Perhaps you didn't see the television interview, and there may very well have been more than one, in which a 40-year-old Jackson admitted that he took little boys to his bed to sleep with him ... all the while looking hurt and shocked that society did not understand why this would be a bad thing. He admitted that he is a pervert by every measure we have in our society. What more do you want before you admit it as well? I'd be interested to know how quickly you would send your twelve-year-old son or nephew over to Jackson's home to spend a quiet weekend of snuggling.
The guy never had a childhood, he had a very abusive, abnormal upbringing, always in the spotlight, and it's clear to me that emotionally his growth was stunted at a young age. So in that respect, he was basically a child in an adult's body.
He had also been used and exploited his entire life, first by the person who he should've been able to trust the most (his father) and then by countless other people who just wanted to make a buck off of him.
It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that he wanted to re-capture his lost childhood by doing things kids do (he said in an interview his favorite things were climbing trees and water balloon fights) and creating his Neverland ranch, etc. He also stated that he loved children because of their honesty, innocence and joy and that he could never hurt a child.
Things we also know: (that aren't speculation) He did a lot of good things, he holds the record for giving to more charities than any other celebrity, he founded his own charitable organization, he wrote a number of songs that promoted racial harmony and inspired people to do good things (man in the mirror, heal the world, we are the world, etc) not to mention the fact that he was gifted and musically brilliant, he made music for 4 decades that made people happy, which is why he is considered a legendary entertainer. So, considering that he did more good than most, let me ask, does a bad tree produce good fruit? (to borrow a biblical principle)
Don't get me wrong, he obviously had many deep-rooted issues and problems. And sadly, to ease his pain he relied on prescription drugs, and he did make a lot of bad choices and unfortunately set himself up for his fall. But that doesn't necessarily mean he is guilty of those crimes. So instead of speculating and jumping to conclusions without having been there ourselves, let's look at some facts: 1) He was an easy target. 2) There are plenty of people who want to get rich quick from a guy like him (and imo the Chandler situation pointed more towards extortion than a genuine case of child molestation, Evan Chandler was all too eager to get money from MJ, instead of fighting for true justice which would be what a parent of an actual molestation victim would want, not money) 3) He was legally acquitted of all charges.
The above doesn't mean that I'm concluding he was innocent...or guilty. But unlike the O.J case, where my gut feeling was that OJ was guilty as sin, in this case I don't think Michael was the evil monster his accusers are making him out to be, so instead of jumping to conclusions either way on his guilt or innocence, I'll just let God be the judge, because God IS the only true judge. And as a believer i'll say that I truly hope MJ's name is in the book of life, because I really hope he will finally have the peace that he never had during his life.
One more thing. It's one thing to share your thoughts on this or speculate, but once again I have to say I'm disgusted and saddened by the hateful, arrogant, extremely judgmental mob mentality that I see here on this site, on this topic, (and others, for that matter) the way you guys label him and condemn him as being lower than pondscum. I think that says more about you guys, than MJ or anyone else. I don't think you have an idea of how it comes across.
People are not celebrating his personal troubles and problems, they're giving credit where it IS due, he was the most famous entertainer in the world, he had almost 40 years of contributions to music, millions of people grew up with his music, and he was an inspiration to lots of other artists, he's considered a legendary performer, the way Elvis or the Beatles are, THAT is what people are paying tribute to. And all that was despite his difficult and painful personal experiences, so I think that is why people have sympathy for him, but that doesn't mean that they're paying tribute to his flaws or messed up personal life, as some of you seem to be suggesting.
Ok, I wrote too much here. I'll leave you with a video, a pepsi commercial he did that I think is eerily meaningful. I hope you watch it.
hmm, not sure if we can embed YT videos on this site, it's not showing up in the preview... so here's the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6P559-Zji0