Dear Joe,
Just wanted to share this with you with regard to OK magazine and Walmart. My fiancee and I were on our way to check out and there was that stupid OK magazine with Michael Jackson's dead body on the front. It wasn't at adult level. It was actually on the lower shelves at eye level for small children to see. I immediately grabbed the first magazine and flipped it face over. While I don't believe that we should shield our children from death, it should be at the discretion of the family to make that choice. For Walmart to make such a poor choice was in bad taste. Once we checked out, my fiancee headed over to the front end manager. She was unable to do anything about it. The store manager came over and he expressed his concern to her. She agreed and immediately began removing the magazines from the shelves. I'm hoping that she didn't just remove the magazines to pacify us until we left the store. Hopefully they have been removed and thrown in the dumpster where they belong.
Going overboard a bit? It's a trash magazine. That's their job. And who cares if it's at kids level? Do they even know who that freak was? The picture just looks like he has something in his mouth.
ReplyDeleteThey probably just replaced it with another tabloid at kid level with scantly clad movie stars pointing out who has cellulite and who doesnt or which movie stars are cheating on thier wives/husbands with other movie stars. this stuff is just garbage- keep your kids away from ALL of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is a useful approach to controlling what we are exposing our children to.
First we had the Sam's Club pill bottles with candy story. I was in Salisbury's Sam's Club and overheard the card checking greeter tell another employee that she is not losing her job over any deviation in duties!
Think, I'll head out to the Walmart stores to see if this magazine has been taken off the shelves!
I'm sure glad someone is speaking up for family values!!!!
Ignorant bastards who "bear false witness shall answer to GOD one day" It's funny how noones discussing how Micheal Jackson's last accuser has recanted the statement that he was molested by Jackson. The first would probably too if the family hadn't taken the leave it alone money. He's around thousands if not millions of kids and only two were molested? If your child had been molested you would've let it go for some millions and no punishment? That right there was suspect. I can't say he did and I can't say he didn't and neither can you 9:57am & for you to suggest it was alright for the magazine to post him like that makes you the "freak" and the "weirdo".
ReplyDelete9:57 Maybe they will replace it with another magazine, but at least I don't have to explain to my 5-year-old son that that is a dead Michael Jackson on the cover. He asks questions right now about everything. It's disgusting, it's sick and I think every store should take it off their shelves. I don't want to see that sh!t and my kids shouldn't have to either. If you are the wacko who wants to see that crap, look at it on the internet.
ReplyDeleteThe magazine probably pays to be in that spot. Plus would you shield you child against watching someone sleep? Cuz thats what it looked like. A person sleeping. I wonder if you moved all of the magazines that were offensive to any one group of people to a less visible spot how long it would take for some of those publications to have to lay half off half their staff because sales are down? My 3 y.o. nephew was at my Dads funeral and saw his body. Is my sister a bad parent now?
ReplyDeleteTDT
No it doesn't make her a bad parent. It's a family's decision that ultimately decides how to handle death. Not the freaking grocery store. Would you be offended if David Carradine's naked dead hanging body was on the front cover? Where does it stop? What would you say to child then? Basically it's just like it always is "Oh well, get over it". We are allowing our country to turn into nothing but trash.
ReplyDeletePeople go overboard about the dumbest things. As if a child can tell he is dead in that picture! Even so, death is a natural process; we will all die at some point. Some of us young, some of us old; some will die in car accidents, some will die from a terminal illness, but none the less we will all die.
ReplyDeleteMy children have seen the coverage on Michael Jackson just as they watched the Farrah Fawcett documentary, because they need to know death is very much real. I would rather them see reality than have their heads wrapped in a video game where they are killed 20 times but can still come back to life in the push of a button. Why hide reality while throwing spongebob down their throats? I guess living in a fantasy world is for some, but reality is where we all need to be.
i dont think that the grocery store was trying to tell you how to handle death. I think that OK magazine was just trying to sell a magazine.I think that a lot of people use excuses to get out of having to answer hard questions. (I'm not implicating you...just speaking in general)I may strongly disagree with you but I respect that you stood up for your beliefs. Free speech must work both ways!And I would not be offended. I probably would not buy it but there might be 15 other people who would. I was never ever 'shielded' from anything growing up. Im halfway normal...aside from being a liberal, as my Mother would say. LOL.
ReplyDelete11:13
ReplyDeleteok you say it looks like he is sleeping? HELLO do you miss the huge letters saying Michael's tragic death?? This cover is SO wrong, I would not want my sister, brother, father, mother or someone else DEAD on a cover how a magazine!! Its sick! and the people who don't thik its sick then THEY ARE SICK! Michael was not a freak, look at the life he had yes he was rich but he was so lonely and couldnt do anything!! you people need to start using your heart and your heads before you write this stuff!
Relax, he doesn't look any different dead than when he was alive. The guy was a nut job, and now everyone wants to make him a Saint. You can shield your children all you want, it will just make them do crazy stuff when they aren't under your protective cloak. If my kid saw it I would use it as a teachable moment and say, "That is what happens when you get hooked on drugs. You die way too young."
ReplyDeleteThey company who distributes the magazine does pay to have that spot and a spot in the register area is more expensive than just having a spot in the magazine rack.
ReplyDeleteIt was wrong for the store employee to move that magazine. If they had a problem with it, they should have spoken with the merchandiser who put them out at the time.
I can see both sides of this issue, but I don't feel the store, which gets paid money by the magazine supplier for location should have the right to move the product from the agreed upon location.
To act like this was some sort of porn magazine "at eye level for kids to see" is totally ridiculous!
If your child is THAT sheltered, you've got a hard road ahead with the child for sure!
If that was your family member, how would you feel? Yes the Jackson family lives in the public spotlight; however, it is not any of your business what he looked like at that time of his death. If they choose to have an open casket at the public service tomorrow, then that is up to them. I still wonder where the stupid picture came from. If it was from one of the paramedics, nursing staff or doctors, they would be fired immediately. The magazine went way too far. Yes children are exposed to death; however, it should be MY choice not yours, not the stupid magazines and sure as hell not the MSM. No we can't live in a bubble and we sure as hell aren't stupid, but I nor anyone else really wanted to see that crap. It's just sad for his family. This should be a very private time for them. Unfortunately, living in the public eye has its price.
ReplyDeleteYou made your first mistake walking into Wal-Mart, all they care about is profit.
ReplyDeleteI think the original writer is overreacting. Why is this so bad for a kid? People die all the time the world can be a very horrible place. And is for most people. What's the big deal?
ReplyDeleteI think that picture was taken while MJ was in the ambulance. TMZ had a video of the ambulance backing out of the driveway and you could see people running up to the back of it to take a picture.
ReplyDeleteI thinks its just plain tacky for these magazines to buy pictures of dead people like this-it just encourages tasteless paparazzi.
ReplyDeleteIf the average American knew as much about how his government works as he does about Michael Jackson, we'ld all be a lot better off.
ReplyDeleteFirst off this is not his death picture. Look at the color of the skin. The shape of the nose. The hat on the head. This was not taken the day he died. Maybe from a nose job a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteThis country is going to hell in a hand basket and you care about a stupid magazine????
ReplyDeleteGet a life, or should I say, wake up and realize this IS live today!