Guilty but Proven Innocent – Guest Post
July 6, 2009 by admncc
Here at The Constant Complainer, in addition to my posts, readers can submit Guest Posts on topics they’d like to complain about. Leo Nevoli submitted the below-Guest Post. And I think his topic is well timed. It is regarding the current media circus surrounding the death of Michael Jackson. I don’t know about you, but although I’m sad that he’s gone, I haven’t cared to see it being the top story on CNN (and every other top news show) for the last twelve days. So without further adieu, here’s Leo…
I don’t believe in kicking someone while they are down or when they are not around to defend themselves. Last month I was in a car accident, and the other driver was at fault. I had quickly called the police. While I was telling them the location of the accident, I could hear the female passenger in the other car telling the male driver that she hated him, he had almost killed her, she was breaking up with him, she never wanted to see him again and that she was calling her friend to come get her. After I called the police, I looked at the damage of the vehicles. His car had the airbags deploy and was totaled. Mine had significant damage, but was drivable. I am sure I could have started yelling at this kid for failing to stop, but I figured what was the point. He was about 20 years old, had just totaled his car (or his parent’s car), would have to deal with his parents, higher insurance and has a girl yelling at him saying their relationship was over. He did not need me yelling at him or calling him names. I did ask if they were OK, and he did say yes. I let the police handle the exchanging of information. Again, no sense kicking this kid while he was down, but today I am reminded of the old saying, “Innocent until Proven Guilty.”
There are some cases where people may believe that someone is guilty of something, and that person will not being punished for their crime, while others will believe that the person is innocent. Take O.J. Simpson for example. As you know, in 1995 he was found not guilty for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Many people believe he killed them, but he was found innocent by the court. Then in 1997, a jury found him guilty for their wrongful deaths in a civil court.
This brings me to the next person that could be considered “innocent” since he was not convicted of a crime in court, Michael Jackson. Again, I don’t believe in kicking someone while they are down, or in this case, deceased. But sooner or later after his funeral, people will be stepping forward to kick him. As you know, Jackson was accused of being a child molester, and was taken to court over the allegations. He settled out of court with the family. He was not found guilty in the courts, but his actions appear that maybe he was. Paying someone to be quiet may very well be an admission of guilt, but until a few days ago it would have been Jackson pleading his innocence while the alleged victim had to remain quiet.
Yes, Michael Jackson was a good entertainer, and I hate to say it this way, but he did touch the lives of people. Was he found guilty of child molestation charges? No, but in my opinion he was guilty of something, otherwise he would not have paid the family to settle out of court. There are a few people that know the truth; and they will not be talking any time soon. There may be others stepping forward claiming that Michael did inappropriate things to them, but what is the point of them stepping forward now? The man is dead; he cannot defend himself against what people say about him. Even if he truly was innocent, someone is ready to state and make others feel he is guilty. You get that a lot in today’s world. People will say things about others when they are not around, I guess because it makes them feel like they are better then the person they are talking about. I feel that if you could not step up and make your accusation while a person was alive, you have no business is making a claim after they have died and cannot defend themselves. The media and public can feel free to kick Jackson while he is down; I myself am not going to bother. No sense in beating a dead horse. I’m Leo Nevoli, and that’s my ponderings.
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I was getting sick of the coverage as well. During the day of his death and those days that followed, major political news was occurring. The House passed the environment tax that if passed in the senate will increase the cost of living in incredible ways. Honduras removed its president for tyranical behavior, and President Obama sided with the evil dictators Chavez and Castro faster than he sided with the Iranians dying in their streets under the name of liberty. Finally, a major GOP contender for the presidency was involved in a major scandal of leaving his post for several days without contact. MJ dying trumped it all.
While I’ll admit that I was a huge fan of thriller when I was in 5th grade, none of his music impressed me beyond that. I think Prince is the single most talented musician and performing artist so far in my lifetime…I wonder if he’ll get the attention he deserves when he passes.
Great post Leo. I actually deleted people from my FB because of kicking someone while they are down. MJ is dead and before his body was even cold people had statuses like “Why is everyone mourning the death of a diddler”. Yeah I dont like that. How about we bury him before remembering the bad things. I wasn’t the hugest fan of MJ and yes I believe he did molest children (based on your reasoning too, why settle out of court if you are innocent?) but on the date of his death I’d rather remember what he did for music and music videos.
I’m suck of the coverage as well and tomorrow will be a whole new circus with the public memorial.
I don’t like it when the media dwells on any event for too long, playing the same footage over and over again. As for MJ, the whole thing is just very sad.
Excellent post. Very relevant topic. As a fan, I wanted to mourn MJ in my own way, probably like many others. But these TV programs about his will, his estate, his kids and everthing else has gotten out of hand.
I have to be honest here when saying, Didn’t you just in fact kick him while he was down? Not kicking him would have meant not including your opinion in regards to how he did “something”.
Michael Jackson was ACCUSED of a very terrible crime without a doubt,a crime that if he in fact committed it would hopefully land him in eternal hell. However Jackson was never CONVICTED of a crime and just because some mega superstar has a billion dollars and decides to shut a family up by throwing a few million at them hardly admits guilt or that a crime was committed.
You also fail to mention how Jackson was ACQUITTED on 10 COUNTS that would have put him away forever, he didn’t buy that acquittal.
Now with that said, I agree there is no sense in coming out and kicking the guy now or kicking anyone while they are down. It’s Michael Jackson, it’s going to happen regardless of our personal views about it.
I also think it’s important to note that I hardly think Jackson was an angel, and as much as I respected the guys musical ability I have my reservations about some of the other things that went on in his life.
I agree. I’ve never had much to say about the accusations against him because his life from childhood on has never been something I could relate to. In the end, he touched many people and did many great things we DO know of (charity, etc…). I’m prepared to remember him for the good music and entertainment he provided and let a dead horse lie (sorry).
Extreme John, your comments really made sense to me. And Jennifer Juniper, yours too. I guess we all want to remember the Michael Jackson we liked best. I don’t know if he did those horrible things. And you know what? I don’t care. May he rest in peace.
I had a really fun time with this on my facebook page…mostly with people that wanted to remember the “good person” that Michael Jackson was. I don’t care if it is kicking a person while they were down. I would make it my lifes work to kick every child molester in the junk if I could. They are scum and not worth remembering. I am glad he is dead.
My reply to those who thought that I was tarnishing his memory on the day that he died was the following:
1. Do you have children? Or do you plan on having children?
2. If the answer to #1 was yes then would you have let your child spend the night with Michael Jackson in his bedroom at his ranch?
All the whiners need to answer that honestly. I know what my answer would be.
Rot in hell Michael Jackson and good riddance the world has one less pedophile walking around!!!
Also for those of you that believe in his innocence…OJ Simpson called and because he is incarcerated he needs some help in finding the “real killers”
LATER SUCKERS!
He was a great entertainment and made some pretty amazing videos.
Tomorrow a grieving mother is going to have say goodbye to her son.
Wow, Timmy, why don’t you tell us what you really think. I guess you are entitled to your opinion, but I think you’re in the minority. It was crude too, I thought.
Timmy,
I think you said exactly what most people in the world are thinking. I have four sons, and I can assure you that I would not let them spend the night at Neverland, even if my children were friends with his children. There are 3 very important things to remember here…
1. He paid off one family to end the court proceedings.
2. He WAS NOT found “innocent”; he was found “not guilty.”
3. Prince is a far more important musician and performer, and to my knowledge, has NEVER been accused of molesting children.
Our media and too many people are so hungry for a voice that they can relate to, that they’re willing to pimp out the few values they have and can actually separate the character of “artist” from “freaky child loving man…” Even Michael Jackson refused to do that…His father allegedly beat him, but the same man successfully managed his career until MJ was old enough to understand the business and do things for himself. MJ left nothing to his child beating father…I’m pretty sure he left nothing to his “career developing father” too. I don’t wish death on anybody, but I’m sure there are a few mothers and fathers out there that know the truth that are thankful for this.
Timmy does bring up a good point about a parent allowing their child to spend the night at Neverland. Dave Chappelle did a skit on his Chappelle’s Show years ago, where he is a member on the jury for the Michael Jackson case, and he is saying you have to prove he did those things to kids. When he was asked would you let your kids spend the night in the skit, he replied “Oh Hell No!”
I think that MJ was just very insecure and fragile individual. He did help out with raising money for a lot of different charities. I believe with that, his heart was in the right place.
His music was phenominal all throughout his career. I like most of his songs and I am sad that the muscian part of him is gone.
But, you have to admit that he was very different. He set himself up with a lot of the accusations. Even after the first molestation charge, he still had children spending the night. Why no one stepped in and gave an intervention to MJ, we’ll never know. Who know’s if the accusations were even true or not. Sure, he paid the families off. Maybe his attorney’s said it would be easier to pay them off than to drag it on, and on, and on. But if it was your child, wouldn’t you fight to see your child’s abuser put behind bars? Why would you “sell out” unless the accusations were false? And why the hell would you let your child spend the night with someone, when they knew that this person was accused of this behavior before? I think to an extent that both parties were at fault (not the children involved, just the parents and MJ).
The stories will never end about him. The media will always pick and blast the negative. I feel for his children who will be looked at now as odd and strange; sorry for them b/c they knew their Dad as just Dad; not the king of pop, not a molester, or a ‘lost boy’. I too am getting a little tired of hearing about MJ, but I always look for the positive in things.
Unfortunately there’s going to be a lot of kicking him while he’s down. The unfortunate part is that we’ve already suffered the agony of hearing his music non-stop in stores and on the radio. I’m sick of hearing about Michael Jackson and so little attention is given to Farrah Fawcett. I don’t care if he was innocent or guilty, I’m tired of hearing about the man/thing.
I’ve been telling Michael Jackson jokes. I did it when he was alive and I’ll continue to do it now that he’s dead. I’m an equal opportunity comedian. If I find something funny, I’ll retell it. That’s what a sense of humor is.
He did have some great songs but I could care less that he’s dead. I’m sorry if that offends some, but why should I care about anyone’s death that I have no attachment to? It seems silly to me to be upset over such things. Like when Princess Diana died. Yes it’s sad and I feel sorry for the families, but I do not weep over these deaths because their lives had absolutely no impact on mine.
Sidenote: Don…Prince is very odd too. I would never go so far as to say that he is one of the greatest musicians or entertainers ever. Maybe that’s just because I’m not a fan, but I don’t see the big deal about him. I see his talent and respect it, but I think we just have different taste in music.
You’re right Libby. The appreciation of art is limited to each individual person. As a musician, I appreciate what Prince does because he’s a virtuoso. He’s fluent on over 20 different instruments, a brilliant song writer, performer, etc. I do not know another living or dead musician from my lifetime that has his ability. But I recognize that others would not care or agree. The same stands for MJ and his fans. That’s the beauty of art and music.
Don,
The same criteria can be said about Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. He’s fluent in many instruments (I don’t know how many) and in my opinion is a brilliant song writer and performer. Many people don’t know this, but Trent Reznor actually only uses his band to perform live. For his albums, all the music is played, mixed, and recorded by himself. He essentially is Nine Inch Nails. To me, his concerts are the best I’ve ever seen. Now I’m in no way shape or form trying to start an argument on who’s better, Trent Reznor or Prince. I know it all comes down to musical taste, but I thought I’d give my opinion on it.
Cleveland Blogger,
If you thought that my post was crude. That is because I meant it to be that way. I will not apologize for it. I am tired of the television coverage, tired of the newspaper coverage and tired of all the MJ apologists.
I would not remember someone who committed murder later in their lives for all of the good things they did before they committed that crime. I equate child molesting with murder. And although it carries a lesser penalty they have essentailly murdered the innocence of a child. Therefore I will not remember MJ for all the music that he created I will remember him as a freakshow who bought his way out of trouble.
I don’t think that I am in the minority, merely in one of two groups that I have seen in this argument. The first group is over 30 years of age. These people were alive and fans of MJ and his music when he was an incredible entertainer, so i feel that is why they are having a harder time with condemning him. The second is under 30 whom did not grow up with MJ and only saw his eccentric side and yes his court appearances, that is the only MJ they know.
What I don’t get is how those who are defending him (and i am not accusing you of this, mostly the media) can sweep such a heinous past under the rug. I see some of the same outlets who are so passionate about other celebs being punished for lesser crimes bowing down to MJ and his greatness.
and Mike N this one is for you….an example of what I posted in facebook….In accordance with Michael Jackson’s will all little boys pants will be flown at half mast today
I just tuned in to TMZ.com to watch their live streaming video of the Michael Jackson motorcade. The line of limos is never ending, but surprisingly under control by the LAPD.
WTF. If TMZ is going to offer the video feed for stuff like this, they better upgrade their servers. It is slow and keeps cutting in and out. Leave it to Michael Jackson’s Memorial to bring the Internet to a halt.
I think it’s an embarrassment to our culture that this funeral or whatever is exhausting all media outlets. That being said, the media outlets themselves are an embarrassment and not useful for anything else anyway, so there’s no real loss there.
People are free to feel what they want over MJ, but I don’t get it, myself. The guy lived an extraordinary life. Now it’s over. Personally, I think it would have been better for himself and his memory if he had died a long time ago. 50 is hardly young and I fail to see how it is a tragic loss to the world. How many people think twice when a toddler is crushed to death by the family python or some kid is hit by a drunk driver? That is tragedy, not the death of an aging artist who’s only recent creation is a playground with a terrible reputation.
What if MJ died 10 years ago and there was no media coverage? Would anyone care? No. I don’t get why celebrities are worshiped as some superior beings.
And I have to say, while I love a lot of MJ’s music, I’ve never understood the whole Prince thing…
Dan, I hear you. Several people I know gave up on TMZ earlier, as I’m sure a lot of others did too. From what I understand, there were quite a few blips in the video.
On another note and speaking of TMZ.com, when watching this very brief video, I didn’t know whether to be sad or angry.
Michael Jackson’s daughter spoke at his Memorial today. It is very tough to watch because she’s very upset, but in addition to being sad, I just couldn’t help but wonder why they paraded her out in front of 17,000. The most likely answer – not because she’s his daughter, but because of the media frenzy.
http://www.tmz.com/2009/07/07/michael-jackson-paris-katherine-memorial/
It’s all about ratings and what sells. Unfortunately, there are too many people out there ready to buy the hype. The media frenzy feeds on itself until it can no longer sustain the story Inevitably something else comes along and the process starts anew
Yeah im not sure if he did it are not. now I know what Hitler did was evil (and the attrocities he commited are far worse than MJ’s)but he was known to be a very intelligent man and brought germany out of economic crisis and helped build its infrastructure. Should we remember him for that or the bad things he done, same with saddam he kept islamic terrorists under control but was still guilty of mass genocide. See the problem with Jackson case is that people say he was proven innocent. There is no such thing. There was simply not enough evidence to prove him guilty. How often are their gang killings where people are to scared to speak out. The murderers will go unpunished due to lack of evidence. In this case the court would declare them innocent, this does not mean they are innocent. As with Michael jackson all the verdict shows is that there was not of enough proof he was innocent. If he had no talent and was accused of these things then mysteriously paid the families off would you all still thing he was innocent, I doubt it.
My feeling is this about the whole MJ child molestation thing…along with these idiot comments by parents and people who want to be parents… I feel that the same people who condemn MJ for being a child molester (and say how they would never let their children go to Neverland ranch) are all a bunch of Lazy parents! I will teach my son never to get in a car with a stranger. My son will know what is inapropriate for adults to say or do to children. Instead of allowing myself to be a victim of someone else’s pedophiliac ways, I choose to be the master of our own destiny and teach my son the correct way to recognize and get away from such inapropriate situations!
MJ was a great entertainer with a lot of personal deamons. I do not choose to dwell on the negative. May he rest in peace! NCD and Kristan need to get a life!