Michael Jackson was a tortured soul.....

[Ramos]

After learning more about him, i really feel sorry for the guy. He used to look just fine before all the surgeries. I now feel guilty for finding all Michael Jackson jokes/parodies amusing in the past. http://new.ca.music.yahoo.com/blogs/...use-of-his-dad

[Universal Mind]

After learning more about him, i really feel sorry for the guy. He used to look just fine before all the surgeries. I now feel guilty for finding all Michael Jackson jokes/parodies amusing in the past. http://new.ca.music.yahoo.com/blogs/...use-of-his-dad Most people from troubled pasts don't become pedophiles. Michael deserved everything he got after the first time he molested a little boy. Don't worry about it. I still love his music.

[Jeff777]

Wow...that's just sad.

[spockman]

I've never buyed that baloney about him being a child molester. If he was a child molester, I would have little sympathy for him- sure. But until evidence beyond witnesses with the incentive of lots of money is presented, I'll assume MJs innocence.

[Vampyre]

I don't get why people jump to the conclusion that he was guilty. Think of how easily anybody could've just accused him to get money out of it. Besides, the vast majority of people don't even know anything past what news articles tell (which is limited due to legal restrictions in regards to court cases) So how can you really judge without any real knowledge about what happened?

[Universal Mind]

I don't get why people jump to the conclusion that he was guilty. Think of how easily anybody could've just accused him to get money out of it. Besides, the vast majority of people don't even know anything past what news articles tell (which is limited due to legal restrictions in regards to court cases) So how can you really judge without any real knowledge about what happened? Did you see him interviewed about it? Did you see the way he held hands couple style (parallel hands and forearms, bent arms with forearms rested on chair arms, locked fingers) with the kid whose mother ended up pressing charges? Did you hear what all he said about letting little boys spend the night with him and sleep in his bed? Are you aware of his hidden little boys' room? Did you know that he gave alcohol to the little boys who spent the night at his house with no other adults in the house? He was a pedophile. If some weird middle aged guy on your street did all of that, my bet is that you would conclude he is a pedophile.

[Vampyre]

Did you see him interviewed about it? Did you see the way he held hands couple style (parallel hands and forearms, bent arms with forearms rested on chair arms, locked fingers) with the kid whose mother ended up pressing charges? Did you hear what all he said about letting little boys spend the night with him and sleep in his bed? Are you aware of his hidden little boys' room? Did you know that he gave alcohol to the little boys who spent the night at his house with no other adults in the house? He was a pedophile. If some weird middle aged guy on your street did all of that, my bet is that you would conclude he is a pedophile. Yeah? Where'd you see all this? Fox News or in court, where it matters? People do strange things, it doesn't make them a pedophile or other criminal. This is why speculation isn't permissable as evidence.

[Universal Mind]

Yeah? Where'd you see all this? Fox News or in court, where it matters? People do strange things, it doesn't make them a pedophile or other criminal. This is why speculation isn't permissable as evidence. I think it was VH1. I don't mean I just saw some story about it or read about it. I watched a very long Michael Jackson interview. It might be on Youtube. I know Michael was not convicted. I don't think there was evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, but then again I am not a jury member or a judge. I am just a citizen with a supported opinion. If I were on a jury in a criminal trial, I would not vote against Michael. There is enough room for doubt to let him stay out of prison. However, I would convict him if I were on a civil trial jury. There is way more than a mere preponderance of the evidence. I conclude that he is a pedophile, but I still see room for bizarre what ifs. And I mean really bizarre. Edit: I would side against him if I were on a civil trial jury.

[Jeff777]

All false accusations UM. The courts did extensive checks into it and he was found not guilty on ALL charges. People just wanted to exploit MJ's love for kids...especially parents of kids who wanted a new car or house or something like that.

[Universal Mind]

All false accusations UM. The courts did extensive checks into it and he was found not guilty on ALL charges. People just wanted to exploit MJ's love for kids...especially parents of kids who wanted a new car or house or something like that. I know there are opportunists out there who are that sick. I think Kobe Bryant's accuser was just an opportunist like that, for example. But... There is more to Michael's situation than an accusation. Also, juries are not always right. Michael Jackson is one of the most popular people who ever lived. He was a phenomenal singer and also the best dancer I have ever seen. Plus he had an extra charismatic personality. It is hard to take in the idea that he was a pedophile. Unfortunately, I think (not know) he was. That does not mean I have to stop liking his music. I can separate my love for somebody's talent from my dislike for his personal actions. I even like Charles Manson's music. Morality and artistic talent are two completely separate areas.

[hellohihello]

To be honest, I really don't think he Molested anyone. I bet he did share a bed but no sexual contact was involved. Poor mr michael.

[Universal Mind]

A guy who lives down the street from me is 45 years old. His name is Ted. He is always having little boys who are not his relatives spend the night at his house without any other adults there. He told me he lets the boys sleep in his bed because there is nothing more loving than that. He also told me he has a hidden toy room for the little boys to play in and that he gives the boys alcohol to drink when they spend the night with him and sleep in his bed. I saw Ted sitting on his front porch yesterday holding hands couple style with one of the little boys. What should I make of this? Should I call the police? (The above is false.)

[Vampyre]

My brother once found a magazine of our roomate's that was mostly little kids playing in pools and swimming and stuff. One of the page's even had a little note sticking out that said "Check out these cuties!" Does that compel you to think he's a pedophile? Yes. But then later find out that his kids were in some of the pictures. There's a lot about the Michael Jackson scenario that we don't know about, specifically. (Edit: The above is true)

[Universal Mind]

My brother once found a magazine of our roomate's that was mostly little kids playing in pools and swimming and stuff. One of the page's even had a little note sticking out that said "Check out these cuties!" Does that compel you to think he's a pedophile? If the kids were naked, I would. Otherwise, I would think he was looking for kids' swimming pools to buy because he has kids. Would you call the police about that neighbor I described?

[Vampyre]

No, that's up to the kids and their parents to do. It would have nothing to do with me. Even if he invited me or something. I'd just say "No." and leave.

[spockman]

No, that's up to the kids and their parents to do. It would have nothing to do with me. Even if he invited me or something. I'd just say "No." and leave. I disagree. I would say that it's up to the community to protect children, and to make sure that the law is upheld, when parents are not protecting the young ones. An investigation would be appropriate. Assigning guilt would not.

[Oneironaut Zero]

Did you see him interviewed about it? Did you see the way he held hands couple style (parallel hands and forearms, bent arms with forearms rested on chair arms, locked fingers) with the kid whose mother ended up pressing charges? Did you hear what all he said about letting little boys spend the night with him and sleep in his bed? Are you aware of his hidden little boys' room? Did you know that he gave alcohol to the little boys who spent the night at his house with no other adults in the house? He was a pedophile. If some weird middle aged guy on your street did all of that, my bet is that you would conclude he is a pedophile. You pay absolutely no recognition to Michael Jackson's personality, or his history, when you jump straight to that conclusion. You're looking at it like a simple case of '50 year old guy sleeps with kids' - and, were that the case, it would be all logical to assume the guy was a pedophile. But this is not just your average, every-other guy on the street. This is Michael Jackson. How much do you know about him, psychologically? He is practically a child in mind. The man has been in the spotlight (at the top of the spotlight), since he could talk. He had an abusive father, and was basically denied his opportunity to develop into the "average" adult. His entire life was performing, and having the world basically at his fingertips. He was a big kid. There isn't one of us that doesn't get nostalgic, when we think back on how we used to make blanket forts and play with everything we could get our hands on, and have the greatest, most carefree bonds with our friends, just doing all the stupid little things that kids do. Well, that's Michael Jackson. He lived, constantly, what we wish we had back. So take that into context, when you accuse him of what he was never convicted for. He's not "that dirty old guy Jim that lives down the street", who's likely a child molester. They are two completely different personalities.

[SomeDreamer]

Gotta agree with Oneironaut on this one Most people seem to forget to take MJ's personality into account when accusing him. His personality was like no others, extremely "weird" mind. I remember an interview with him at his ranch in neverland... basically in his spare time he liked to climb in trees and so forth... I mean really, like Oneironaut said, he was a child in mind, so you gotta look from that perspective when looking at the child molestation cases. Besides that it's so easy to get a biased look with the shitty way mainstream news handle it... actually I even think michael jackson himself said something along the lines of "good news don't sell". Doesn't mean he didn't do it of course... but there's a lot to take into account that makes it really hard to judge.

[Vampyre]

I disagree. I would say that it's up to the community to protect children, and to make sure that the law is upheld, when parents are not protecting the young ones. An investigation would be appropriate. Assigning guilt would not. If it's obvious that the guy is hanging out with kids, then you're not the only one to notice. Obviously the idea is that he's hanging out with kids, but they're there by their own will. So how can you really judge whether or not something bad is in the works? Yes, I'd think it's strange, because I don't really know why kids would be interested in hanging out with some old guy. In MJ's case, he owned an amusement park in his backyard. Plus he had a "child-at-heart" personality, as mentioned above. Try imagining what it would be like, as a kid, to go and hang out with a world-famous musician who (to you) is like any other kid; really fun to play with, and takes you to an amusement park he owns where you can play all day long. Or even imagine how the parents would feel, with their kids heading out to Michael Jackson's for the weekend. Old Man Ted, with no world class or amusement park in his backyard, is a little more suspicious. Nonetheless, unless I was given some particular reason to, I wouldn't feel the need to investigate either of them. Mostly because I wouldn't be personally involved in any way and don't know exactly what was going on. People do peculiar things. Children make up stories. Parents over-react. People get greedy. There's enough room for misinterpretation (based on what I know) that I wouldn't go so far as to say he "deserved everything he got after the first time he molested a little boy."

[SomeDreamer]

There's a good michael jackson documentary up on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7RDCDLLIm8 Even though Martin Bashir might be a bit questionable in the way it's build (some of the interviews) but still, there's some good insights as to what his personality was like ^^

[Universal Mind]

You pay absolutely no recognition to Michael Jackson's personality, or his history, when you jump straight to that conclusion. You're looking at it like a simple case of '50 year old guy sleeps with kids' - and, were that the case, it would be all logical to assume the guy was a pedophile. But this is not just your average, every-other guy on the street. This is Michael Jackson. How much do you know about him, psychologically? He is practically a child in mind. The man has been in the spotlight (at the top of the spotlight), since he could talk. He had an abusive father, and was basically denied his opportunity to develop into the "average" adult. His entire life was performing, and having the world basically at his fingertips. He was a big kid. There isn't one of us that doesn't get nostalgic, when we think back on how we used to make blanket forts and play with everything we could get our hands on, and have the greatest, most carefree bonds with our friends, just doing all the stupid little things that kids do. Well, that's Michael Jackson. He lived, constantly, what we wish we had back. So take that into context, when you accuse him of what he was never convicted for. He's not "that dirty old guy Jim that lives down the street", who's likely a child molester. They are two completely different personalities. I can see that being the case up to a certain extent, but holding hands couple style and giving the kids alcohol and letting them sleep in his bed and calling it the most "loving" thing one can do crosses the line that makes the pedophile alert start buzzing. When you were a kid and had friends spend the night and they slept in your bed (if they actually did), did you call it the most "loving" thing you can do? Come on. That goes way beyond, "Hey man, spend the night at my house this weekend, and we can play nerf football and watch scary movies." Imagine telling one of your childhood friends, "I love children. Children are beautiful. Here, drink this alcohol, and I will let you sleep in MY bed because it is the most loving thing I can do. Let's hold hands and lock fingers." Did you ever come close to saying anything like that to one of your friends in late elementary school? Do you know anybody heterosexual who did?

[Oneironaut Zero]

Meant to get back to this earlier. Gonna play a bit of Devil's Advocate in this, so bear with me: Do you know anybody heterosexual who did? Do you know any person (regardless of sexuality), who had Michael's childlike perspective? I can't be so quick to base what I believe he believes off of what I believe other (more 'normal') people would believe, under the same circumstances. I'm not sure about too much of the alcohol involvement. I remember hearing it as an accusation, but I can't recall his rebuttal to it, if any. And don't get me wrong, I don't mean to imply that there is no reason the pedophile alert shouldn't start buzzing, but to be suspicious of someone doing something, and to accuse them of doing it are two completely different viewpoints. Putting aside assumptions and accusations, look at his entire life. If you're going to judge him on something someone says, or even on things he's done that make you suspicious, look at his entire life. He was a philanthropist. Ever since he first came on the scene, he has promoted nothing but love. He is in the Guiness Book of World Records as having contributed the Most Money by a Pop Star to Charity in History. Sure, one might make the argument that "that's just because he was about the highest paid pop star in history", but it goes further than just his money. His entire career and lifestyle was based on such positivity. I don't mean to seem gushy or over-appreciative, but the man has given more to humanity - all things considered - than practically any single person who can claim their share of recognition. That doesn't exhonerate him - I know. But it must be taken into consideration. Now, assuming that his level of innocence is genuine - assuming that his already-developed paradigm of unconditional love actually has stayed with him, since he first came on the scene as a child - what about anything he's done seems pedophilic (albeit "abnormal")? American society is built upon concepts like tucking your kids in (and yes, even your friend's kids, if they are staying over with you), staying up late to read to them, just plain bonding with them, even at bedtime. I find it hard to argue that someone who basically considers himself a child wouldn't go about the same sort of hosting, without he - himself - being as one of the children in the group. It's debatable that he just doesn't see situations like "sharing a bed" as being sexual, like many of us 'normal' people do. Shit, to be honest, there have been times where I haven't told people that my daughter has slept in my bed, at 4 or 5 years old, simply because I wondered if they'd assume it was 'awkward' (a testament to how our society looks at such situations. I wouldn't even give a second thought about it, if I haven't heard plenty of accounts of people assuming the same thing, when other people had brought sharing a bed with their kids, or kids that they are watching over). Holding hands, kissing (even on the lips), sharing a bed, etc. All of these are acts that can be considered as courtship - or as indication of sexual intention - when taken out of context. And yet, they are all perfectly innocent in so many situations, if not given the assumption of being sexual. And, of course, you could be completely right. Maybe he is a pedophile. Maybe he lures little kids into his bed (which is probably the size of a living room - so as not to give the impression that it's exactly 'intimate') just so he can have his way with them. My point is that, as far as flat-out accusing him, I'd say that his near 50 years of philanthropy and positive output affords him at least the benefit of doubt, especially when the accusations of guilt have come from 1 or 2 *kids* (* their families, as far as we know), throughout his entire adulthood - which is amazing, considering his multi-million-person fan-base. Personally, I think people just enjoy a good witch hunt, and it's always easiest to side against the freaks, without seriously trying to see things from their perspective. Maybe it's naivete, but that's just me.

[Traveling_Troubador]

Never been a Michael Jackson fan. I pity him. His dad was and is a complete asshole and very likely the reason he was the way he was. So whatever, RIP bro.

[Vampyre]

My stance on the situation: He wasn't convicted. Everything else is irrelevant.

[Jeff777]

Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story (movie...not a documentary)