Marilyn Vos Savont once said that the best way to judge a leader is to look at his followers. Well, judging by the behavior of Michael Jackson's fans, I am quickly losing respect for him as a cultural leader. Over the last two months, America's first black president has come under aggressive attack for no other reason than the fact that he refuses to worship at the alter of Michael Jackson. If people want to worship Michael Jackson then more power to them; he was an incredibly impressive talent who deserved every bit of the fame and fortune he was able to earn, but if other people choose not to worship Michael Jackson, then they should not be attacked for it. It would be one think if Obama had publicly trashed Jackson; then the fury of his fans would be understandable. But Obama actually praised Jackson but is still being attacked because in the eye's of Jackson's fans, Obama did not kiss his behind enough.
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A particular obnoxious Jackson fan was this white woman who works for the Associated Press having the audacity to think she could speak for the black community and teach the first black president some manners when it comes to showing sufficient respect for a black icon:
If that wasn't annoying enough, there is this black conservative who had the nerve to order Obama to attend Jackson's memorial, and insisted Obama was jealous that Jackson was more popular than he is:
Jackson fans are so deluded they think Jackson was more popular than Obama was. But the 2008 Gallup poll showed Obama is the most admired man in America and Michael Jackson is not even in the top ten:
http://www.savvysugar.com/...
Even if we go back to 1983, the peak of Michael Jackson's popularity, he still did not rank as one of the ten most admired men in America according to the Gallup poll:
http://www.amiannoying.com/...
Jackson fans seem to feel that Obama should be greatful to Michael Jackson for paving the way for a black president by single-handedly making the culture accept people of color. But as Obama eloquently explained, Jackson was "part of a long line of black entertainers that had an impact on the culture"; a line that includes Oprah (who not only helped pave the way but actually campaigned for Obama), Bill Cosby, Dianna Ross, Louis Armstrong, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson to say nothing of all the black political leaders who paved the way for Obama such as Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice & Collin Powell. I really fail to see why Obama should be any more indebted to Michael Jackson than any of the dozens of other black luminaries that paved the way for him. Jackson fans argue that Michael Jackson took blacks to a whole new level, but as shown above, Michael never became one of the most admired Americans unlike a lot of other black luminaries like Oprah, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, & Condi Rice.