Five Suggestions
for Michael Jackson
by Kimberley Jane Wilson
While shopping recently, I
ended up in one of those boxy, warehouse-like stores with a dreaded
common dressing room. Four women of different races, ages, shapes
and sizes pretended not to notice each other. Suddenly, we heard
Michael Jackson's voice coming from the loud speakers singing
"I'll Be There." Some of us paused to listen. "What
a shame," one of the women said when the song was over.
That remark melted the ice,
and we were soon talking about Michael. One of the women staunchly
defended him but conceded that his behavior during the last ten
years made him look suspicious. Another said Michael was a victim
of a conspiracy - an idea the rest of us rejected. After the
conversation, we went our separate ways.
Michael Jackson the celebrity
has been reduced to a joke, but Michael Jackson the man is in
a world of trouble. California Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville
ruled that past allegations could be introduced in his child
molestation trial. Witnesses have testified that they saw Jackson
engage in inappropriate behavior with young boys. The family
of one of the witnesses, a former maid who said Jackson touched
her son in a lewd manner, already received a $2 million settlement.
According to defense lawyer
Thomas Mesereau, the witnesses are simply liars with grudges
against his client. But the prosecution says Jackson has a pattern
of grooming and preying on vulnerable boys with weak families.
He allegedly lulled parents into complacency while luring their
sons into his trap.
The oddness of the accuser's
family and other witnesses play in Jackson's favor. For instance,
if he came to your house and asked if he could play with your
son for the weekend, what would you say? "Go jump in a boiling
lake," would be my response. That the parents of Jackson's
young accuser and the families of the boys apparently didn't
have similar reactions is bizarre.
What will the jury believe?
Will Michael Jackson go to prison or will he moonwalk right out
of that courtroom? My hunch is that, unless the forensic evidence
against him resonates with the jurors, Jackson will go free.
But you can expect to see him in a courtroom and on tabloid covers
again unless he makes five drastic changes:
* Leave the little boys alone.
Forever. Maybe you really do mean well. Maybe you're just being
charitable. You may even be the victim of a conspiracy, but that's
not how it seems. To the average person, you look like a predator
on the prowl.
* Get rid of Neverland. Sell
it. Donate it. Better yet, burn it to the ground. It's the site
of a number of disgusting alleged criminal acts. Even if you
are truly innocent, why hang on to what has now become an extremely
expensive source of bad publicity?
* Speaking of publicity, avoid
it for the next decade. Forget about resurrecting your career
right now. Musical taste has passed you by, and no one except
the hardest of your hardcore fans would buy your new album anyway.
* Find yourself a wise priest,
pastor or some kind of mental health practitioner to talk to.
You're over 40 now, Mike, and it's time to grow up. If your current
behavior really has to do with childhood issues, you need to
seek help.
* If you ignore the previous
four suggestions, heed this one: get on the next plane to France.
Artists are revered in that country. Roman Polanski lives a very
pleasant life there, as did Ira Einhorn - the hippie "Unicorn
Killer" - before he was finally extradited to the United
States.
Michael Jackson can't go back
to his old life. The rumors and watchful eyes are not going away.
He must either change for good, or buy a one-way ticket out of
here.
###
Kimberley Jane Wilson is a
member of the national advisory council of the black leadership
network Project 21. Comments may be sent to [email protected].
Published by The National Center for Public Policy Research.
Reprints permitted provided source is credited. New Visions Commentaries
reflect the views of their author, and not necessarily those
of Project 21.
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