Although I was sorry to hear of Michael Jackson’s death yesterday at 50, and I sympathize with his family, I can’t forgive the damage he has caused to untold innocent children over the years.
Yes, he was found innocent of child abuse, but O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake were found innocent of murder. It’s good to have money and fame.
I recall his two-hour interview on ABC in 2003. I wrote about Jackson in my column at the time and I’d like to repeat a portion of the column here.
The self-proclaimed “King of Pop” is a strange person, even by entertainment industry standards. First we saw the spectacle of his dangling his small child off a balcony with a towel over the child’s head. This reckless and stupid action was the opening act for the recent TV interview and tour of his “Neverland” ranch.
I could only watch about 15 minutes of the interview, but 27 million viewers braved the whole two-hour special. Aside from his bold-face claim that he had only two operations on his nose — when clearly his face has been altered extensively — his disclosures of “entertaining” children was deeply troubling to me.
From what I saw and heard him say, it seems to me that the authorities should conduct a criminal investigation into possible child abuse. He should be investigated to determine if he is a fit father to his two small children and whether he has endangered the welfare of children when he held “sleep-overs” with them. I think the parents who allow their children to spend time with him should be also be investigated.
The largest nation-wide organization concerned with child abuse prevention has requested that the Santa Barbara, California District Attorney investigate Jackson.
“By his own public actions and statements, Michael Jackson has raised enough red flags for us to be concerned about protecting the welfare of children with whom he comes in contact, including his own,” wrote A. Sidney Johnson III, the President and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America.
“Michael Jackson should not be exempt from the oversight of the child protective service system by virtue of his celebrity,” Johnson added.
In 1993 Jackson was charged with abusing a 12-year-old boy, but that case ended with a reported 20 million dollar settlement. The website www.thesmokinggun.com [1] has posted the documents in which the boy alleged that Jackson sexually abused him.
I used to think Jackson was a cute kid and a talented entertainer, but clearly today he has some serious mental issues. Michelle Malkin, a syndicated columnist who is always blunt and on target, wrote in her column about the balcony incident and noted that Jackson treated his 9-month-old baby like a headless yo-yo.
“If I were the mother of the writhing, towel-smothered infant who nearly plunged to his death at the clammy hands of Michael Jackson,” Malkin wrote. “I’d have this crotch-grabbing celebrity thrown in jail faster than you can say Bad. “
My view has not changed since I wrote that column in 2003.
Yes, we can mourn the passing of a talented entertainer. And although we can understand that he himself had an odd and abusive upbringing, according to most reports, we should not forget or forgive the damage and hurt he has caused children.
Michael Jackson was able to get away with it thanks to his fame and his fortune.
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