A few years ago, I was sitting in a bar with friends watching football when the conversation turned to who each of us thought were the “The Top 5 Running Backs” we’ve ever seen.
For my #5 choice, I picked OJ Simpson. A woman who was not part of our group, but was standing nearby, lit me up for being an “Simpson supporter...a Simpson apologist..!”
I just looked at her for a moment before I burst out laughing - because all I’d said was he was the 5th best running back I’d ever seen. How in the hell does that equate to being a Simpson supporter or apologist?
Simpson’s onfield talent in no way mitigates what he (likely) did to Nicole Simpson and Ron Goodman...but what he did to Nicole Simpson and Ron Goodman in no way takes away from what he was once able to do on a football field.
The same basic idea could be employed when discerning the life/talent of Michael Jackson - and for the record I was never a fan. I always preferred Prince.
I can't imagine what it must be like for their families to live with the unmitigated hatred, and forbidden of pleasant memories, under the iron clad fist of a tyrant.