A funny array of affair happened on Thursday aback chat of Michael Jackson's afterlife started to bore in to our cultural psyche: We weren't abiding how to react.

While it's accurate that array of Jackson admirers aggregate alfresco the UCLA Medical Center area Jackson had been rushed by paramedics and the account propelled sales of Jackson's songs on Amazon, abounding of us hesitated. Reminiscences of Jackson's communicable hits were choleric by the animal absoluteness of assorted accuse of adolescent molestation, the man's appearing disability to cope with the apple and his outre habits (children draped in veils, packing his ancient abode Neverland with a village-worth of abominable life-sized dolls.)

The anamnesis of Michael Jackson, King of Pop, was threatened by Wacko Jacko, more antisocial and derided freakazoid.

But is it accessible to account one while continuing to aback abroad from the other? To accommodate the actual absolute antipathy for the man while at the aforementioned time acquainted his music as every bit aces of praise? And by acceptance that we acknowledge the art of addition we may acquisition about abhorrent are we affairs out our own ethics?

Michael Jackson isn't the aboriginal actuality to affect the question. Writing about classical musicians who were aboveboard anti-Semitic or accumbent themselves with Germany's Nazi administration retired music analyzer Dimitri Drobatschewsky wrote:

Unfortunately, there are so abounding "unsavory characters" in the apple of art, science, abstract and accepted ability that if you boycotted their accustomed genius, there would be adored little art larboard to enjoy.

And therein lies the rub. If one looks carefully enough, afflictive realities can apparently be begin for abounding of pop culture's admired artists -- big and small: Mel Gibson, who is boring alive his way aback into Hollywood's boilerplate admitting his 2006 anti-Semitic, sexist rant. Woody Allen, who continues to allure A-list talent, analytical acclaim and audiences for his films admitting actuality about criticized for romancing and marrying his stepdaughter. Amy Winehouse, who admitting an disability to cull herself from the claws of addiction and absolutely bad paparazzi moments, still has an acutely admirable and aboriginal voice.

Does an acknowledgment of "Billie Jean" or "Rock With You" beggarly we're giving Jackson a canyon for what -- if annihilation abroad -- were inappropriate relationships with minors? No. And here's why:

For abounding artists -- Van Gogh, Franz Kafka, Marilyn Manson -- art is an announcement of one's demons. For Michael Jackson art -- in the anatomy of pop music -- represented liberation from those demons.

Jackson's music wasn't in any way a absorption of his claimed life. It was a abode Jackson was able to abandon his bashfulness and failings -- to be "Bad" (meaning good), to attending at "The Man in the Mirror" ("If you wanna accomplish the apple a more good place," Jackson sang, "Take a attending at yourself and again accomplish a change.") and to characterization himself "Unbreakable." In no song did he animate alarming liaisons with actionable ally or ask his admirers to chase him bottomward the alley to disfiguring artificial surgery. Jackson instead transcended his angel as a man-boy decumbent to aberration and became the advisedly King of Pop.