Shame
The recent tragic death of Michael Jackson has sparked a range of reactions around the world. Loyal fans believe the music has died, others believe that Michael was dead 15 years ago, turning in to a ghost all these years.
What almost everyone agrees on however, is the talent that the world has lost.
While I'm no Loyal fan (I only own his Number Ones album), I did grow up listening to his music, and I greatly admired him as a performer. As the world is taken over by Jackson-mania (funny how no one would admit being a fan when he was alive. Death is always kinder to artists), it's difficult to go anywhere without hearing or seeing his music.
I was sad when it all happened. Thanks to this interconnected world, news can spread within seconds. Tragedies can unfold infront of millions of eyes (remember September 2001?), and news as big as Jackson's collapse probably reached the media before it reached his family.
It was posted on a twitter feed I follow on what was a quiet Thursday night. Staying up till 4 am watching BBC news live, I heard the confirmation of death and even saw his body wrapped in white, being taken over to the cold slab at the Coroner's Office. It was very saddening to witness, whether the body was that of Michael Jackson, or of anybody, the new digital age can poke in to the most personal and undignified of moments, and we like to watch with morbid fascination.
As the world started finding out about his death, people were posting their reactions all over the web. Facebook was flooded with statuses mouring the man, and the usual comments about paedophilia, bankruptcy, plastic surgery, etc etc came in and were not that unexpected. After all, the allegations surrounding him were never really shaken off.
But it's the other backlash that caught me off guard. The backlash from almost anyone Iraqi on my friends list. Comments were posted about how "100s are dying in Iraq, why are you bothered about this one person" or "don't forget our beloved country" or "people in Iraq are dying in a worse way every day". Accusations that presume that any Iraqi sad that Michael Jackson has died has automatically betrayed his or her country. An accusation that is hugely unfair.
I can't really remember the day when I haven't thought about the tragedy that is Iraq. Be it either in the back of my mind, or when I get asked where I'm from by patients at work, or, worse still, when I'm listening to music and a song comes on that a dead (killed) friend liked. Something that almost always makes me tearful.
Or perhaps when I email my dad, or text him. I'm instantly reminded of what happened to us last year. If I don't email or text him, I get pangs of dread that I haven't heard from him and something might have happened.
So yes, I do remember Iraq. I remember the tragedies and they sadden me. I've lost close, close friends who have died unfairly young, and our family has been a victim of horrible crime there. That doesn't mean I can't be sad that an artist has died. It doesn't mean that I can't show that support, or talk about it publically.
Being Iraqi is already a tough job. Before 2003 people would look at you like you're a neo-nazi, after 2003 you automatically get pseudo-sympathy from people you've known for minutes, telling you about how sad the situation is there. While I proudly tell people where I'm from if asked, I always brace myself not to wince when the inevitable "oh, we're so sorry about what's going on there" comes along. I know it is, and I don't want to be reminded of what it REALLY means to be affected by it.
We're all used to this now, those of us living outside of Iraq. What we're not used to though is these accusations by our fellow Iraqis. It seems that as the country is in a tragedy, it's taboo to be concerned about something else. Any public show of sympathy towards anything else other than Iraq is deemed a misjustice.
It's funny though, because all these people are outside of Iraq. All of them are in another country, having left their alleged beloved Iraq. And all of them are counting the days until they get another passport. I remember when you were all back in Iraq, and how you just couldn't wait to leave. You weren't that passionate back then, and you're not that passionate now. At least I have the decency not to fake it.
Yes I'm sad Michael Jackson has died, and I'm not ashamed to show it. I am ashamed about this fake Iraqi royalty, and I'm ashamed to know anyone who does it.
Shame.
