Oh, that Michael Jackson

[MathGirl]

I usually pay no attention to so-called 'celebrities.' A mug shot of MJ appeared on the front page of the Chronicle, though, and it was hard to ignore.

At first I thought it was a picture of some sort of kewpie doll. Does the guy really look like that? On purpose?

MJ obviously has some serious problems, and I can only hope they increase exponentially. I can't help but wonder, though, if there's going to be a "Picture of Dorian Gray" scenario, eventually.
MG

 

[Guest]

 

[wornoutkeyboard]

Is he currently Dorian or the Picture?

Now that is the question.

~WOK

 

[Icingsugar]

At first I thought it was a picture of some sort of kewpie doll. Does the guy really look like that? On purpose?

I was going to write that he reminded me of Perdita's muerto figures. But then I realised that I would be due for the biggest trashing ever on account of the insult I just gave every Mexican in history.

/Ice

 

[Svenskaflicka]

How weird is it that it was Michael Jackson and his "BAD" - video that awoke my interest in boys when I was 13?

 

[Colleen Thomas]

to be perfectly honest I don't think MJ sees any problems with his attraction to 12 year olds because I don't think he is mentally/emotionally much older than that himself.

-Colly

 

[Jenny _S]

It's all a big fat LIE!!!

Everyone on Lit KNOWS that no one under the age of 18 has ever had sex. Just ask Laurel.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Re: It's all a big fat LIE!!!

Everyone on Lit KNOWS that no one under the age of 18 has ever had sex. Just ask Laurel.

ROFLMAO

This leads me to wonder if there are any MF fan fics out there with authors wondering if perhaps they need to remove them or face liable charges.

-Colly

 

[MathGirl]

Is he currently Dorian or the Picture?Now that is the question.

Dear WoK,
Excellent point.
MG
Ps. MJ makes my knuckles itch, and I'll bet I could give him a whuppin' in a fair fight.

 

[Black Tulip]

Is he currently Dorian or the Picture?

Now that is the question.

~WOK

I was more thinking of Jekyll and Hyde.

 

[dee1124]

I was more thinking of Jekyll and Hyde.

I don't know about Jekyll and Hyde ... Hyde at least was a sentient being, evil as he was. I have my doubts about Michael. I incline more to the Dorian Gray theory, though the question remains, how did the picture get loose? And I bet Oscar Wilde could whup him with one hand tied behind his back.

-- Dee

 

[Black Tulip]

I'm awful with jokes, but I just remembered hearing this one at work today.

Edited.

Perdita is right.

Stupid me.

 

[dickE]

I usually pay no attention to so-called 'celebrities.' A mug shot of MJ appeared on the front page of the Chronicle, though, and it was hard to ignore.

At first I thought it was a picture of some sort of kewpie doll. Does the guy really look like that? On purpose?

MJ obviously has some serious problems, and I can only hope they increase exponentially. I can't help but wonder, though, if there's going to be a "Picture of Dorian Gray" scenario, eventually.
MG

MJ reminds me of the lead character in the movie "Powder"........deathly white. Mysterious.

Wonder if Mikey has lightening rods all over Neverland??

 

[Guest]

BT: I do not mean to be a joke douser but you might imagine there are people on lit. who are sensitive to jokes that involve child molestation, even if tangentially. I don't care about MJ or what people say of him, but jokes that include his pedophiliac tendencies (whether true or not) cannot be funny for many people, and may in fact prove hurtful.

This is truly a time where I do not want to offend with criticism, I hope I made my point plainly enough without doing that. I won't be revisiting this thread; if you need to communicate with me, do PM me.

Regards, Perdita

 

[oggbashan]

Innocent until proven.

What worries me about this, and similar high profile cases, that whether the case has come to trial or not people make judgements.

Child abuse is serious. An accusation of child abuse can be devasting both to the person accused and the accuser even if it never comes to court. If it does come to court, the case itself can scar the victim and the accused for life.

There are no winners in child abuse cases except the lawyers.

Og

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Have you guys ever...

...heard MJ in an interview? If you haven't and get the chance to, just listen ot him when he talks. He's got a basic mentality that puts him in the same mental category as a child the age he's being accused of mistreating. I'm not saying that I feel what he's being accused of is justifiable because of that, I just can't help but think that a guy with that type of mentality has ever had a sexual thought in his life, nonetheless one about a child.

Sadly, there's no such thing as a fair trial for this guy. Everyone already has their own ideas of his guilt or innocence. It's a shame they're not based on whether or not he actually did anything...

 

[OldnotDead]

turning serious for a moment

Innocent until proven.

What worries me about this, and similar high profile cases, that whether the case has come to trial or not people make judgements.

Child abuse is serious. An accusation of child abuse can be devasting both to the person accused and the accuser even if it never comes to court. If it does come to court, the case itself can scar the victim and the accused for life.

There are no winners in child abuse cases except the lawyers.

Og

Og,

I quite agree with you in principle. I am very sensitive to 'malicious prosecution' knowing a colleague that lost almost a year's worth of work because of a babysitter that wanted to cause trouble. He was very lucky our employer believed so strongly and gave him paid leave to fight the matter.

That aside, there are some interesting aspects of Mr. Jackson's situation that are truly unique. I submit to you, for consideration the following facts.

Complaints were filed previously and a case was developed against Mr. Jackson. The Prosecuting Attorney chose not to pursue the case when the primary witness withdrew his willingness to cooperate with the prosecution. At that time in California a minor witness could not be compelled to testify. That same witness received significant compensation to settle a civil complaint that was also withdrawn. Now I realize that all of that is not 'proof' and since no court ruled, he was technically still 'innocent'.

But try this one on. In many interviews, the private detective that helped assemble the case for the complaining party has publicly called Mr. Jackson a pedophile. Neither Mr. Jackson, nor Atty Garragos has stated that they will be filing libel or slander charges against the private detective. That detective is part of a succesful firm and is well insured, so a successful litigation would not be a waste of time and money. That leads me to believe that the detective has some pretty compeling confidential evidence to back up his statements. Evidence which he could only produce if someone were to pursue action against him.

My conclusion from this list of facts is that the detective is correct when he calls Mr. Jackson a pedophile. While he is certainly entitled to all the protections of the legal system, if he were my client, I would be discussing plea bargain.

Once again, I will close with this comment. It is my fervent hope that all the attention this case produces will help the cause of Child Safety. The previous failed case changed the law. I am sure the changes will help prosecute criminals that might have otherwise gone on with their misbehavior. Og's point on the devastation of prosecution is spot on. Real Child Safety does not come from law enforcement ,it comes in the form of heightened awareness and active prevention and protection on the part of the community.

Two factors of this case are very worthy of note. The case was started because a psychologist obained information which led him to believe that abuse had occurred and BY LAW he was compelled to inform the authorities. California law has been changed since the earlier Jackson complaint and now the Prosecuting Attorney can compell the testimony of a minor.

Please pay attention in your jurisdictions as Child Safety laws are introduced and offered up as new legislation. Support those that you feel will help your community and support the legislators that care enough to go down a not so rewarding path. They don't get a whole lot of credit a lot of the time on this subject.

 

[DVS]

Well, I feel MJ has brought a lot of this on, himself. His ecentric ways, i.e. his multiple plastic surgeries (which he says he hasn't had many), his skin bleaching, and Netherland Ranch, which is a large magnet for kids.

His "so called" innocent sleep overs with young kids has been difficult to understand, with this and the last incident brought out. What is he, 47 now?

You may remember he paid millions to the last child's family, so the child wouldn't testify. Surely there was a reason for that, other than he loves kids that much.

I don't know for sure, but I would guess the strange act of keeping his kids faces covered is to keep them from being known by the public. This allows them to keep their private lives, down the road. A smart thing, if you ask me. And, if anyone knows about the hassles of being in the public eye, he does.

I do consider him a genious songwriter, when talking about songs like Billie Jean. I know he had a lot of help from Quincy Jones, but Thriller was the only album of MJ's I like. It was a classic.

He had a large falling out with Paul McCartney, when he took McCartney's advice on how to pad his failing bank accounts. Paul suggested buying the publishing rights to old classic songs.
Unfortunatly, MJ took him literally and purchased the complete portfolio of BEATLES songs. Then, he allowed these songs to be use in areas 'The BEATLES' would never allow. Paul has been trying to get them back, ever since.

I'm not too keen on his videos, especially his act of crotch grabbing. But I do see that he is also a very talented and inovative dancer. The Thriller videos show that. But, the title "The King of Pop" is hard to swallow, these days.

What it all boils down to is his interaction with kids. If he isn't doing anything wrong, it still looks like he is. If he is going to continue with this interaction, other adults MUST be present, or these charges will continue to be raised. Having future sleepovers isn't a good idea.

It isn't true until it's proven in court. He does still have a lot of money and it's possible some are using his secret ecentric ways to get to some of it. And because this kind of publicity hurts his image terribly, he should be smart enough to understand this.

 

[Guest]

Just a public thank you to B. Tulip who is not stupid, and in fact is very sensitive (more than I guessed a few posts back).

Thanks for your note BT.

much regard,

Perdita

 

[shereads]

The question no one is answering

He did, he didn't, whatever.

What about those of us who relied upon Michael to spend time with our sons? Do any of you have a clue how difficult it is to find somebody who's not only willing, but happy to take my 12-year-old off my hands for an evening.

What are we supposed to do now?

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Just a note: Califonia law was not changed so that an adolescent witness could be compelled to testify. The change was written specifically for Jackson's earlier case, that is to say a witness who files a Civl suit can be compelled to testify in a criminal investigation.

Part of the problem with MJ's credibility is the fact that he has admitted that he has slept with children in his own bed. That, in and of itself could constitue lewd and lascivious behavior under the loosely worded statues. 45 year old men do not usually make it a practice to sleep with minors, even if there is nothing going on. Those who do are generally prudent enough not to tell the whole world about it in an interview I assume.

A fair trial will be excessively hard to attain because very few people do not know who MJ is and unless you have been living in a cave since the early 90's you have heard about at least some of his more eccentric behavior. That interview I mention earlier being one of them. Add more plastic surgery than anyone can possibly need short of trauma cases, skin blasting, baby dangling, the list goes on.

The only real question now is does he still have enough money and star pwoer to make it go away as he did in 93.

-Colly

 

[shereads]

Fair trial? Celebrity? O.J. Simpson.

The key difference between Michael Jackson and a garden-variety guy-next-door arrested for the same crime, won't be M.J.'s celebrity status; it'll be his ability to hire a legal team that knows how to select jurors. It shouldn't be difficult to get a few loyal fans on a jury of twelve, and all it takes is one.

Worst case? Let's hope his community service involves working with the elderly.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Well, his leagal eagle this time around has one high profile case, both his clients were convicted. According to Cnn/Moneyline Jacko is in debt up to his ears and it is unlikely anyone will loan him the money to Bring on a Cohrane or Shapiro.

-Colly

 

[shereads]

Yes, his net worth is said to have been reduced to $350 million by lackluster album sales and upkeep on Neverla --- AAAAAHHHHGHGH STOP ME!!

Sorry.

I was looking for a gardening message board at the Martha Stewart site...If someone can direct me to the restrooms, I'll just run along.



Maybe he can make extra money babysitting.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

LOL,

260 million of that three million is tied up in his ownership of the rights to beatles songs which bring him 34 million annually. However, at this point in time he has taken loans out against that ownership and if he defaults Sony would attain full control of the joint Sony/Jackson venture including the rights to MJ's own songs. Those assets (which aren't mortgaged up to the gunwales at this time) are his ranch (estimated 13.5 million) and his Las Vegas digs. He is at the moment hevily dependant on the sales of his new album and it is not fairing well. Well, it's fairing fine for most entertainers after all his last "dissapointing" album sold 2.5 million copies, but is falling well short of where it was projected and the only new single on it wasn't even listed on billboards hot 100.

To be sure he still has money, heck he rented a private jet to take him back to be booked, but he is no longer able to hand out 15 to 20 million in private settlements to make things go away.

-Colly