What were they thinking?
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Many people have sounded off on the Michael Jackson sexual abuse charges, so why can’t I?
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It’s impossible to turn on the tube or pick up a newspaper or magazine without being assaulted by saturation coverage of the charges against the 45-year-old icon, who 10 years ago paid an out-of-court settlement for several million dollars. The charge? Sexual molestation of a minor.<\/p>\n
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Ever the lightning rod for notoriety, Jackson was incurred the wrath of millions through his dangling of his infant child from a balcony. Yet, legions of fans, bent of adoring their idol, fail to believe the moon walker is capable of doing anything wrong.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 So what were they thinking? What would be the reaction of any moral being over learning Jackson may have been intimate with little boys.?
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 In one of many interviews, Jackson has admitted bedding down boys. It’s pure, non-sexual, he insists. Any yet millions of clueless fans continue to idolize the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bad” multimillionaire.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Such hysteria among those who became addicted to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thriller,” \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Beat It,” and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It Don’t Matter If You’re Black or White” is akin to the blind admiration of O.J. Simpson. Because he was such an outstanding football player, and because he had moderate success as an actor in the Naked Gun trifecta, people continue to believe O.J. could do no wrong.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 During the much-celebrated slow-speed chase on the freeways, covered by virtually every news helicopter in California, fans lined the freeways with placards, one of which read \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Turn the Juice Loose.” Therefore, because we idolize people like O.J., we demand his release. Release him without a trial, even if he’s charged with a double slaying.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 But back to Jackson.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Teenie boppers need to have incredible influence, not to mention gall, to earn the dubious privilege of spending the night at Neverland, Jocko’s own theme park. True, Jackson justifies his preoccupation with pre-pubescent males by tallying the mega-bucks he’s thrown at charities designed to help needy children.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 One could argue tenuously that it’s a matter between Jackson and consenting participants. Yes, one could argue that, but only if the behavior didn’t involve children and come so close to offending the morals and dignity of the community.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 For a second, let’s assume everything was copacetic: there was never any sexual contact whatsoever. Even if that were the case, the occasion, the situation in itself is highly questionable. Would you want your 10-year-old boy spending the night in Jackson’s bedroom?
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 What were they thinking? To the truly amoral, permission for Junior to let Jackson bed him down could be an extremely lucrative proposition. There’s a good chance that a lawsuit\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor even the threat of one\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcould loosen the rock star’s bank account, believed to be at a quarter billion dollars, even though Jackson claims it’s closer to a billion.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Idol-worshipping takes various forms. Baseball’s Sammy Sosa just happens to swing a cork-filled bat which cracks and exposes the error of his ways. His argument was that he accidentally got his practice bat (the corked one) mixed up with the regulation bats. And he began his mea culpas.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas the Cubs heavy-hitter ought to have been suspended for the rest of the season, some card-carrying members of his fan club wanted the infraction overlooked\u00e2\u20ac\u201dafter all, look at all the volunteer work he does and the charities he supports.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Or Kobe Bryant gets accused of sexual assault on a 19-year-old. Although we all hope the trial itself determines his guilt or innocence, some people are itching for a lynching, and others look to denigrate his accuser.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Several years ago, a midwestern sociology class attempted to determine people’s observation and objectivity by means of taking copious footage of a particularly brutal college football game, one in which three quarterbacks left the game due to injuries.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The conductors of the experiment asked groups of some 60 students, 30 from each of the colleges involved, so observe carefully and record every instance in which a player was guilty of, or the recipient of, a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cheap shot,” one that didn’t draw a referee’s penalty flag.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Incredibly, fans of University A were able to note about a dozen such infractions, but only those violations they perceived were committed against their own team.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 What did the subjects of University B detect? The same thing. Only a small fraction of the participants in the experiment even admitted noticing violations committed by their own team.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The conclusion: Even though all participants observed identical footage, members of each school simply were unable to observe their own teams’ peccadillos; in effect, they saw a different game.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Rooting for a football team is not the same as determining the guilt or innocence of a defendant. The sociological study, however, illustrates lots of built-in bias.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 As for the Michael Jackson case, much of his notoriety derives from the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153freakish” side of the youngest member of the erstwhile Jackson Five. The numerous nose jobs and skin-hue transformations clearly add to his mystique. As a idol of young fans all around the world, he ought to limit his performances to the stage or to his quite lucrative videos.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The other part of his avocation\u00e2\u20ac\u201dinviting boys into his bedroom\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhe needs to stop, lest he be prepared to shell out more millions in civil lawsuits, or spend time in prison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What were they thinking? \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Many people have sounded off on the Michael Jackson sexual abuse charges, so why can’t I? \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It’s impossible to turn on the tube or pick up a newspaper or magazine without being assaulted by saturation coverage of the charges against the 45-year-old icon, who 10 years ago paid an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}