Thank you to everyone who contributed, whether it was to share memories of growing up with Michael or to express concerns over my beliefs.

You and I are in no position to judge whether “anonymous” was ever a victim of abuse, just as neither you nor s/he is capable of making that same assumption about me. I am, however, fully within my rights to defend my choice to recognize Jackson’s contributions without making any excuses or disclaimers. I will not stand by and be told that I am turning a blind eye to something just because I don’t want to address it. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Anonymous – I’m not ‘turning a blind eye’, like Anna, I simply never believed the allegations against MJ. I am a mother of two and if someone had molested my child I would fight to no end to make sure that person was held responsible & put in jail – where they could never harm another innocent child again. However, instead of trying to put MJ in jail, the boy’s father was more interested in how much money he could get. How could any amount of money justify sexual abuse to a truly concerned parent?

What I do believe is that Michael Jackson was an easy target – a wealthy & eccentric celebrity, who fell prey to bad people.

Is it really so bad to celebrate the things we loved about him?

Anna – I came across your blog by accident when I googled ‘painted white hardwood floors’ & have been addicted ever since! Your house is gorgeous & your ideas have inspired me to make bolder design choices.

to all the negative nancys, naysayers, and passive-aggressives, i quote john cage from ally mcbeal.
“BALLS”

Anyway, I’m not sure if you’re looking for a response (or if you’re even serious, since you don’t want to use your name), but just for the record, I have never believed any of the allegations against MJ. I’m not “turning a blind eye” to something I think might be true, I’m reacting to the death of a person that I believe was taken advantage of over and over again by people he opened his life, trust, and money to. For what it’s worth, I think the children who were involved in the two allegations (and yes, it IS important to remember that the criminal charges were dropped in the first case, which never went to trial; and that MJ was acquitted in the second case that did go to trial — you can’t just dismiss those facts on the grounds that “OJ was guilty”) were themselves victims of the greed of opportunistic parents. I absolutely believe the children were irrevocably harmed by the accusations and the trial, but I don’t believe they were harmed by Michael Jackson.

I have to wonder how much you actually know about the details of either case, and how much you’re basing on what is, for better or worse, common assumption. Have you read any of the official documents or transcripts? Do you have a good understanding of what evidence was and wasn’t brought to the table? Do you know the background of the parents in either case, or about the various statements they are on record as making? In my experience, the people who are quickest to stand up and point at Jackson as being “unquestionably guilty” are the ones who are reacting to the salacious way the cases were treated in the media, as well as to his unquestionably unconventional appearance and lifestyle (things that absolutely no one will deny).

At the end of the day, you don’t have any special kind of knowledge that enables you to judge MJ with any greater degree of accuracy than I do. Just other people (famous and otherwise) have gotten away with all sorts of horrific crimes does not mean that Michael Jackson is also guilty by default. Every person is an individual and deserves to be treated as such.

Ah MJ, you will be missed.

I will assume, for your sake and everyone elses who is ignoring the ugly part, that you have never known anyone who was victimized/molested by an adult as a child, or at least, no one who will freely admit it to you let alone the impact it has on the rest of their life. It’s a life sentence with no recourse.

I know you (and hundreds of thousands of others) will argue, that he wasn’t accused, well, to that I say, neither was OJ or anyone who has celebrity and money. Hell, most child molesters aren’t ever punished. And it makes me sad and sickened that MJ, priests and any other average joe who contributes and/or ‘acts nice’ gets praise and a blind eye.