Jesus Juice, Anyone?

Jackson Trial Resumes After Arrest Threat

I haven't been following this trial closely. My knowledge of what's going on is limited to brief sound bites and quick summaries of the proceedings. This dramatic turn of events, the threat of arrest, caught my attention.

This is a circus! A creepy, surreal circus!!!

From what I've heard, it seems the defense is making headway in discrediting the accusers. It would not surprise me if Jackson walks away from this trial as a free man (boy, Peter Pan, whatever).

A not guilty verdict doesn't mean an absence of guilt. Jackson's innocence, or lack of, will still be questioned, whatever the decision. His own words are the most damning.

In a BBC documentary that aired last year, Jackson admitted, "I have slept in a bed with many children," but added, "When you say 'bed,' you're thinking sexual. It's not sexual, we're going to sleep. I tuck them in...It's very charming, it's very sweet."

It's not charming. It's not sweet. It's sick.

Michael Jackson is clearly a very troubled individual. Why didn't someone help him? He obviously has been making poor choices for years. Twenty years ago, he dated Emmanuel Lewis and Brooke Shields.

Why did a doctor agree to chop up his face? Why didn't Elizabeth Taylor tell Jackson to stop before he irreversibly hacked away at the nose he had at birth?

Wasn't there anyone around Jackson who cared about him enough to point out the inappropriateness of his behavior?

If he did abuse children, Jackson can't be considered just another bizarre celebrity who couldn't handle fame. He deserves to be called a pedophile, a sexual predator. He deserves to be imprisoned for a long time. My heart goes out to his victims and their families. No prison sentence can undo the damage.

That said, I can't help but feel at least some pity for Jackson, and disdain for his friends and family for failing to keep him away from vulnerable children. How does one live with eyes wide shut for decades?

In the end, Jackson, and only Jackson, is responsible for his actions. I don't view him as a victim. However, it still does pain me to think of his pathetic existence.

It's all very sad.