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.
How could you call MJJ Gay? At best he is Bi-Sexual, look he was married to a woman, twice.
Ya know, I've also seen a lot of non-sexual abuse though, now that I think about it. I was not sexually abused myself, but I did experience a lot of abuse as a child - verbal abuse and neglect mainly - so I have a strong personal interest in what happens to children. I think there is a lot of similarity between these other areas of abuse and the sexual, but the sexual is probably even worse from what I've observed. When you are beaten or verbally abused, you can still understand that there is somethign wrong with the person who is hurting you and that you probably didn't do anything to deserve it. When it's sexual abuse, especially if there is some pleasure involved, there is the added element of guilt and complicity. It's even more of a secret. What an evil thing it is. People have no idea.
I have observed firsthand the damage that is done by molestation. I have to testify next month in a child molestation trial against a prominent child psychiatrist. The cops think he may have molested as many as 100 boys.
You can't believe how much my friend has suffered as a result of the abuse. So to see these jurors giggling and laughing on Dan Abrams tonight is sickening. I wish the DA had put more shrinks on to testify to the m.o. of molestors.
You wrote: And don't forget--Jackson used Pelican's services before he got locked up--think he continued to use his firm without Pelicano once he was locked up. Many similarities!
My Reply: What is Pelican's Services?
Boy, are you naive! A lot of gays marry--sometimes they divorce quickly, sometimes they want someone to make them appear normal. Being married means nothing.
oh please. those were not real marriages. He is a gay pedophile. His sole sexual interest seems to be little boys. There are straight pedophiles too who go after little girls. They come in both flavors.
I just realized how that looked. Sorry.
I watched those trials.
The accuser in Gaghan didn't come forth for ten years.
Jury believed him.
Yet, in the mj case, his accuser has been chided for waiting four months before going to LE.
Yes, sexual abuse is the most confusing. Can you imagine the problem a victim would have with boundaries ?
I pray to God that another victim of Jackson's comes forward. Ron Zonen, the prosecutor who did the closing arguments, was on Dan Abrams tonight, was very gracious towards Tom Mesereau and had nice words for him. By contrast, Mesereau was being very sour and badmouthing the prosecution and its case. That really upsets me.
It horrifies me, what can I say. Like you I have seen the damage with close friends. I've had a couple of boyfriends as well who were abused, and just never really matured largely as a result of it. The damage can last a lifetime. It's such a big dark secret.
Tom Mesereau is an evil man. He has to live with himself. I wouldn't not want that man's black soul for all the money in the world. He is worse than Jackson. Jackson is a sick man who can't help himself. Mesereau enables him to do it. Mesereau is far far worse.
Agree. They cannot conduct themselves as mature adults.
What's funny about this case to them?
I cannot take them seriously and doubt they can take themselves seriously.
They are loving basking in the glow of the MSM.
Nice chatting with you. I do have to go to bed now it is almost 1am and i have a lot fo work to do on the farm tomorrow.
"I was only doing my job and what was right for my clients."
Won't fly. IMO
In name only, my dear, in name only.
It was a case of lawyer v. lawyer, not victim v. Michael Jackoffson.
Also, since Jesse "did you know I'm black?" Jackson and The Civil Rights Movement argued that Michael had an all white jury, and that everyone white was against them and the entire planet and Michael, why haven't they said a word since Michael GOT OFF? Shouldn't we get a jury of a mix of blacks and whites to try him? Wouldn't that be "FAIR"?
I'm so mad to see that many idiots walking around America while third world country children are starving.
"The Boy" is an art book of photographs, sold at Amazon
It is not porn.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0893818534/qid=1118790765/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-8170545-2176766?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Mesereau is on Larry King tonight. I wouldn't watch that interview tonight even if my life depended on it. Would it kill him to say at least one graceful thing about the prosecution ?
And by the way - about three weeks ago, the National Enquirer had some very amusing pictures of Mesereau with a dominatrix at some S & M Club. He was on his hands and knees, wearing a dog collar. I am not kidding ! I am surprised Drudge didn't pick up the story.
What he admits to, is having milk and cookies, telling bed time stories, and then falling asleep, fully clothed, with little boys. That is not illegal. If you make it illegal, you will catch many live in boyfriends in the same trap.
What was alleged, was that he was not always completely clothed, and participated in some other not so innocent activities.
What kind of prosecutor doesn't know what his witnesses are going to say??
Either the prosecutor was totally incompetent, or the witnesses were "got to."
Nothing to blame the jury for. I see a lot of screeching that the jury failed to convict on facts not in evidence. It's a shame.
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