Chad Hartigan

This one hurts. Michael Jackson was the very first person I ever looked up to. I wore “Bad” out on tape. “Dangerous” was the first CD I bought for myself. I practiced the moonwalk until I could do it forwards and backwards. I watched Moonwalker fifty times. As an adult, I still sit back and listen in wonder to the amazing music he produced.

From I Want You to Back to You Rock My World, I can listen to the whole catalog without shame. And I am.

I work right next to UCLA so when I heard the news, I walked over to the hospital. I found a crowd of people taking pictures. Not sure what they were taking pictures of except each other, making up some crazy mob. It was depressing.

I always rooted for Michael, and believe he went to the grave with a clean conscience. He was a great person, second to none in global recognition and second maybe only to Bono in genuine concern for the Earth’s underprivileged among the music community. People just couldn’t understand how someone could genuinely love children the way he did and not want to fuck them. Says more about us than him. Wherever he is now, let’s hope he is better understood.