How long can Munich maintain its Michael Jackson Denkmal?

Alex Davies says:

I understand the point you are making, but I think you’re wrong. I’d apply the following criteria in making distinctions between Michael Jackson and the other people you mention:

1. How much time has passed since the person’s lifetime/transgressions and the present day?

2. Is there anybody alive today who was personally and directly impacted by the person’s behaviour?

3. How normal was the person’s behaviour for the society in which he lived?

Wagner: Died in 1883. Anybody whose life or career he may have tried to ruin was probably dead by the end of the century. His antisemitism was hardly unusual for a 19th-century German. Wagner’s antisemitism appals me much less than does that of Britain’s wartime foreign secretary Anthony Eden, for example.

Beethoven: Died in 1827. Being ‘misanthropic’ is not a crime. As for his treatment of Karl, Beethoven seemingly was doing what he believed was in the boy’s best interests, however misguided he may have been. The suicide attempt was not fatal, and he seems to have gone on to have a perfectly good life. Today we would perhaps see Beethoven’s attitudes as patriarchal and misogynistic, and he seems to have believed that he was entitled to control members of his family, but this would have been typical for a man of his time.

Britten: Died in 1976. Consensus seems to be that nobody has ever actually accused Britten of committing a crime against a boy. To date, nobody seems to have come forward and actually accused Britten of committing an indecent assault etc. On the contrary, men who knew Britten when they were boys have often spoken of him in the highest possible terms. What we do have are accounts of Britten engaging in some behaviour with boys which does now seem to us to be inappropriate, e.g. nude swimming with boys. But at the time this kind of behaviour, which stops well short of anything criminal, was fairly normal. Even twenty or more years after Britten’s death, schoolmasters were routinely watching boys showering. Personally, I find Britten’s interest in boys, and his behaviour with them, pretty strange, but it was not criminal and there was not the same understanding of child protection that we have today.

Gesualdo: Italian Renaissance prince. For a man of his status and in his own time, violence was a normal part of life. Indeed, he was never, in fact, found to have committed an actual crime. It’s also questionable to what extent Gesualdo is commemorated or celebrated at all. Insofar as many people have heard of him, he is known mainly as a murderer who wrote quite weird music. It’s not like he has a great reputation to defend or anything.

Michael Jackson: Died less than 10 years ago. Alleged victims very much still alive. Alleged crimes illegal at the time allegedly committed and strongly condemned by society. Dogged by scandal even during his own lifetime.

If you are looking for a more valid comparison for Michael Jackson I’d suggest Jimmy Savile or Cyril Smith.