(no subject)

[prickvixen]

Now that this is over, I'll give my opinion of it.

I think the prosecution's problem was that they just didn't have a case against Michael Jackson. The charges where he was supposed to have abducted Gavin Arvizo and his brother and mother were demonstrably false; they had numerous opportunities to ditch Jackson, if that's what they wanted to do, or to go to the police. Their behavior indicated that this was the furthest thing from their minds.

As for the charges of molestation, neither side could prove or disprove anything. It all came down to he said, she said... the prosecution didn't have any video or photos or anything concrete, and the defense obviously couldn't prove a negative. So it's just a lot of people saying Jackson did it, or Jackson didn't do it. It becomes an article of religious faith.

Which is why I was surprised by the verdict. I was sure he'd be found guilty of molestation, because if everything else was equal, I imagined people would just assume the worst about him. True or not, this child molester thing has been drilled into people's heads for years, and he's a weirdo, so he must be guilty. It's not like the OJ case, either, where the defendant was found not guilty as a rebuke to a police department which was out of control in its persecution of minorities. Jackson's not black anymore, he's from outer space.* So yeah, I figured they'd take him down.

I'll admit that I would like to believe Michael Jackson is innocent, and that this is merely an act of religious faith, as stated above. I don't know whether or not he did what he's accused of. But I do know that this family set him up. They are so dirty. I'd even believe that the mother went into this with the idea that her kids could get molested and that she could profit from it... that's child endangerment.


* For example.

Comments

[smack-jackal.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised as well. I'm not surprised that Jackson's defense was able to instill reasonable doubt or that the prosecution's case was flawed, these things I have come to expect. What surprises me is that the jury actually acquitted him of the charges instead of trying to make a statement.

correction

[dustmeat.livejournal.com]

Actually it came down to He said, he said.

Re: correction

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

*grin*

Concur...

[awolf.livejournal.com]

Glad someone else feels the same way. It's amazing how many people in this world can only see two options: "yes" and "no", when 99.9% of the time, the intelligent answer is "I don't know".

A jury's not supposed to "take a guess" at what most likely happened; if they did, the weird people would all be in jail by now.

Trickster

[zrath.livejournal.com]

What I find disheartening, as you mentioned in your post, is the Pavlovian knee-jerk reaction
that Michael Jackson's name causes nowadays. It's like a word association game.

"The French?" - - - "Cheese-eating surrender-monkeys."
"Michael Jackson?" - - - "Child molester."
"Furries?" - - - "Animal-fuckers."

Blargh...

[ocean-state.livejournal.com]

Cheese-eating? I thought it was, "Wine-drinking surrender-monkeys" :>

I recall some slur during the past US election-- John Kerry prefers wine to Budweiser, or something to that effect. Actually what's even sadder than that is the fact that Kerry felt the need to disguise the fact that he is a genuinely fluent French speaker... god forbid a US president have the ability to speak any language besides English and Texan.

[lapdragon.livejournal.com]

Not guilty does not mean innocent.

There's still evidence that he did things inapropriate with minors, even if it can't be proven sexual. Chappelle's little bit describes the situation perfectly: 'Do you think he did it?' '' 'Would you let your children sleep in his bed?' 'Fuck no! Mm-mm!'

Here's hoping that he'll wise up and stop doing stupid shit.

[ocean-state.livejournal.com]

I think I feel much the same way. Michael Jackson is clearly a troubled, unhappy, and yes, weird adult man. I would like to believe that, whatever his proclivities and choice of friends, he did not actually molest and abuse those children. I remember hearing some commentary about Jackson a few years ago, that said, in effect, even if he is innocent of molestation charges, he is an adult man whose only friends are young children. (I think this may have actually been in a conservative magazine.) The man has lots of weirdness and childhood issues above and beyond sexual desire for young boys.