Michael Jackson, R.I.P.

Let me be the first to announce what is already completely obvious. The shock about Michael Jackson's death has worn off and soon all we're going to be left with are a few camera hogs begging for attention. But all that media coverage has reminded me that, even in times of great emotion, we have a continuing and ever-present need for snark.

And, trust me, nobody is more surprised by this need than me. I used to hate snarkiness; but now I realize that snark is a necessary evil in this world of ours. There are just too many knuckleheads out there trying to make a buck or a reputation out of Jackson's death. As a form of wit that uses both cynicism and sarcasm, snark is can be an enlightening response to cultural events where the first response is "WTF?" Not to be confused with schaudenfreude or bullying, snark doesn't attack people just to be mean (that'd be Perez Hilton), but it doesn't back away from a fight either. Still, when a celebrity dies, snark is the one response that's totally discouraged. Yet, I would argue, it is our only protection from a media response that is too big, too omnipresent and too boring. We get excessively bad behavior every time a really famous person shuffles off his mortal coil. Jackson's sudden death was met with the same kind of wall-to-wall coverage that followed Hurricane Katrina, the Season Finale of American Idol, the civil unrest in Iran, and the election of America's first black president. There's no rhyme or reason to the "BREAKING NEWS" cycle--everything is treated like an international emergency. Just about everyone I know is already tired of this no-news news coverage even though they're still saddened by Michael's death. And to make matters worse, with so much misinformation flying around, it's impossible to know what's true and what's not. On the same day Michael Jackson died, Jeff Goldblum, George Clooney and Harrison Ford were also pronounced dead by Twitter hordes. Just think about how useful snark would have been in the days following MJ's death:

1. At the Apollo Tribute to Michael Jackson, the Reverend Al Sharpton said, "Michael made young men and women all over the world imitate us. Before Michael, we were limited and ghettoized." Where is the snark reminding us that Reverend Al Sharpton is honoring Michael as an Important Black Person in spite of the fact the Michael sought to erase his racial identity with plastic surgery? What happened to the Reverend Jesse Jackson? He made a YouTube video urging MJ fans not to commit suicide or as he put it: "In Michael's name let's live together as brothers and sisters and not die apart as fools." I thought he was speaking for the family. And why are the Reverends hanging around anyway? It doesn't really help their reputations as camera-crazed hangers-on. (And by the way, is calling people fools the best way to stop a potential suicide? See--snark at work!)

2. And how else, except through snark, can we point out that only in death is MJ being afforded the compassion that might have kept him alive in the first place?

3. Can't we get just a bit snarky about the media's compulsive use of the word "troubled" or "tragic" when what they really mean is "suspected child molester"? If they have a problem with Michael's legacy, why don't they just say so?

4. Snark seems like a requirement when Joe Jackson is speaking on behalf of his son's estate despite the allegations of physical and emotional abuse against Michael hanging over him. And pushing his record label at the same time?! Nobody thinks that's weird or creepy?