Michael Jackson was a Troubled Person, But

Michael Jackson's career was tumultuous and brilliant at the same time. He excelled at dancing and singing and became one of the biggest pop stars of the 20th century. Things for the pop star were good up until 1993 when, unexpectedly, a child and his father came forward and claimed that Michael Jackson had done some inappropriate things to the boy. To avoid going to trial, Jackson offered to settle with the family. The family agreed and accepted over twenty million dollars. While all this was going on, his sister La Toya Jackson insisted that her brother was indeed a pedophile and was disowned by the Jackson family. Later, she said she made the allegations because her husband wanted to make a financial gain from her statements.

Now, many people quickly assumed that by paying the settlement, Jackson was admitting guilt. The thing about media outlets is that they are very quick to jump the gun and assume the worst possible thing. People should have focused more on the family that graciously accepted the money. If they really felt that their child was harmed by Jackson in any way, wouldn't they have denied the offer and still taken him to court? I know that if I felt that my child was harmed in any way by someone, I would take the person to court in a heartbeat. I really do think that more attention should have been on the family's motives. It turns out that the child's father owed thousands of dollars in child support, even though he was a highly paid and successful dentist. Am I 100% sure that Jackson didn't do it? I would be lying if I said I am. Still, it seems that it was a very easy way for a greedy man to get a share of the King of Pop's millions so he wouldn't have to work for the rest of his life.

Fast forward some years and we arrive at 2005. Again, Michael Jackson was accused of molesting little boys at his Neverland Ranch. The whole trial itself was nothing but a media circus and of course, those television reporters fed off of every minute of it. Once again, people were trying to take him down and get their fifteen minutes of fame. As was the case in the 1993 molestation allegations, there was no hard evidence of any wrong doing. Everything that was presented was done so by word of mouth and nothing else. The boy accused Jackson of molestation and testified graphic details on the stand over a period of three days. While being cross examined, the boy did admit that he told a school administrator that nothing inappropriate had occurred between him and Jackson. Also, a former security guard (who was probably out for his fifteen minutes of fame) testified that he saw inappropriate behavior between Jackson and another teenage boy. This teenage boy's family had also planned to have their own molestation case against Jackson, but they received an unknown amount of money from the King of Pop. Even former childhood star Macaulay Culkin testified in defense of Michael Jackson and insisted that the accusations were false.

Sure, Michael Jackson's behavior was far from normal and inappropriate on many occasions, but that does not automatically label him as guilty. I also want to say that I am not 100% sure Michael Jackson was innocent. I am just trying to make the point that people need to know all of the facts before they jump the gun label someone as guilty. People forget that kids, especially young ones, can be coerced by others (particularly family members) into saying things that are not true. I have seen this on TV on many occasions. Some people are willing to do whatever it takes to make a quick buck.

Sources:

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_child_sexual_abuse_accusations_against_Michael_Jackson
CNN.com, http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/13/jackson.trial/