Wed, July 08, 2009
LOS ANGELES, July 7 (Xinhua) -- American pop king Michael Jackson has been covered so heavily by American media even after his death and the public seemed to enjoy it, but not U.S. Congressman Peter King who got himself under fire.
Jackson was really treated like a king by the media after his death. News of his death became front page news not only in the United States, but also in many other countries. The media has been trying to report anything about this pop singer.
U.S. Congressman Peter King was the first and only politician to come out in public to criticize the media and the pop singer.
Standing in front of an American Legion Hall building, the U.S. congressman, a Republican from New York, complained that people fighting in Iraq don't get much credit and that the soldiers should be the ones recognized instead of Jackson .
"This guy was a pervert. He was a child molester. He was a pedophile," King said.
The congressman said the media has "disgraced itself," noting that there are people dying everyday.
"There are men and women dying today in Afghanistan. Let's give them the credit they deserve," he added.
"And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about our country?" asked King, whose remarks were showed in a video in the YouTube website.
The congressman got himself under fire with his remarks.
Joni Reynolds, a Daily Voice columnist, called King's remarks a "hateful tirade" and questioned his motivation.
He said Jackson settled out of court in early 1990s when he was accused of child abuse. In 2005 he was acquitted of all charges. This would mean he is and was not guilty.
Reynolds questioned King's motivation by saying that "This guy while known as a conservative Republican in New York was not a household name, but now he is."
"It galls me when someone utters hateful words and then tries to cloak them in patriotism," Reynolds continued.
"King achieved his goal we all are talking about him and he is now another pathetic person just trying to get a little of the Jackson spotlight," said Reynolds.
Most of the comments from thedailyvoice.com website are against the congressman.
Julie said in her comment that King is such a jerk and his comment makes her sick.
"The man is dead and was acquitted of those charges with no one being able to prove one shred of what he was accused of and sadly I feel that shortened his life. I hope no one votes for someone who would have that type of attitude toward someone who did a lot of good for people and made people smile," she wrote.
Marietta wrote in her comment that Jackson was a huge donator to charitable organizations. He supported 39 charitable organizations either with monetary donations through sponsorships of their projects or the participation in their activities.
Bobbi is one of the few who are on the King's side. He wrote that the way Jackson acted with children wasn't right. He left himself wide open to the charges. He may have been acquitted but should never have put himself in that situation in the first place.
He said Jackson was a great musician and will never be forgotten but he was certainly no hero.
King's remarks were made before Jackson's memorial service Tuesday in Los Angeles. Almost all the major televisions covered the memorial service live for several hours. It is estimated that the Jackson coverage is bigger than memorial services for some late U.S. presidents.
The fever from his fans is also unprecedented.
Jackson's fans started gathering outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles as early as 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. The lucky ones wore gold and silver wristbands, which designated them as the holders of approximately 17,500 tickets to the memorial service, given out through an online lottery from 1.6 million applicants online.
At the memorial service, Jackson was praised as a music pioneer and a barrier-breaking cultural figure who paved the way for other black entertainers to reach superstardom.
There are people in the United States who do not like Jackson or think the media should not give too much attention to Jackson, but only King spoke out. The U.S. congressman has been criticized as a racist because he is not an African American although his last name seems to be from a black family.
