To Spite Our Face
Posted on June 26, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Excuse the non-political interlude but everyone else is talking about it so here we go.
Can someone explain to me when Michael Jackson joined respectable society again? I seem to have missed it.
Last time I checked I remember Jackson flagrantly flouting inviting children into his bed and barely beating a charge of child molestation by the skin of his teeth. This, of course, after he paid another alleged victim off ten years previous for dropping a similar charge.
Now, of course, I understand the concept of innocent until proven guilty. I do. But I thought that we all had come to the conclusion that Jacko was about as innocent of child molestation as O.J was of killing Nicole.
Was I wrong?
Because if O.J dies and I have to watch film of him playing football and people honoring and mourning his death, I’ll lose it. I’m gonna need a heads up on that one, so let me know.
Hell, wouldn’t you forgive a murderer sooner than a child molester, anyway?
At least with murder, the victim is dead. It’s over. Done. Being sexually victimized, especially at a young age, can be akin to a living death.
Honestly, sometimes (let me emphasize sometimes) I think child rapists would be more humane if they killed all their victims. At least they would save them the life of pain and prevent the start of a cycle of abuse that can extend generationally and exponentially.
A few folks in Knoxville cheered the man’s death? And?
Don’t get me wrong. Celebrating death of anyone, even a mass murderer or a child rapist, is not a healthy activity. But is it absolutely appalling? Honestly, given the givens and assuming the assumptions, I simply cannot muster up a whole bunch of outrage.
You can call it judgmental if you like. It most certainly is. After all, I don’t know for a fact that the man molested a child. I have seen no evidence, I have sat on no jury and I am not God.
But I thought, as a society, we had a healthy suspicion that Jackson had more than likely sexually misbehaved with children. Maybe I’m wrong. But if, gun to your head, you would bet that the man touched a child rather than didn’t, how can you honor him?
Yes, he had a horrible childhood. Yes, he was robbed by his father and the public of a proper upbringing. He was taught to sing about things he didn’t understand and become a sex symbol before he was prepared. He faced very debilitating and horrible obstacles on the road to maturation.
But, you know, so do a lot of people. And not all those people have the money to insulate themselves with lawyers and pay off victims. They don’t have the people running around explaining their weird predilection for children away and chalking it up to eccentricity.
They just go to prison — and likely don’t have the best time there. Again, I don’t know Jackson was guilty of anything. To assume that he is guilty is judgmental. But that’s not exactly something we as a society never do. We do it all the time.
What I don’t understand is when talent, money and fame trumped the very strong suspicion of child molestation.
What is the difference between O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson? Because I don’t see one. How can the charges of child molestation be the sidebar to a story about a gifted singer, dancer, marketer and producer?
Because I don’t see it as the sidebar, it’s the mothergrabbing lede.
Help me out here.
REACTION: Mark Mays says I’m grandstanding.
Comments
48 Responses to “To Spite Our Face”
Pete Townsend got caught looking at child pornagraphy, and we still like the Who. Jerry Lee Lewis married his cousin, and we still love “Great Balls of Fire.” Chuck Berry put cameras in his restaurant’s women’s bathroom, and we still listen to “Johnny B. Goode.”
A person’s behavior does not detract from the value of their artwork. If the networks (I haven’t been watching TV) are talking about what a great person MJ was, then they might be mistaken. But he was a great artist, and he deserves respect for that, at least.
I thought Townsend was acquitted.
I have a problem with the rationale that because a man is “strongly suspected” of a crime, he should be socially ostracized and any memory of his better deeds erased. The fact is, people make nasty accusations all the time, and some of them simply aren’t true. I’ve interviewed rape “victims” (who I am strongly inclined to be sympathetic towards) that were, quite frankly, lying, and doing it for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was attention, sympathy, and outright craziness. The possibility of getting paid adds quite another dimension to it. It’s true that our society is all too willing to destroy a person’s life over the mere suspicion of wrongdoing, but that is both unfair to the accused and unjust to the victim because it encourages people to lie for the aforementioned reasons, thus making it even more difficult for real victims to obtain the justice they need.
Is Michael different than OJ? Well, OJ actually has been convicted of something now, but I guess that’s not the point. I prefer to trust in the Courts as the arbiter of truth and justice in these matters, imperfect though they may be, instead of the court of public opinion. This is for a lot of reasons, but primarily because the press is fickle and the Courts are final. Yesterday, Michael was a child molester. Today, he is a cultural icon. They care more about making headlines than reporting the truth, and yesterday’s headlines don’t sell papers today, therefore I don’t put a lot of stock in their judgments.
On a personal note, I understand your outrage. When I attended the funeral of my grandfather, who had been guilty of far too much wrongdoing in his own family, it made me a little sick to hear the people who had cursed his name only weeks before praise him to the rafters. I imagine I won’t even attend my father’s funeral for similar reasons. It would be hypocritical. However, I know what these men did and those are my feelings. I don’t know Michael Jackson well enough to judge him one way or the other. All I know is the man was a genius who made great music, so that’s how I mourn his loss. If others are outraged, let them be outraged. If others mourn, let them mourn. If you’re a Christian, you might be required to do a little more than that, but to each their own conscience.
C’mon ACK, the ration of kids touched to kids helped has got to be 1/100 or something like that…give a man a break!
Seriously though, I think MJ’s eccentricities (legal or not) far exceeded his talent. Maybe I’m just too young to have experienced his hay-day, but I never thought he was that good of a singer (post-puberty), and I couldn’t give a flip about his dancing/choreography abilities.
ration=ratio
First, Jackson, like OJ, was acquitted. I believe there was a financial settlement, and for more than the Browns or the Goldmans ever got. Second, there was an acquittal because the evidence was shaky at best.
He was a strange man with more demons than any of us could imagine, but UNLIKE OJ, he captured the hearts of millions upon millions with his art. And artists, by the way, tend to be off-center to begin with.
The fact is, we can suspect all we want, but unless any of us were there at that given moment, we don’t KNOW. Given the fact that he had to live an Elvis-like lifestyle to avoid being overrun by fans, I’m willing to cut the man a little slack with his passing.
[...] Don’t Michael Jackson and OJ Simpson Have in Common Posted on June 26, 2009 by Mark Kleinheider asks us these questions: Now, of course, I understand the concept of innocent until proven guilty. I do. But I thought that [...]
Adding to the great points that Amber already made-
I’ve been following your commentary on Twitter today and I get it. I do. You know in your heart somehow that MJ is a creepy child molester who ruins lives and you’re relieved that he can now “Molest In Peace (MIP)” or whatever. And hey, that’s fine. Everyone has their hot-button issue and evidently this is yours.
But the thing is, you do address the horrible fact that abuse has a way of cycling through families and being passed down through generations. So I guess I don’t understand how you’re able to blow off the idea that the same principle probably applies to MJ’s situation. You’re pretty flippant about noting that “Yes, he had a horrible childhood,” and he did. He was abused, both emotionally and physically, by his father. And between all of the hands he was passed through on his way to superstardom, who’s to say there wasn’t some sexual abuse going on there, too? As another article I read today put it, “How could anyone expect that his experiences of an abusive childhood and exploited adulthood could ever breed stability?”
I’m not at all saying that sexually abusing children is ever okay, but guilty or not (and see Amber’s comment for my thoughts on that), I do think a situation like this needs to be viewed in the context of his life as a tragedy. That said, I feel like all the hostility in this piece is misplaced, if not a little sickening.
I think much, probably most, of the mourning over the death of MJ is not about him at all. It’s about the music and the memories it stirs up and it’s about our own sense of mortality.
I didn’t think anything of Jacko as a person, but Thriller was my first real music purchase and I memorized every word to every song. I danced to Beat It in my third grade dance recital-moonwalk, glove and all. His dying makes me realize more acutely than usual just how long ago those moments were and how much older I am now.
It also makes the end of my own life feel a tiny bit closer. We don’t live thinking every day about our dying. We can’t, really. But in those moments when death is tied to something that feels close to us, be it a person we knew or a person whose work touched our imaginations, we do. Death feels more real. We can’t ignore that our own lives will have an end, just like that persons’ did.
*I didn’t think anything of Jacko as a person*
Most didn’t, and I think this small statement has all too much to do with his “eccentricities” and downfall (i.e., miserable, suffering existence.)
From Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson:
I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change)
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na, Na Nah)
… became a sex symbol before he was prepared.
I’ve often wondered how you handle that yourself Kleinheider.
MJ vs OJ? One was so obviously tortured and bizarre he became an object of pity, his gradual decline was there for all to see. The other exploded and nearly cut his ex-wife’s head off.
Someone help me with which Mafia movie or show has a Mafioso saying dying doesn’t make a jerk a swell guy.
Opinions vary about MJ’s “genius” or lack of it.
I haven’t gleaned that an adult’s sexual contact with a child is a fate worse than death; and the law of this state doesn’t regard it as such.
Breath deeply and process your rage with all of your considerable intelligence. You’re still a young fella.
A person’s behavior does not detract from the value of their artwork.
But it does define his character.
Besides, MJ was the “King of Pop.” Pop generally lacks true artistry. He made a few really “cool” songs. He could dance well, for a singer. Yippee. I never understood his appeal.
More than anything, Jackson was a pathetic, tragic person for whom normalcy was never a part of his life.
It just goes to show you how unique and rare real genius is.
That we can overlook the bizarre and peculiar “thing” Jackson had become and mourn for the joy his music and performances added to our lives is truly amazing.
It’s strange how many of history’s great artists have suffered from mental illness or antisocial disorders. Their work, be it an opera, classic novel or masterpiece painting, is judge on the works’ merits, not on the mental illness of its creator. I’ve not followed the outpouring of reaction that closely today, however, I’ve yet to see anyone say, “I’m sad because I love how Michael Jackson lived with a chimp and dyed his face white.”
If you can point to an article like that, maybe I could understand your indignation a little better.
Rex has it right.
People in general are just strange. Take Dan Winkler for example. That man and his wife have never been committed a single crime, they opened up food banks in places like Decatur, Al to feed the hungry,kept the lights on for the poor and the sick, brought untold amounts of people to christ who were lost and changed their lives for the better. But check any message forum in this state this week and you’ll find people just slandering them into the ground coming and going. Its like the saying goes. You’ll never go broke underestimating the american public….
I don’t know. Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary) was convicted in 1970 of molesting a 14 year old and spent 3 months in prison. He was later granted clemency by Carter. Aside from the occasional protest by victims groups - he is an adored icon of folk music. Of course Peter expressed what has generally been accepted as sincere sorrow for the matter and largely was able to repair his reputation. Michael just kept getting creepier.
I think much, probably most, of the mourning over the death of MJ is not about him at all. It’s about the music and the memories it stirs up and it’s about our own sense of mortality.
I agree with this sentiment 100%. And as I said over at my blog, the media reaction has been ghoulish. I haven’t watched cable news in 24 hours, I can’t watch the pigs at this trough. So I’m staying away from the “official” social commentary.
Michael Jackson the person was a weird dude. The baby-dangling, the plastic surgery, it’s just too bizarre and I don’t understand it. Michael Jackson the artist was brilliant.
Michael Jackson has disgusted me for a long time, because I believe he did indeed prey on children. I think the truth of that will come out eventually. I read too many details for it all to be made up. Jackson also treated Paul McCartney like dirt when Jackson bought up the Beatles catalog. He was a snake.
Really, many rock ‘n’ roll stars are/were pretty disgusting people, especially the guys.
Anyway, glad to see I wasn’t the only one thinking these thoughts. It’s hardly grandstanding. More like a reality check.
**I didn’t think anything of Jacko as a person**
*Most didn’t, and I think this small statement has all too much to do with his “eccentricities” and downfall (i.e., miserable, suffering existence.)*
I could make the same statement about all kinds of famous people, not because I don’t care that they’re people, but because you can’t really know who they are or what makes them tick from such a distance. All we can really see of them is their work and, in some cases, their foibles.
Pete Townsend got caught looking at child pornagraphy, and we still like the Who. Jerry Lee Lewis married his cousin, and we still love “Great Balls of Fire.” Chuck Berry put cameras in his restaurant’s women’s bathroom, and we still listen to “Johnny B. Goode.”
Warren Zevon regularly beat the living shit out of his wife. As did James Brown. And Jackson Browne. Roman Polanski was into sex with minors, apparently. R. Kelly… Stephen Tyler…
And let’s not forget Elvis Presley. He hit the trifecta. Drug addict, wife beater, statutory rapist (”met” Priscilla when she was 14 and he was 24).
You have to separate the artistic creation from the human frailities of the creator. Michael Jackson obviously touched a generation that preceded ACK.
I think the generational thing might have something to do with the conversation. AC is younger than us Xers. We still remember “Thriller” and “Off the Wall”.
When somebody dies, we always focus on the good in the person. We can talk about the weird stuff later. But right now, we just want to talk about his incredible talent, and I think that is alright.
As far as judging and condemning is concerned, just remember, at one time he was a little boy, just like any other person we may loathe. What happened along the way? I don’t know. The older I get, the more difficult it is to be hard.
Why do you hate black people, Kleinheider?
Best piece you’ve written in a long time.
When I wrote my piece on him, I focused on the music because his death is like Elvis or Lennon to many of a younger generation.
But do I think he molested children? At best, he was certainly inappropriate with them.
In TN this could get me killed, but why did we overlook it with Elvis? He was 21 dating a 14 year old girl, and just because her parents said it was okay, (The mom in the Jackson case let him spend the night) doesn’t make it right, and in Priscilla’s own words, Elvis gave her speed in high school so she could stay up all night with him playing sex games. (They didn’t actually have sexual intercourse until they were married–just played sex games–bet that would make a mother of a 14 year old happy)
So if you’re going to ask why we overlook it in MJ, you also have to ask why we overlook statutory rape and drug abuse with Elvis, which no one in TN. will do.
We put a higher premium on talent than morality.
I don’t think everyone came to the same conclusion. However, defending Michael has carried a heavy price for the would be defender. That price has been ridicule and the counter charge of “why are you defending a child molester?!” Who but the most avid fan wants to risk being labeled an apologist for a child molester? That charge has a pretty chilling effect and so people kept their silence — until now.
Most everyone will agree that he was eccentric and some of his actions questionable while others were downright strange but I think there are also many more than people might realize who would dispute that MJ actually harmed anyone. A lot of folks think he was simply stuck at age 10 –a regressed man-child who inhabited a child’s world when it came to children or whenever he turned inward to escape the stresses of the real world. The psychiatrist that examined him said as much and noted that he didn’t meet the profile of a pedophile.
Personally, I don’t know what happened but I do know he was found not guilty despite the fact that (1) juries love to convict pedophiles and (2) Jackson had already become something that a large number of people at the time –meaning jurors– found grotesque. Having a knowledge of arrested development and what it means for someone suffering from such emotional and psychological stunting what the psychiatrist said makes a lot of sense to me.
But the thing is, you do address the horrible fact that abuse has a way of cycling through families and being passed down through generations. So I guess I don’t understand how you’re able to blow off the idea that the same principle probably applies to MJ’s situation.
Absolutely, Christy, I do believe the same principle applies.
But just because one is brought into a cycle of abuse doesn’t mean that they are absolved of responsibility when they pass it on.
I can recognize the generational and multplier effect of abuse without excusing the victim’s subsequent acting out.
Jackson had some tough crosses to bear. The fishbowl and the abuse he suffered probably resulted in a strong compulsion to do what he did.
However, he had free will. He could have chosen to stop the cycle. Instead, he likely used his resources and fame to extend the cycle to countless other families.
My hostility is in direct proportion to the his alleged crimes and the way the media is softsoaping them.
this is pretty grim thinking, and yes, mean. with no proof other than suspicion. seems like some low-end grandstanding to me too ACK.
it’s worth noting too that while much media attention has been focused on his death and his life, most all those reports have mentioned his controversial sides too, so it isn’t like society in general ignores troublesome questions.
That we can overlook the bizarre and peculiar “thing” Jackson had become and mourn for the joy his music and performances added to our lives is truly amazing.
Yes, it truly is amazing. But not how mean.
Had he been held to account for his action while alive I might be made more sympathetic. But it wasn’t just that he chose to live his life the way he did, it was that he was unrepentant about it.
He used his talents, and the money he made from it, more than likely, to pray on kids and convince their parents to turn a blind eye.
He was warned once when he had to pay a court judgment to rid himself of accusations. Had he paid off the single accusation and been done with it, it might have been forgettable.
But faced with a “learning experience”, he kept on. He kept on because he thought he was entitled and he thought the rules didn’t apply to him.
To see people accepting that arrogance, to see people proving him right — that the rules didn’t apply to him — is repugnant.
You can say that people are simply celebrating his art but his art built what may have been a 10 to 20 year career of serial pedophilia.
Pop songs and dancing make up for that?
Womanizing, drugs, generally fast living — these are things I can see forgiving in “great men.”
But child molestation? Are you mad? If he did that, even once, his name should be cursed to the extent that it is even mentioned at all.
Some transgressions do, in fact, erase other good deeds.
Violation of children is on that list. Right at the top.
Michael Jackson obviously touched a generation that preceded ACK
It is how Jackson touched certain generations that concerns me.
A lot of folks think he was simply stuck at age 10 –a regressed man-child who inhabited a child’s world when it came to children or whenever he turned inward to escape the stresses of the real world. The psychiatrist that examined him said as much and noted that he didn’t meet the profile of a pedophile.
Listen, if he never touched a child, then I fucking apologize. And if we lived in a non-judgmental society, I wouldn’t care.
But people are judged and ostracized for far less than what many assume Jackson has done.
It’s distressing to me that so many are willing to give the man a pass just because he cut a few albums.
He was a performer, after all. Artist, frankly, is a strong word. He was not a miracle worker, he did not heal the sick, or reveal truth. He was a pop star.
A pop star who probably ruined several kids lives. He gets no pass.
[...] life and was denied a childhood. But should we ignore the elephant in the room? AC Kleinheider says no: Can someone explain to me when Michael Jackson joined respectable society again? I seem to have [...]
IIRC, the family in the Jackson trial were lousy witnesses who ruined their credibility leading to a LOT of reasonable doubt.
For OJ, he was acquitted because the prosecution bungled the case; e.g. OJ’s televised dash to the border was not allowed in the case. Had it been, several jurors said they would have convicted him.
But both are overrated and both illustrate something just as sick as their crimes: our worship of media figures who may or may not be talented beyond their ability to get their face in front of a camera. If only we were as obsessed over ending war and poverty as we are obsessed over the antics of Britney Spears.
This was all so sad. The re-playing of Ed Bradley’s “accusatory” and hateful interview with Michael only reinforced my belief that this young man was wrongfully accused of crimes he did not commit. I hope the people who benefitted from suing him are happy now. And I hope they lose all the money they scammed off Michael Jackson. And the media that constantly condemned him can put a lid on it now and shut up with the accusatory comments. He was a child in every sense of the word and I doubt he ever hurt any child. Hopefully he is resting in peace now. I never bought any of his albums, but I bought his truth — that he never would hurt a child
Kleinheider, by the way, are you referring to the same “repectable society” that cheats on it’s taxes a little bit, that watches nasty porn movies a little bit, that cheats on their husband or wife a little bit, that hates others a little bit? Which respectable society do you mean? We’re all human and we all are guilty of something — even you are probably guilty of something. And you were not there. You do not KNOW for a FACT what went on in Michael Jackson’s home.
I think the public is willing to forgive MJ because we as a society don’t like to accept the reality of child molestation. Victims are often pressured to not tell or to recant when they tell. And people more often side with the perp than with the victim. Not true? Then why did the Catholic church cover up? Why have school systems covered up? Why did the state for years allow alleged perps resign rather than prosecute? Jackson is an icon because the people will not accept the truth about him. I only wonder at the number of victims of child abuse around the world who are watching the outpouring of love for MJ and feeling victimized all over again.
This was a fantastic article! I see Michael Jackson as nothing more than a music talent. Other than that he was an uneducated mental cripple.
Sara there is so much press about child abuse and so many people who come forward. But for some people, they don’t come forward because they are able to deal with the matter and move forward. Others are not so fortunate. The same is true for any type of abuse. Some wives dump the abuser and move forward; some kill their abuser; some are killed by the abuser and some prosecute the abuser. So every story is different and has a different outcome. I think that many of the younger generation do not even know about the abuse allegations. They are simply honoring his talent. In my case, I never saw a court case where he was convicted; some of the accusers were lacking credibility severely and some were paid off as “nuisance” lawsuits (which by the way are paid off daily and we never hear about them). I still do not believe he was capable of harming a child. Just my opinion, though!
how many ways can you say…
Jackson died at age 50.
He was a talented singer. Other than that, what else.
He found on cure for a disease, he did not make any great invention that made life easier or safer.
He was another talented individual that abused drugs, and surrouned himself with enablers that only cared about the money he could throw his way, now they will fight over his belongings, just like in Scrugges “Ghost of Christmas yet to come” dream.
There seems to be a great deal of judging going on here and this is most disconcerting considering only God has the right to judge mankind.
A great many need to look at their own lives, there is no large sin or small sin, sin is sin and we have all committed it in some way, shape or form.
It must be amazing to go through life a perfect sin-free individual.
Kimberly, you nailed it exactly. It must be amazing to go through life a perfect sin-free individual and a judgemental one as well. ‘Let he that is without sin cast the first stone.’ We all need to pray. This story and the majority of these posts are very mean spirit and hateful.
Kleinheider,
You couldn’t even allow the man to be buried before you trashed him. That is despicable. If you don’t have anything positive to say about a person, you should just choose not to comment at all. It was not like the world waited with baited breath to hear what you had to say on the situation. Michael Jackson was acquitted of charges against him. Also, while he did settle with the Chandler family a decade ago, did you know that the accuser just re-canted? I AM a fan and grew up with the man’s music; it was the soundtrack of my childhood and I take offense to your unkind words. I hope that you have lived a life that would survive the malicious scrutiny endured by MJ.
Is it judgement or statement of fact?
Jesus,I wish Michael Jackson would finish dying already! The media is treating this as if it where the new passing or coming or whatever of Jesus Christ Himself. Yeah, and when did Jackson enter respectable society? Far more important and consequential people die in our own communities just about every day, the people who really count and make a difference. The media’s frenzy makes me sick, and people’s overboard adulation of Jackson makes me worried.
I am sitting here thinking about all the times I personally was sure someone had done something wrong only to find out I was dead wrong. I am not here to say that without a doubt I am sure MJ is innocent. I am here to say we really don’t know. There are compelling arguments on either side. For instance, MJ surrounded himself with thousands of children and slept over with hundreds it seems yet the prosecution was hard pressed to find the kind of smoking gun that is readily available in most other pedophilia cases. In fact it seemed that most of the time MJ was devoid of any sexual life at all.
Is it proper for us to literally destroy someone’s life based upon our suspicions? That’s my question.
I can only say that if in the end, MJ never, ever touched a child in a sexual way, then a lot of us have a lot of explaining to do to the Almighty when our time comes.