While some houses of worship have issued guidelines to its members to mitigate the spread of viruses, others have decided to throw caution to the wind and simply put their health and safety in the hands of the god they worship.  It would seem to me that humans who put their faith in a higher power to save them from a virus that has no awareness of one’s religious beliefs would have a significantly higher risk of being naturally selected out of existence.

Even those who do abide by the safety guidelines would likely have a higher chance of getting sick.  Think about it – your physical proximity and interactions with other people increases the likelihood of getting sick.  For the time that you are in church, you’re confining yourself in an enclosed room or building with dozens if not hundreds of other people.  Most people “have” to go to work or school so they pretty much deal with that risk.  One doesn’t “have” to go to church – unless you’re the priest or pastor.  Of course, if you’re the priest, then going to church is your job so you would fall into the category of somebody just going to work.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if the folks who so firmly believe that there is no such thing as natural selection became the clearest modern day example of natural selection doing its thing?

If you really liked a song you probably saved a few dollars and rode your bike down to the nearest Tower Records store to pick up the LP.  When you got home, you played that record over and over until you knew every word to every song.  Some of the lyrics probably seemed like they were written about your life and you thought that there was somebody out there who understood what you were going through.

When you couldn’t stand to listen to your parents arguing in the living room, you’d put on your headphones and crank up the volume.  If you went to the beach with your friends, somebody had to carry the big boom box with its 8 D batteries to make sure that there were good on tunes.  And when you finally started talking to the cute girl in your homeroom class, how long was it before you were trading mix tapes?

Music is huge especially for kids and teenagers.  A great song means so much more than the sum of its notes, sounds and rhythm.  As the years pass, that song serves as a reminder of fond memories.  To this day, hearing Beat It reminds me of my friend Chuck who, in high school, spent hours upon hours trying to perfect it.

It’s easy to see how some people develop a sense of connectedness to a particular artist without ever meeting the artist.  Michael Jackson, with his 13 number one hits and dozens of superb B-side tracks, probably played a large role in the social and emotional development of an entire generation.  I’m sure that for some people, losing Michael was like losing a member of their family.

Okay.  So that is where my theory ends and I still don’t really get it.  Do Michael’s fans not watch the news?  Do they knowingly to turn a blind eye to Michael’s eccentricities?  What about the fact that, as a grown man, he was sleeping with young boys in his bed?  Even if he wasn’t convicted of the crime, he did admit to sleeping with these boys.  That’s creepy, right?

Putting all the negative stuff aside, I still have a hard time understanding why people would make such an effort to attend.  For me, the memorial symbolizes the launch of a wave of the shameless commercialization of Michael Jackson properties.  Joe Jackson is using the spotlight to push his record label.  Sony, UMG, and MJJ Productions will get their big windfalls.  And the street vendors are out in full effect with all sorts of unlicensed Michael Jackson paraphernalia.  It won’t be long before you see the Time Life commercial on late night TV hocking some digitally re-mastered CD compilation.  But my key objections can be summarized as follows.

• Getting the tickets was going to be a pain in the ass
• Traffic was going to suck balls
• I would need to take a day off of work
• I didn’t know the guy
• He didn’t know me

If you did attend or would have attended the memorial, chime in and let us know why.