Michael Jackson -- Cardiac Arrest

He was an incredibly talented man who did weird stuff to little boys. I don't know if it was outright molestation, but the first time he was accused he paid the family $10 mil to settle the suit. Not proof but a pretty strong indication something not right was going on. The second time he admitted to pretty bizarre stuff.

Pedophile? I don't know. Inappropriate behavior w/children? For sure. Very talented musical icon? Yep. Tragic death? I think so.

But I'm mourning Farrah (& feeling SO badly for Ryan & her family) much much more. :(
 
A cash settlement does not mean that someone is guilty. Sometimes people (at the advice of their lawyer) when they are sued settle to avoid a lengthy trial. A trial is distracting and destructive for anyone's live and just the cost of the lawyers is sometimes more than the settlement would be. Just being right doesn't mean to win in a court of law and can cost you your last penny and every ounze of sanity you have left.

There are often law suit, particularly against celebrities in an attempt to extort money. I don't know if that is what happened with Michael Jackson or if the allegations were true, but neither do the rest of us.

Personally, I thought he was weird and it was sad to watch his unraveling over the last decade but he was also a genius when it came to his music. And I certainly found it sad and shocking that he died so young, unexpected and suddenly. His kids are the age of my kids, barely teenagers and I can only imagine how they must feel.

R.I.P Michael Jackson!
 
hiitdogs said:
A cash settlement does not mean that someone is guilty. Sometimes people (at the advice of their lawyer) when they are sued settle to avoid a lengthy trial. A trial is distracting and destructive for anyone's live and just the cost of the lawyers is sometimes more than the settlement would be. Just being right doesn't mean to win in a court of law and can cost you your last penny and every ounze of sanity you have left.

There are often law suit, particularly against celebrities in an attempt to extort money. I don't know if that is what happened with Michael Jackson or if the allegations were true, but neither do the rest of us.

Personally, I thought he was weird and it was sad to watch his unraveling over the last decade but he was also a genius when it came to his music. And I certainly found it sad and shocking that he died so young, unexpected and suddenly. His kids are the age of my kids, barely teenagers and I can only imagine how they must feel.

R.I.P Michael Jackson!
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Sorry, but I think anyone wrongly accused of pedophelia would want it to go to trial. I'm certainly aware that many people settle lawsuits to avoid the expense & publicity of a trial, but settling something like this just smacks of guilt & is far more destructive than trying to fight it.

Admitting to giving children wine before bedtime, admitting to sleeping in the same bed w/them, that is beyond inappropriate. It's just plain twisted.
 
LauraMax said:
He was an incredibly talented man who did weird stuff to little boys. I don't know if it was outright molestation, but the first time he was accused he paid the family $10 mil to settle the suit. Not proof but a pretty strong indication something not right was going on. The second time he admitted to pretty bizarre stuff.

Pedophile? I don't know. Inappropriate behavior w/children? For sure. Very talented musical icon? Yep. Tragic death? I think so.

But I'm mourning Farrah (& feeling SO badly for Ryan & her family) much much more. :(
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Swinging by to co-sign this post! :)
 
I'm so conflicted by the whole pedophile thing.

He was acquitted and I don't think that, unlike the OJ case, jury nullification was the issue.

I live near Neverland. When I took a criminal law class a few years ago the instructor, a police detective, strongly felt that he was guilty. He didn't elaborate, but indicated that some very weird stuff was found in that house.

In any case, I keep coming back to the fact that he was acquitted.

He was a musical genius. I'm deeply saddened that he is gone and that his life was so tragic. It's a reminder that each day of life is a precious gift and that happiness is not a destination, but a journey.
 
kathryn said:
This appears to be a good look into the trial, which suggests that the accusations were indeed an attempt to extort money:

http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jacks...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246029051&sr=8-1
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Oh, well then, if a Michael Jackson supporter "suggests that the accusations were indeed an attempt to extort money" in black & white, then it must be true. And the multiple accusations of molestation, bizarre & inappropriate behavior, sleeping in a bed w/someone else's children, & serving them "Jesus Juice" are all false stories that were attempts to get money in some way. :rolleyes:

Like I said, very talented man musically, very bizarre, inappropriate & possibly criminal personally.
 
LauraMax said:
Oh, well then, if a Michael Jackson supporter "suggests that the accusations were indeed an attempt to extort money" in black & white, then it must be true. And the multiple accusations of molestation, bizarre & inappropriate behavior, sleeping in a bed w/someone else's children, & serving them "Jesus Juice" are all false stories that were attempts to get money in some way. :rolleyes:

Like I said, very talented man musically, very bizarre, inappropriate & possibly criminal personally.
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I am not denying that there certainly was inappropriate behavior but I think there is a long way from inappropriate behavior to molestation. I just have to wonder where those parents were? The rumors had been swirling around for years and still parents would drop off their kids there. Call me weird but my kids won't have sleepovers at any adult's home, unless it is an emergency, and particularly not at someone's house with documented bizzare behavior.

Personally, if someone had done anything inappropriate with my child my first stop would be the police or district attorney and not trying to get money first from the alleged offender. If I suspect there is a child molester I want that guy off the street! Going to extort money raises the suspicion of ulterior motives in my mind.

I am not saying that he is innocent but none of us knows for a fact that he is guilty either.
 
toughYrun said:
I'm so conflicted by the whole pedophile thing.

He was acquitted and I don't think that, unlike the OJ case, jury nullification was the issue.

I live near Neverland. When I took a criminal law class a few years ago the instructor, a police detective, strongly felt that he was guilty. He didn't elaborate, but indicated that some very weird stuff was found in that house.

In any case, I keep coming back to the fact that he was acquitted.

He was a musical genius. I'm deeply saddened that he is gone and that his life was so tragic.
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I feel the same way.

I view him as a tragic figure but also one who influenced a generation and spread joy to others through his timeless music. His records were a huge part of my growing up years, and like Christine, I especially remember being completely transfixed with the "Thriller" video.

While I agree his later behavior was, at best, bizarre and inappropriate, one thing that never sat right with me, either, was the fact that the accuser's families would be willing to settle. Wouldn't you want to do everything in your power to take the perpetrator off the streets and protect other children? I don't think I would be able to sleep at night knowing I had accepted money and that, in turn, kept my child's abuser free.

We will never know for sure, but I feel that is between him and God now.

ETA: Carola, I was composing this message the same time you were posting yours...I see we are on the same page.
 
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hiitdogs said:
I am not denying that there certainly was inappropriate behavior but I think there is a long way from inappropriate behavior to molestation. I just have to wonder where those parents were? The rumors had been swirling around for years and still parents would drop off their kids there. Call me weird but my kids won't have sleepovers at any adult's home, unless it is an emergency, and particularly not at someone's house with documented bizzare behavior.

Personally, if someone had done anything inappropriate with my child my first stop would be the police or district attorney and not trying to get money first from the alleged offender. If I suspect there is a child molester I want that guy off the street! Going to extort money raises the suspicion of ulterior motives in my mind.

I am not saying that he is innocent but none of us knows for a fact that he is guilty either.
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That's a good point. I don't have kids, but if someone hurt one of my dogs I'd def. make sure they paid for it! However, I believe their first stop was the police, & they agreed to settle instead of press charges.

I actually don't think he's guilty of molestation, I think unlike most pedophiles the urge was there but he had enough self control to put on the brakes before he really crossed the line.

That said, I do think he's guilty of bad behavior. But I'm sure we'll never know the whole story.
 
LauraMax said:
That's a good point. I don't have kids, but if someone hurt one of my dogs I'd def. make sure they paid for it! However, I believe their first stop was the police, & they agreed to settle instead of press charges.

I actually don't think he's guilty of molestation, I think unlike most pedophiles the urge was there but he had enough self control to put on the brakes before he really crossed the line.

That said, I do think he's guilty of bad behavior. But I'm sure we'll never know the whole story.
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I wonder why? Like you, I don't have kids but if anyone harmed my dogs I would want that person locked up. Why would they want this person out living amongst other children that could get harmed.
 
Beanie said:
I wonder why? Like you, I don't have kids but if anyone harmed my dogs I would want that person locked up. Why would they want this person out living amongst other children that could get harmed.
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I think they had ten million reasons why. :confused:
 
I can't seem to turn off the t.v. It seems that I need to know every piece of up to the minute information as it happens. I really loved his music which has touched me over the years. I really am devastated by the suddenness of his death. I think what is truly disturbing is that it probably could have been avoided. If his death is caused by all the drugs in his sytem, it just angers me as to how he or anyone becomes so dependent on so many medications and that there are enablers allowing this. Apparently, they become a ticking time bomb. Of course Elvis and Anna Nicole come to mind. These are avoidable deaths occurring way too soon in their lives. Right now they're playing the 911 call on Fox News but it's hard to understand. It's just makes me sick to see the demise of people which perhaps could have been prevented. I feel the same with Princess Diana. Of course we only hear what the media allows us to but so many questions came up about why it took so long to get her to the hospital and that she possibly could have been saved. Will we ever know the real truth in any of these circumstances? Perhaps not but it does give you pause to think of your own life and of those around you.

Bam
 
I really don't want to get into the charges against him but I will relay something I saw on t.v. Uri Gellar (sp?) was his friend and had asked him point blank if the charges brought against him were true. MJ's response to him was aboslutely not, I could never hurt a child. Uri asked him then why would you pay them? MJ - Because I couldn't handle the stress of it anymore. None of us know the truth, we were not there. But 10 million dollars to someone who, at the time, was not perhaps in the debt he is in now, is a drop in the bucket to get rid of something that is having such a strain on one's health. His health has not been good for years so I could understand how you would want to make something go away if you had the means to do so. There certainly are things in my life I wish I could make go away but it would cost a lot less than 10 mil! ;)

Bam
 
Govtgirl said:
Darn. I hate it when people are mean to pedophiles.
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There's nothing illegal in being a pedophile, unless you act on it, and it is not clear to me that MJ ever acted on it.

To me, OJ is a murderer. It's perfectly conceivable that MJ may have been nothing more than a garden variety eccentric, driven by fame and the ability to financially influence his enablers to become a larger than life eccentric.

But then, I must admit I was ever so sweet on him when he was little Mikey Jackson singing his heart out, and then when he grew up to be that super talented young man with the megawatt smile. So I may be a bit prejudiced.
 
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BAM said:
I can't seem to turn off the t.v. It seems that I need to know every piece of up to the minute information as it happens. I really loved his music which has touched me over the years. I really am devastated by the suddenness of his death. I think what is truly disturbing is that it probably could have been avoided. If his death is caused by all the drugs in his sytem, it just angers me as to how he or anyone becomes so dependent on so many medications and that there are enablers allowing this. Apparently, they become a ticking time bomb. Of course Elvis and Anna Nicole come to mind. These are avoidable deaths occurring way too soon in their lives. Right now they're playing the 911 call on Fox News but it's hard to understand. It's just makes me sick to see the demise of people which perhaps could have been prevented. I feel the same with Princess Diana. Of course we only hear what the media allows us to but so many questions came up about why it took so long to get her to the hospital and that she possibly could have been saved. Will we ever know the real truth in any of these circumstances? Perhaps not but it does give you pause to think of your own life and of those around you.

Bam
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I totally agree with you. Thoughts of Elvis came to my mind (maybe because he was once MJ's father-in law) It's a tragedy that could of been prevented. I heard on the news earlier that the police are investigating his doctors now. I think these doctors who hand out pills like they were candy should be prosecuted and held accountable for what they do. This touches me on a personal level because my 20 year old nephew passed away last year from an accidental overdose. The list of medications his "doctor" had him on was ridiculous.
 
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I have no idea if MJ is a pedophile, but by his own admission he slept with children in his bed. Do people think he could be a pedophile in that circumstance and not act on it? Genuine question because it's my understanding that pedophiles aren't known for their self-control...
 
sparrow13 said:
I have no idea if MJ is a pedophile, but by his own admission he slept with children in his bed. Do people think he could be a pedophile in that circumstance and not act on it? Genuine question because it's my understanding that pedophiles aren't known for their self-control...
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If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck... ;)

Let's just say I wouldn't even let him babysit my dog let alone let my child sleep in bed with him. As an artist he was brilliant, as a person he was a nut job. He needed help and he obviously wasn't getting it. It's a sad story for everyone involved and we'll never know the half of it.
 
jacqued said:
I totally agree with you. Thoughts of Elvis came to my mind (maybe because he was once MJ's father-in law) It's a tragedy that could of been prevented. I heard on the news earlier that the police are investigating his doctors now. I think these doctors who hand out these pills like they were candy should be prosecuted and held accountable for what they do. This touches me on a personal level because my 20 year old nephew passed away last year an accidental overdose. The list of medications his "doctor" had him on was ridiculous.
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Jaque, I am so sorry for your loss. What a tragedy. I can see how this touches you personally. In about 20 minutes, the coroner is going to release his report. I hope I can turn away from the t.v. after that. This is just too distressing to me.

On the 911 call, the caller didn't mention that it was Michael Jackson that needed help. Not that it would have changed a thing. It's perhaps a meaningless observation on my part.

Bam
 
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