In my mind (and I'm not yet over 50, thanks) there's no comparison. John Lennon was by far the greater talent: poet, songwriter, musician, and he could dance, too. (See the "Nobody Told Me" music video. The guy had moves!)

And while both were known for outrageous displays captured by reporters, John Lennon used and manipulated the media to further his causes while MJ was simply a victim of the media, which recorded his eccentricities (to use a generous term) for everyone to see.

Joby Treegoob, Philadelphia

Stu Bykofsky's comments regarding the passing of Michael Jackson were in extremely poor taste.

There is no need to make references like "morphing into a freak" or to compare MJ to John Lennon at all. A person has died! Many people regard him as the greatest-ever pop artist. Lennon wasn't a pop artist, so you're comparing apples and oranges. And it sounds catty, to say the least.

It was Michael's memorial. In the words of John Lennon, "Let It Be"!

Michelle Pierce, Philadelphia

My vote is for John Lennon, too. I would also put Elvis in that group.

Both performed when TV was in its infancy (Presley) or early years

(Lennon). Can you imagine how Lennon or Elvis would've fared in the age of cable TV, satellite technology or the Internet? My guess is their numbers would have at least equaled Michael Jackson's.

I especially liked your pointing out the insipid reaction of the press (2,200 reporters! How many covered the arms talks in Moscow?) and his fans.

During Jackson's trial for child molestation, his friend Elizabeth Taylor said: "Michael is 48 years old, and has not spent one day of his life in the real world." What a tragic commentary on someone's life.

Bob Simon, Wyndmoor

Letter-writer Aleshia Heckstall says we're focusing on "stupid stuff" in our evaluation of the strange puzzle that is Michael Jackson.

Ms. Heckstall, you must be kidding.

This is a drug addict who deformed his face, and slept and showered with small children while drinking "Jesus juice" with them! His behavior is no mystery at all. He was out of his mind on drugs for years.

"Billie Jean" and "Thriller" can't excuse a lifetime of insane behavior, and an unhealthy attraction to small boys. If he just loved children, where were all the little girls? Ms. Heckstall, would you want your child sleeping and showering with this man?

Stuart Caesar, Philadelphia

New York Rep. Peter King has called Michael Jackson a "pervert, a child molester . . . and a pedophile."

This may come as a shock to a lot of Jackson's emotionally attached fans, but the majority of rational-thinking people are very hesitant to give him the benefit of the doubt on his past child molestation charges.

And can these skeptical people be blamed? This is a guy who paid a king's ransom to settle a 1993 civil case, and, to the astonishment of Ed Bradley, admitted in a 2003 "60 Minutes" interview that he'd shared his bed" with many children. What normal, nonpedophile adult does this?

Let's be honest, folks. If I went around saying that I slept with other people's children, I'd be ostracized from society and locked up.

Yet people are bending over backwards to give this mentally ill individual the benefit of the doubt and fawning over him like he was Mother Teresa.

Eugene R. Dunn, Medford, N.Y.