Tragedy In Life and Death
When I found out that Michael Jackson had passed away , I was still in shock from hearing about the death of Farrah Fawcett. both these celebrities have been icons in my lifetime. These are both larger than life characters. 
Farrah Fawcett was a beautiful woman who is remembered for her role in Charlie’s Angels, her perfect 80’s hair, a poster of her in a swimsuit that captures a brilliant smile and that 80’s hair but she was also ridiculed for being ‘quirky’ and there were rumors that she was on drugs. Michael Jackson was a brilliant singer, dancer, performer, entertainer and although I am not a MJ fan, I am still in awe of his work and the impact that he had on others.
The dark side of MJ is far more disturbing than that of Farrah Fawcett’s. Michael Jackson seemed to have some mental health problems that included body dysmorphia.
To say that Michael Jackson was ‘quirky’ is laughable because MJ’s problems were far more serious than ‘quirky’ and it was apparent to all.
Michael Jackson had legal problems that were further evidence to the troubles in his life. Guilty or innocent of the crimes he was accused of, both show evidence of how truly troubled this poor gentleman was. I do not claim to know anything about what was going on in Michael Jackson’s life. If he was a child molester, if he was a drug addict, if he had the surgeries he denied having – I know nothing other than the glimpses I could see of pain, isolation, and a troubled mind/soul. Not unlike Anna Nicole Smith.
I clearly remember being at work one day. I was working in a residential drug treatment center and we could hear a lot of sirens and commotion from the main street near us.
The clients quickly found out that the commotion was Anna Nicole Smiths body being removed from the Hard Rock Casino across the street from us. This event had a profound effect on myself and the clients who immediately knew that her death was drug related. Many of my clients were in treatment because someone had forced them into treatment or they were in treatment to appease someone, only a small percentage are usually serious about getting sober. Here is this woman, across the street, that nobody stopped. Nobody intervened. Anna Nicole was also clearly disturbed. The media joked about her weight gain and loss, her being intoxicated all the time, her life was entertainment to us because it was so disturbing. 
Could Michael Jackson or Anna Nicole’s death have been prevented by people stepping in and intervening? Are there other people in the media who we can all see are heading towards disaster and if so, do we have an obligation to these people?
What about people closer to us? Family members, neighbors? If I feel that my neighbor is a harm to him or herself is that something to gossip about or do I have a duty to do something? At what point do we step in and help and at what point to we look in the opposite direction?
