Jacko: Guilty Or Innocent? What'cha Think?

[mermaid]

Here's what I think...

I think he's innocent of child molestation. I think he is guilty of being too generous, and too naive, and too giving, and he manages, thus, to attract those who would take advantage of him.

If he wants to help children, he needs to do it at a level or two removed.

I think he is strange...and he hasn't put out any good music since Thriller...I'll give credit where it's due, Thriller kicked serious ass!!

How will it all play out, though?

I think that his strangeness is going to play against him, and the jury will find him guilty of some lesser charge. I do not think he will do any jail time, they will probably house arrest and then probation him, and make him register as a sex offender.

Let's face it, you put a petite thing like that into any men's prison, and you are sealing his death warrant. I think they know this, too.

I think this is more about Jacko being "weird" than anything else, and I think they will find him guilty just so they can punish him for his strangeness. Which is why it'll be guilty on a much more minor charge...and the punishment will be minimal, except the registering as a sex offender part. I think that there are those out there that would love to brand him in just such a way in order to punish him for being strange.

So that is what I think is going to play out. Guilty on a lesser charge, no jail time, house arrent, probation, and registration only. Plus there may be some provision in the sentencing about not having close contact with children unsupervised.

[evlbstrd]

1. This story is bogus.

Why should the Jackson trial trump so much real news? It's nothing more than a distraction. "Many people" have suggested for a long time that Michael Jackson is a freak.
I don't happen to think that his case warrants more news time than, say, the war in Iraq and the lies that got us there, stolen elections, and most of all, a bought and paid for media.

[LoZoccolo]

5. I think it's more important than all of that.

I think black box voting is the least of my concerns right now, actually.

[evlbstrd]

11. I'm curious.

What's at the top of your list?

[LoZoccolo]

19. More cowbell. n/t

[Erika]

2. Michael is 100% guilty of being a kid himself

and 100% innocent of any and all charges.

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

3. Here's how I see it:

Did he molest those kids? No, I don't think so. Much like Kobe, Michael has made some bad choices. Why do you sleep with young boys? Why do the parents allow this? The man is too weird to garner sympathy, save from his more fanatical fans. I used to be a die-hard fan when I was younger.

The fact is, he's going to prison, but it may not be because he molested those kids.

[Bake]

4. The assclown is a pedophile.

If he didn't do this one, he's done many others. Bet on it. NO 40-something year old man SLEEPS WITH LITTLE BOYS and then defends it on national television: "There's nothing more loving than sharing your bed ..." etc. etc. etc.

Is Jacko weird? You bet your ass he is. I hope he goes down HARD. With hard time in prison.

Bake

[Erika]

6. Michael is an emotionally arrested child himself

hardly capable of malicious acts of an adult. He had friends over for a sleepover. That's it.

He did have Sneddon outrageously against him. His press conference announcing the warrant for Michael's arrest was completely devoid of any professionalism.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. lemme seee, Downing Street Memo or

Jacko....

Which is a real story that will affect my life?

Stop being distracted with stories designed to keep your eye from the ball

[Erika]

9. With respect, all pieces of a puzzle tell a story

Where is the mindset of America on Jackson, Bush, Bush's Iraq war. They are tied together as where this country is coming from.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Ok have yuo seen much on the downning street memo on oh

CNN? How about Jacko? That tells you WHY the dumbed down public CARES about Jacko.

[LoZoccolo]

8. I really don't know.

I haven't been following the case. I usually have enough morbid curiosity to follow crime stories, but some of the stuff from this one's seemed just way too gross to allow for that, so I haven't really given it my attention.

I'm not of the school of thought that says that you should accuse someone of being a pedophile because of some circumstantial stuff, but at the same time he should have stopped putting his head in the lion's mouth after the 1993 alleged incident.

[Turn CO Blue]

10. I think that is is sad, and that dark things happened to Michael

when he himself was a child, and that he is perpetuating the cycle of abuse. Pedophilia isn't just about attraction to young children (or in this case, boys) -- it is also about an extreme desire to themselves return to being a child. So, they feel they get close to that fantasy in their intimate moments with a child. His whole facination with Peter Pan and Neverland is a giant clue.

[Erika]

14. Agreed, but intimate moments with a child

can be obtained from a sleep over, nothing anymore sexual that you would find among young adolescent boys. Jackson is not a pedophile. Eccentric as hell? Yes. Pedophile? No.

Sneddon wanted to be the star of his own movie at Jackson's, and the state of California's expense.

[REP]

12. Guilty

Unfortunately, the legends of what happens to pedophiles and rapists in prison is overstated.

[Writer]

13. Forget Jacko. The media are guilty of scarring me for life.

Yes, the jury is spared the sight of Jacko's genitals, but OUR IMAGINATIONS WEREN'T!

:puke:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7993269/

[mermaid]

15. Me, I Can Follow MANY Trains Of Thought At Once

And I have given some attention to the case. I think he's innocent - but I also think he's gonna be FOUND guilty...and it is because of his strangeness that they will find him guilty.

They will find him guilty for being who he is...not for what he has done...or, in this case, I don't think he did.

That said...I'm no fan of Michael Jackson, really...I think all of his music past Thriller sucks. And I'm not out to defend him because I am a fan...as I said, I'm NOT.

But, I am out to defend a man who I think is gonna get railroaded, just because he is strange.

They are out to get him for who he is...and not for what he may have done.

My point in posting this is...I think that this trial will give a good look into what the American people are thinking. and I don't think that we, as a society, have grown up enough to look at the case just based on the facts...let's face it, his strangeness is gonna play against him.

And the guy who said he should quit putting his head in the lion's mouth is quite correct...as I said in my initial posting.

I think he is too giving, too caring...and too naive...and this allows some to take advantage of him, and often causes him to put himself into situations where such charges could even have any merit whatsoever.

If you're gonna be eccentric, in the way of Jacko, your best bet is to steer as clear of contact with children as possible.

[Erika]

17. Agreed

But I do not see based on the evidence presented where he can be found guilty of the charges. I also think Sneddon has a book in the hopper about taking down Jackson. As a public official, I think Sneddon is a disgrace.

[illbill]

18. Innocent all the way...

And even if he is guilty, the so called "caring" parents of the children should have asked the tough questions prior to their children spending days on end with MJ. For example, "Why did my child sleep in your bed?"

That would help.

[lateo]

20. Guilty but he will walk.

[mermaid]

21. See, You And I Think EXACTLY OPPOSITE

Because I think he's innocent, but will get FOUND guilty, anyway.

The only thing Mike's guilty of is being naive, foolish, and too trusting...and, quite frankly, stupid. He should never put himself in a position where such charges had any CHANCE of being given validity.

[WI_DEM]

22. Guilty, but don't think the case was proven

so he will be acquitted or have a hung jury--if that happens he can be tried again, but that mother is a real piece of work and doesn't help the case. But I do think he has problems--too many people have seen things and he also paid off people ten years ago--I think he is a child molester, but my opinion isn't what counts--the jury needs to be convinced and I'm not sure they will be.

[DemExpat]

23. Eccentric, weird, nutty, naive......but not a pedophile IMO.

Just my impression.

DemEx

[hyphenate]

24. I think he's guilty

But I don't think that he is totally malicious about it--I think there is definitely a mental disorder causing a lot of the strange behavior.

The mark of the pedophile is with things like sleeping with the boys, the secret room, which is a hallmark of a wealthy child molester, and many other disturbing things.

I think he needs to be institutionalized mostly.

Other things which are part of the wholeMJ thing include all the stories that he never consummated his marriages, which were all high profile to make him appear to be heterosexual (like a lot of gay performers who marry someone simply to cover up their gender prefernce). Even with "wife" Debbie Rowe, artificial insemination was used to get her pregnant--absolutely NO sexual intercourse between her and Jackson, and of course the Lisa Marie Presley marriage which was a farce.

If he's gay, it's one thing. If he's a pedophile, it's a whole other case entirely. And because he is dealing with sexual identity crises on a continuing basis, he really needs to be under the care of a psychiatrist who can help him to some degree.

Sometimes the random thought comes to me that he wanted children--male children--as his own "built-in sexual relief" that would not raise too many issues because they'd be his own children legally. I still think that to some degree, but with this case so widely publicized, I don't think he could get away with that kind of an arrangement now. Child welfare agencies are going to watch him like a hawk.

Overall, I think he's a very sick man who probably endured a lot of shit growing up. His father admitted he used to treat him terribly, and that kind of behavior likely shaped his psyche to be so bizarre. I don't think he has the mental capacity to be a grown-up, either--emotionally, he is probably lost to being a 10 year old forever. But there are obviously parts of his makeup that do understand what he's done, and he doesn't seem to be suffering remorse for any of his actions--another hallmark of being a pedophile.