Michael Jackson

[Absaroka]

Someone sent me an email about Michael Jackson today and it made me think about him a bit.

People often seem to wonder why he has the public persona that he does. As if it is up to any of us to even have an opinion. But here is a thougtht

I wonder if he is trying to present himself as purely human, undefined. Neither white nor black (which seems to upset people the most) and neither male nor female which also seems to upset people an awful lot. Who knows, I guess the only way would be to ask him.

Wondering if anyone else has any thoughts on this?

Andrea

BTW since I only know what I read in the paper I have absolutely no idea if the current child molesting charges are true. I would like to see him tried by a jury rather than the press. Sometimes it seems that the unusual one is always seen as a threat. On the other hand maybe it is true.

[Virginia]

Andrea,
I guess to some degree, a very very small degree we= crossdressers can indentify with Michael as far as public relations go and that is all. I, like you try not to dwell to much on his plight but maybe I should. I know only what I see and read. The entire family is interesting to say the least. I think and it is only one girl's opinion, he had all that plastic work done to look more like Janet. One of the things that surprised me is all that nose work did not seem to affect his singing and the kid has got some moves!! A child molester?? Lot of evidence points that way, but as was posted about Jerry Springer, money moves people in mysterious ways and in our law suit happy society who knows. Just look at what happened to Bill Cosby, sued by a female attorney for something he proportedly did to her what? over 30 years ago?? Then we find out she is a nut case!
It is a strange world we travel in and every day anymore we see it that "Truth is stranger than fiction."
I am just happy to come here for a bit of sanity once in a while!!!
Virginia

[Sally]

As far as I'm concerned, Michael Jackson has every right to undergo any amount of cosmetic surgery he wishes to effect whatever changes he wants regarding his appearance. It's legal and he can afford it so it's his personal business and if people judge him on his appearance or his wishes to be black, white or somewhere in between, look like a female, male or a combination of both, then to me that tells more about those who judge him on those superficial points, than it does about him.

As to whether he's a child molestor or not, well nothing I've heard or read has proved beyond all resonable doubt that he is or he isn't and hopefully time will tell one way or the other. There are huge amounts of innuendo, suspicions and maybes floating about, but he's entitled to a fair and reasonable hearing (if a person in his position can get it) but it's really turning into just another media circus, and I surmise that he and his supporters are in no small way contributing to it all. But would any of us do anything different if it were us? I would hazard a guess that whether we were guilty or not, we would use every means ( fair or foul ) available to have a not guilty verdict returned. It's everyones' entitlement in our democratic system, even if it doesn't happen in each and every case before the courts.

I think his biggest proven 'crime' to date is that he personally has put himself in a position where he is seen not in the best light, by having children in his bed and publicly admitting it. He's a high profile person and as such is subject to public scrutiny and I would have thought he lacked common sense by putting himself in the situation he did with kids in his bed. In the current situation around the world where there has been so much public outcry over pedophilia and so many members of churches and others put in jail for molestation crimes against children, then I would expect any reasonable adult to take extreme steps to not put themselves in a position where they could be accused of crimes against children, especially if their intentions were honourable. To me it's just common sense and I have absolutely no sympathy for him because it's all his own doing whatever his intentions were, and if he's guilty of the charges then he deserves the full force of the law to come down on him. If he's innocent then he should be allowed to get on with his life in peace. Well as much peace as he can get or want with his high profile.

The situation here in Australia has become so extreme with fear of pedophiles, that parents are now prohibited from taking cameras into school sports, concerts, camps and other events. They are prohibited from even taking pictures of their own kids at these events, that's how extreme the fear of pedophilia has become and it's now become the norm that everyone has to think clearly about the repercussions which may arise from any interaction they have with children, especially other people's kids.


Kind Regards.

Sally.

[Alexandra]

ahem, michael jackson -- he can do whatever he wants with his life with no judgment from me -- EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO KIDS.

Since he has a rather dubious history with kids and being the high-profile person he is, he should have taken steps to keep his distance from kids but chose not to -- his right I guess. However if he's found guilty, he's nobody to blame but himself. And if he is found guilty, they should throw the book at him, including a permanent classification as a sex predator.

[Lorna]

And if he is found guilty, they should throw the book at him, including a permanent classification as a sex predator.

I agree. I for one tire of celebrities getting a mere slap on the wrist simply because of who they are.

On the subject of his appearance, I'll also agree that a man or woman has every right to undergo whatever mode of cosmetic surgery he or she so chooses.

And I am not one to judge but I honestly have to say that in this case, two words come to mind: HAUNTED HOUSE.

[Alexandra]

Lorna, I usually give people the benefit of the doubt and I was thinking that perhaps there was some truth to the claims being made that some people were taking advantage of jackson's kindness. but geez, after reading some of the testimony from the trial I'm a bit surprised. Even if only 25% of what is being said is true, jackson is in deep doo-doo. this is one bizzare trial.

[Beauty]

Ok, after reading the testimony from yesterdays court hearing of MJ I'm sad to admit (because I didn't want to believe it) I'm officially off the fence.

I think he's guilty, unless the defense can negate the charges of an adult who recalled the way he was molested, tickled and then touched in the private area, followed by being slipped $100 each time.

A former publicist who didn't want to say it, but she finally admitted that he did lick the head of the child we all know MJ was accused of molesting and settled. Also his pleading with the mother to allow the child to sleep with him in the bed. This was followed by the child becoming more and more withdrawn which is what I heard molested children do.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/04/11/jacks ... index.html

Everyday it gets worse and worse.

So the defense will now have to show me that all of these people were either out to get him or how their stories aren't true. Because in the court of my opinion I thought it was all bogus, but after hearing the testimony from the witnesses I feel he's a molester, even if it wasn't this child.

[Alexandra]

beauty, you're not alone. today my SO finally gave up on jackson too.

not that he (or anybody) ought to be taking my advice, but he needs to consider a plea.

still, jackson has several strong legal recourses to get a conviction overturned -- one of which is that he can argue that these new witnesses' observations have nothing to do with the crimes he is actually charged with. this is a good reason NOT to take a plea. but if he gambled wrong, jackson could be in jail for 20 years easily.

[CJ]

Good one, Lorna!

Haunted House, indeed! I can almost hear the tinny and scratchy canned evil laughter in the background. OooooOOooOOOooohhh! Keep your children safe from the Boogeyman! (or, is that "Boogieman"?)

Love,
CJ

[Alexandra]

ALL of Jackson's accusers ought to be behind bars along with jackson says sun-times columnist:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/mitchell ... tch14.html

Yeah, good point! Why didn't any of these witnesses come forward and turn Jackson in earlier after witnessing these crimes in the first place? Or at least call the child abuse hotlines?

[Beauty]

Hi Alexandra,

I'm with you there. If they freaggin' knew and let him continue to molest innocent children.

[Absaroka]

I was really not wanting to turn this into a discussion of child molesting. What I was trying to do was talk about peoples perseptions of him as trying to transcend both gender and race and how it made them feel.

As for the molestation, if he did it lock him up. And consider doing the same with some of the parents who let their kids stay with him unattended after all the publicity he has gotten.

Approximately 1 in 4 women will be raped at some point in their life. Maybe 1 in 3. A deeply disturbing thought that we for the most part would rather not contemplate. This includes adult attacks as well as those in childhood. The number of men is far less but still I think it may be close to double digits. Whenever any serious study of done of these things it is always appalling how common it is, and the typical perpetrator is a repeat (many times) offender.

Andrea

Sometimes there seems to be a bit of a witch hunt mentality. And it may be a valid question to ask if we locked up everyone guilty of sexual assault would we recreate the problem with the war on drugs which has already given us an astronomical prison population. On the other hand I don't expect anyone who has been raped or abused, which is probably about 15 to 20 percent of the entire adult population including men and women, to have any concerns about the fate of their attacker, only how to prevent them from continuing their activities.

[Alexandra]

the thing about the witch hunt mentality is that jackson brought a lot of it on himself -- as a celebrity he could have taken steps to prevent the appearance of being involved in these things -- especially the first time around when he was sued and settled -- that would have been a reasonable person's cue to knock it off right there and then.

but no, jackson opened the public inquiry door further by continuing these activites and later followed up with questional comments about that lifestyle. One would figure then that he must not be guilty of these rumors had iron-clad alibis and no skeletons in his closets as well as a great legal team advising him to prevent something like this from occuring.

but guess what -- he didn't have or didn't do any of these common sense things.

[Alexandra]

And it may be a valid question to ask if we locked up everyone guilty of sexual assault would we recreate the problem with the war on drugs which has already given us an astronomical prison population.

the cost to society to build/run prisons to lock them all up is small compared to the long-term harm done to victims and their families. Drug users mostly harm themselves. Most (?) child abusers that are back on the street have served their terms and are legally required to be released.

[Celia]

What is it that makes us consume with so little objection such obvious yellow journalism? If it isn't clear to anyone else, it's clear to me: the extended coverage of the Jackson case has far more to do with the accused than the accusations. If some other (non-celebrity) serial molester were caught, it would be remarkable if he received more than five minutes of national press coverage. The bearing this case has on the crime of child molestation in this country is almost entirely negligible - about the same as the Simpson case on the crime of murder. Let's stop according it undue significance.

-Celia