Michael Jackson our beautiful angel

 

Two days with Michael…

Dear friends. Michael Jackson. We were friends since he visited me in our mountain hut in Sulden in 2001. A sensitive genius of the century who lived in his own world!

I asked him for a song, but he wanted to protect his voice. He asked me if I could sing a German song for him. Me??? It was very strange. But he kept insisting. I had to sing Lili Marleen and Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind again and again. Two anti-war songs. With guitar.

JT sings for MJ. There's nothing more absurd.

Until today I keep thinking about the pillow fights with Michael, Valerie and Françoise at 5 a.m. Michael could not sleep. I think about our meditations together. We had the same mantra. About our Spagetti with langustinos whose eyes he covered with a serviette because they made him sad.

I remember a phone call with my children who were in London at the time and did not know anything about the secret visit of Michael in Sulden. Michael had a long conversation with Freddy about God and the world. Freddy stayed cool. It could not disturb his calmness that he was on the phone with a world superstar.

Michael called Nathalie, my youngest daughter. But she only laughed at him: "If you are Michael Jackson then I am the Pope." - she said and hung up. Michael came back from the call with Nathalie totally unsettled.

We talked a lot about wars which he despised. When he was about to be awarded with a Bambi award in Berlin in the fall of 2002 he was to have a speech. I asked him to say something about the upcoming Iraq war. A big part of the US troops were already in Kuwait. Michael stared at me long and said: "You know that will bring me a lot of flak in the US." I nodded my head. I knew too well.

At night at the award ceremony in front of millions of TV viewers Michael said in his speech:

"We are German, French, Italian, Russian, African, Asian, so many nationalities. We are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus. We are black, we are white. We are a big community with so many differences. So complex yet so simple. WE DO NOT NEED WAR!"

Michael, you were a wonderful human being and a one of a kind artist. That is why you were so much hunted like a wounded deer. Destroying the winners is the favorite game of our world.

We will never forget you. I keep listening to your songs. My favorites are Earth Song and We Are The World. For millions of people you will never die. Thank you, Michael!

Your JT

By Jürgen Todenhöfer, German politician and anti-war activist

June 26, 2014