, is overly invasive across the racial board. Your comments that the “Black community has always embraced Michael Jackson” is absolutely false. For years, and especially in the comedic world, it has been African Americans, not white people, who have ousted Michael from the black community. I heard unfortunately from our own community , not the white community, “I’m done with Michael”, “He thinks he’s white” “He’s not black”. I have posted a few different links from various African American comedians who have said these types of things about Michael over the years, including Tommy Davidson, who on the same show as Jamie Foxx, made a very memorable video making fun of Michael’s skin color and his acceptance or lack of acceptance in the community. I believe that this selective memory by the community about how we treated Michael while he was alive is unfair, irresponsible and divisive. Let’s be real a lot of comments were made by a lot of people over the years that were in poor taste and Michael did have a lot of problems, whether they were his fault or not. He is a black man, he has always been a black man, he has affected people of all races, but lets not be so self righteous to believe we always embraced him and always claimed him now that he is gone. I believe it is a tragic loss for the world, but I very much disagree with the radicalization of the man’s death where none exists, especially when I feel like it is coming from our community and especially a man whose music transcends race.

And to the previous comment poster, if you don’t think it is a bit ridiculous that you are essentially saying the mainstream media is conspiring to cover Michael Jackson in a such a slanted vision as to intentionally ensure his death/fame does not rival that of Elvis Presley’s I feel very bad for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h1euQKJsr4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er1Pm37yX08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3H6hRNwgtc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEHVR9Hj_b0&feature=PlayList&p=3E0AB356A11EEDFE&index=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhK4mBOuks0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j2kilQTieY

3. DCI74 wrote:

“A greedy, racist, jealous, American society chipped away at his heart and soul, took his kindness for weakness to the point that he could stand it no more.” Word, you actually believe that??

Smh @ Frichy’s comments…

4. Fikel wrote:

On this, I have to agree with the media correspondents. I don’t think preselecting the questions that are to be asked at a town hall meeting coincides with the fundamental concept that town hall meetings are based on. The whole idea of these sessions are to allow the individuals in attendance to ask any questions he/she wants, not the ones that are deemed “appropriate”.

5. DCI74 wrote:

Indeed Fikel and to me Gibbs’ response seems very juvenile, he kept repeating the same question “did you send an email” completely ignoring that the issue is the process. I have yet to see a real town hall meeting.

6. Philip Olson wrote:

Do real town meetings really exist in this world, especially ones at this level? I don’t think so.

And what’s more useful:
A) Questions that we, as a collective, determine are best to be asked and answered -or-
B) Random questions asked by random people

Not to confirm that either (A) or (B) will happen here, but since we’re talking about ideals I prefer (A) over (B). And lastly, well thought out questions and answers aren’t necessarily a bad thing.

7. R.oB. wrote:

Let’s get real about this. First, If there is no screening, you’ll get questions like, “Pres. Obama, do you like sucking @#!#?” It’s a joke to think that somehow there shouldn’t be screening. Second, a “national’ town hall meeting is a contradiction in terms. BTW, the first couple of comments seem to be talking about another post.