yay for michael
So MJ's out on technicalities and backfired prosecution attempts. It's good to have a team of lawyers better than the state. Emily Bazelon of Slate gives a pretty good explanation of where the prosecution went wrong and the defense went right.
As entitled, Yay for Michael. Not that I think he's innocent--it's creepy that he wants to sleep with young boys and yes, he should be quarantined for it, but in a sense, well, he already is. The pasty former pop star is creepy, in that he secludes himself in the Neverland Ranch and rarely (if ever) ventures out. His face is mangled. His own skin reacts violently to sunlight. His career is over, and to his name he only has a weak theme park, an equally distorted family, a big house, and a Beatles Collection. Not much future. He may or may not molest boys, but if so then he truly is an unique offender, because his strategy is ingenius.
Normally, one would assume that a "sexual predator" seeks out children and inflicts itself onto their person in complete secrecy and with deceitful intent. MJ is sought by children's parents (who, the defense argues, are gold-diggers... I can't refute that argument, but have at it if you dare), and the parents encourage sleep-overs, alone time, and severe intimacy. They read creepy letters from MJ to their children that claim a (childish and unrealistic) parental role, when they know full well that their kids are sharing his bedroom.
Needless to say, Michael isn't a predator. He's more like a lonely, openly weird child molestor who is given children to play with. I would have been more satisfied with this outcome if the jury had said, "We the jury find the defendant not guilty on all counts, but we the people demand a court order preventing intimate, unsupervised interaction between the defendant and any persons under the age of 15 years."
I am, however, still content with the results. After all: he's been ostracized by society in so many ways that, well, he's where he belongs, whether he intends to hurt children or not, and whether or not the children are hurt at all. The bubble around this fading superstar won't burst anytime soon. I say let him live his secluded, delusional life with the Liz Taylors, Janet Jacksons, and Macaulay Culkins of America. Let him remain separate from the rest of us. He doesn't see life the same way that we tend to see it, and he's ultimately a sad individual. If parents wish to brighten his day by presenting their own child for his vicarious, delusional pleasure, then take the parents to court for contributing to the derangement of an already deranged individual. If they want to take advantage of his vulnerability to swindle a little settlement money when he fondles their son, take the parents to court for putting their child in harm's way with prior knowledge of the impending danger. Or entrapment. Or neglect. End result: the parents deserve to be thrown behind bars for at least one of these offenses.
So Yay for Michael. He got off on everything, and now he's returning to his former way of life: his own solitary confinement.
dfb
As entitled, Yay for Michael. Not that I think he's innocent--it's creepy that he wants to sleep with young boys and yes, he should be quarantined for it, but in a sense, well, he already is. The pasty former pop star is creepy, in that he secludes himself in the Neverland Ranch and rarely (if ever) ventures out. His face is mangled. His own skin reacts violently to sunlight. His career is over, and to his name he only has a weak theme park, an equally distorted family, a big house, and a Beatles Collection. Not much future. He may or may not molest boys, but if so then he truly is an unique offender, because his strategy is ingenius.
Normally, one would assume that a "sexual predator" seeks out children and inflicts itself onto their person in complete secrecy and with deceitful intent. MJ is sought by children's parents (who, the defense argues, are gold-diggers... I can't refute that argument, but have at it if you dare), and the parents encourage sleep-overs, alone time, and severe intimacy. They read creepy letters from MJ to their children that claim a (childish and unrealistic) parental role, when they know full well that their kids are sharing his bedroom.
Needless to say, Michael isn't a predator. He's more like a lonely, openly weird child molestor who is given children to play with. I would have been more satisfied with this outcome if the jury had said, "We the jury find the defendant not guilty on all counts, but we the people demand a court order preventing intimate, unsupervised interaction between the defendant and any persons under the age of 15 years."
I am, however, still content with the results. After all: he's been ostracized by society in so many ways that, well, he's where he belongs, whether he intends to hurt children or not, and whether or not the children are hurt at all. The bubble around this fading superstar won't burst anytime soon. I say let him live his secluded, delusional life with the Liz Taylors, Janet Jacksons, and Macaulay Culkins of America. Let him remain separate from the rest of us. He doesn't see life the same way that we tend to see it, and he's ultimately a sad individual. If parents wish to brighten his day by presenting their own child for his vicarious, delusional pleasure, then take the parents to court for contributing to the derangement of an already deranged individual. If they want to take advantage of his vulnerability to swindle a little settlement money when he fondles their son, take the parents to court for putting their child in harm's way with prior knowledge of the impending danger. Or entrapment. Or neglect. End result: the parents deserve to be thrown behind bars for at least one of these offenses.
So Yay for Michael. He got off on everything, and now he's returning to his former way of life: his own solitary confinement.
dfb
posted by dfb on Tuesday, June 14, 2005
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