Michael Jackson, of course
We were talking about Michael Jackson at lunch today. Big shock, right? Even though I play the extreme cynic on TV, I’m still surprised when things like this come up and lots of people decide they know a) exactly what happened to someone they’ve never met and never will, and b) exactly what should be done to them.
I firmly believe that most of the world’s ills are caused by people who know just what’s best for everyone else. I believe that if people (*cough* MDT *cough*) would just stick to their knitting, the world would be an infinitely better place.
I know it’s fun to speculate about what happened, and energizing for some people to imagine the punishment they would dish out for offenses they “just know” MJ committed. Let’s face it, we love both crime and punishment in this country – millions of “Cops” viewers can’t be wrong.
But here’s a news flash: we don’t know what happened, and we probably never will. The most we can sincerely hope for is that both Michael Jackson and any children he may have harmed (*if* he did) will get the help they need.
I’m not defending Jackson – far from it. Any 45-year-old man who has sleepovers with prepubescent boys has some serious problems. But I think we should be less concerned with speculating about his bedroom activities and more concerned with why we care so much.
Why do we care more about the harm that has come to a few of MJ’s alleged victims than the deaths of hundreds of US soldiers and thousands of Iraqi civilians?
Why do we care more about those boys than the millions of elderly that will get shortchanged by dubya’s health care bill?
Why…oh, it’s just too hard.