Posted on 06/14/2005 7:32:32 AM PDT by Asphalt
Michael Jackson's fans were cheering and hugging each other Monday outside the courtroom where he was acquitted on all counts in his child molestation case. But it was impossible for us to get excited over the verdict. You could feel relief that this case was over and the 46-year-old "King of Pop" had gotten his day in court, but no number of "not guilty" pronouncements could erase the taint of the "lifestyle" choices that got him into trouble.
As Jackson was driven away in a funereal black vehicle, under the gaze of a now standard-issue helicopter camera, we wondered how he will respond to being freed of accusations some experts were sure he would be convicted of and even those who thought otherwise acknowledged came dangerously close to criminal behavior. Will the owner and aging lost boy of Neverland continue to insist he is pure of heart and spirit, did nothing wrong in sleeping with underage boys and faces no greater challenge than being misunderstood? Or will he respond to his brush with years in prison by facing up to his psychological problems and seeking help for them?
In saying "the healing process must begin," Jesse Jackson may have been talking about recovering from the grueling trial and its coverage. But Michael Jackson has deeper personal issues to deal with -- including, possibly, being in a state of denial. His strange appearance at the courtroom in his pajamas, his stomping on the roof of his SUV, his mystery trips to the E.R. certainly did nothing to establish his stability.
He will live with the knowledge that he owes his freedom to the prosecution's haphazard case as much as his pleas of innocence or any skillful turns by the defense to support them. This was a case, built and rebuilt over a decade by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon, undone by prosecution witnesses seemingly hired by the defense. They included a young accuser who kept changing his story; the accuser's mother, who came off as a gold digger and, in allowing him to sleep in Jackson's bed, a derelict parent, and an ex-wife of Jackson's, Debbie Rowe, who was brought in by prosecutors to testify against him but spoke of what a wonderful father he was. This despite being involved in a custody battle with him.
In the end, even as this verdict is applauded for showing you're not guilty until proven so in this country, it will, for some, confirm the notion that celebrities get their way in the justice system. Will Jackson's biggest media moment since "Thriller" recharge his career, which was on an artistic and commercial decline before the molestation charges were raised? Perhaps if he stops blaming other people for his misfortunes and starts taking responsibility for them. But if he continues living in his fantasy world, any buzz from this trial will wear off as fast as cable news can find another scandal to obsess over.
Jacko was exploited as a kid, liberal cops and prosecutors and lawyers regularly shop on kids and their exploitative mothers to make "their cases". Kettles calling pots black. Jacko and all these losers will deserve each other in hell.
Oh FGS, this isn't DU; you've wandered onto the wrong board; we deal in FACTS here.
Shouldn't you be packing up for the next sleep-over at Neverland? Wouldn't want you to be late.
I sure take someone who's gathered the facts of the case more seriously than someone who claims she doesn't give a rats behind about them. (In post #263)
Government is the protector of individual rights. Children have a right not to be woken up at night by the nocturnal erections of garbage sticking in their back and if the parents won't protect their childrens rights, then the government must.
For God's sake, the guy has bien ACQUITTED of all charges.
The Jury is sovereign in its decision.
Move on.
Rush is in the "woe is me, I too fell victim to an over zealous prosecutor" mode.
I don't know about France, but in this country we're free to talk about such things. Maybe you're the one who should move on.
you forgot to put ORG at the end there...
Yesterday Sneddon gave an interview to Diane Dimond of CourtTV after the verdict. Dimond asked Sneddon (and I'm paraphrasing) "Were you disappointed that the judge didn't allow the FBI profiler to testify concerning pedophilia? And would that have made a difference in the verdict?" Sneddon replied that he didn't fault the judge for any decision he made. Not sure if he answered the second part of the question concering the verdict. And I don't know why the FBI profiler wasn't allowed to testify.
What you are saying is both utterly bizarre and reprehensible and destructive to any maintenance or even pretense of maintenance of a society. You are saying that children who have bad or neglectful parents are free game for whatever happens to them. That it is okay for them to be sold as sexual playthings by their parents and that society should not intervene in this because it's the parents decision. Do you realize how absolutely callous, rotten and whacked that sounds? You are saying that you would provide the children of bad and neglectful parents with no defense from the behavior of their "guardians". I find that appalling. Children by definition are unable to protect themselves and one of the first duties of a society is to protect the weak and helpless, even from those who allegedly are their "guardians" if need be.
I was just about to post that! ...lol You stole my thunder! :)
Sinkspur closed his comment that you replied to by citing that they would be more liable to prosecution. No one is looking to have such routinely go unpunished. But merely putting the word "children" in caps carries no water with me -- it is a tactic of the left for all sorts of schemes that have nothing to due with individual welfare or the welfare of individual children.
Sure this outcome stinks, but that has more to do with Sneedon than it does with the law in general.
To quote the perv, "You are not alone..."
I don't know what the hell are you talking about.
Neither I care.
No doubt under the influence of his "top notch" defense sheister/rasputin, er lawyer roy black, ala tom messareau.
PS: Howlin, you're fast! ;-)
Oh jeez, why am I not so shocked. He has totally lost credibility on so many issues because of his own behavior.
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