A NEW DECK PLAYING THE RACE CARD WON'T HELP MICHAEL JACKSON TRUMP CHARGES OF CHILD ABUSE.Byline: Earl Ofari Hutchinson EVEN before a Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. County grand jury indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. Michael Jackson Noun 1. Michael Jackson - United States singer who began singing with his four brothers and later became a highly successful star during the 1980s (born in 1958) Michael Joe Jackson, Jackson , the child molestation Child molestation is a crime involving a range of indecent or sexual activities between an adult and a child, usually under the age of 14. In psychiatric terms, these acts are sometimes known as pedophilia. case against him was certain to be about much more than the onetime King of Pop's guilt or innocence. Just go back to last November, when one of Jackson's brothers angrily threw down the race card when he called the charges a legal lynching. The suggestion was that Jackson squirms on the legal hot seat not because of anything he's done, but because he's rich, successful, popular and black. It was an odd claim to make, given Jackson's Casper-the-Ghost bleached skin, pinched nose job, eyeshade and straight hair. But clearly Jackson and his entourage think he can buy sympathy - and maybe a not-guilty verdict - by playing up his race and appealing to a long-standing mistrust for police and the criminal justice system within the black community. Jackson upped the ante when he claimed in a ``60 Minutes'' interview a month later that Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies manhandled him during his arrest - a charge the Sheriff's Department quickly denied. Family members, friends and Jackson groupies rallied around their hero and accused Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon of waging a personal vendetta vendetta (vĕndĕt`ə) [Ital.,=vengeance], feud between members of two kinship groups to avenge a wrong done to a relative. Although the term originated in Corsica, the custom has also been practiced in other parts of Italy, in other . The strategy was obvious: Portray Jackson as the next O.J. Simpson - the black celebrity purportedly framed by racist cops - or this year's Rodney King Rodney Glen King (born April 9, 1965 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an African-American taxicab driver who was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers (Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno and Sargent Stacey Koon) after being chased for speeding. , a black man abused at the hands of thug detectives. Jackson stirred the race pot even more when Nation of Islam Nation of Islam: see Black Muslims. Nation of Islam or Black Muslims African American religious movement that mingles elements of Islam and black nationalism. It was founded in 1931 by Wallace D. officials turned up at his legal team's press conferences. Muslim bodyguards will also probably surround him at his upcoming court appearances. And while there's no evidence that they are anything other then one more ornament in Jackson's traveling menagerie, they spruce up his credentials as a black brother being dumped on by an unjust white legal system. The predictable racial polarization is already under way. Polls show that blacks and whites are wildly at odds in how they see Jackson. The overwhelming majority of blacks regard him favorably, while the overwhelming majority of whites don't. But Jackson is severely mistaken if he thinks screaming ``race'' will absolve ab·solve tr.v. ab·solved, ab·solv·ing, ab·solves 1. To pronounce clear of guilt or blame. 2. To relieve of a requirement or obligation. 3. a. To grant a remission of sin to. him in the public eye or in a court of law. As deep as public divisions over race may run, the public's revulsion against child abuse runs far deeper still. All it took was the unchecked word of a 12-year-old for former fans and a once fawning fawn 1 intr.v. fawned, fawn·ing, fawns 1. To exhibit affection or attempt to please, as a dog does by wagging its tail, whining, or cringing. 2. public to believe that a man who's made a fabulous living grabbing his crotch crotch n. The angle or region of the angle formed by the junction of two parts or members, such as two branches, limbs, or legs. before millions might also do terrible things to children. Jackson may still hang on to some residual popularity, but among most Americans - of all races - his star has fallen fast. Well before his first brush with child-molestation accusations - which resulted in a pricey legal settlement back in 1993 - Jackson sowed the deep seeds of public doubt about his motives. In a widely quoted interview, he told Ebony magazine, ``Children are loving, and they don't gossip, they don't complain, they're just open-hearted, they're ready for you. They don't judge.'' It sounded creepy, as though Jackson were promoting the advantages of children as sex partners. Amazingly, he never seemed to learn from that PR disaster. In last year's ``60 Minutes'' interview, Jackson defended letting other people's children sleep in his bed. He's expressed similar sentiments many times over the years, making many suspect that he's up to no good on his Neverland Ranch. Whether Jackson eventually beats back the charges, he has lost badly in the court of public opinion. Americans have long memories and even longer tongues when it comes to the emotionally hyper-charged issue of child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse is an umbrella term describing criminal and civil offenses in which an adult engages in sexual activity with a minor or exploits a minor for the purpose of sexual gratification. . The rumors, whispers and doubts that plagued him in the years before, and the decade after, the 1993 court settlement will again plague him for years to come. The reason is simple. Child victimization victimization Social medicine The abuse of the disenfranchised–eg, those underage, elderly, ♀, mentally retarded, illegal aliens, or other, by coercing them into illegal activities–eg, drug trade, pornography, prostitution. has received widespread attention and public revulsion in recent years. States and the federal government alike have enacted tough laws against child molestation. Judges, prosecutors and juries have eagerly tossed the book at child sex offenders. Yet for all the attention and effort, according to a 2000 survey by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Noun 1. Department of Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Health and Human Services, HHS , the rate of child sexual abuse has continued to soar, and that doesn't count the many thousands of crimes that aren't reported. As the recent scandal in the Catholic Church makes abundantly clear, this is a crime that the public takes deathly death·ly adj. 1. Of, resembling, or characteristic of death: a deathly silence. 2. Causing death; fatal. adv. 1. In the manner of death. 2. seriously - no matter who's being accused. That's why Jackson's wealth and celebrity are probably more likely to harm than help his case. Ever since Simpson's not-guilty verdict nearly a decade ago, the public has grown increasingly weary of rich and famous celebrities who many feel use their wealth and fame to thumb their nose at the law and get away with misconduct. Just ask Martha Stewart. Jackson's attorneys only seem to play into that perception when they spin into maximum damage control and downplay the new charges as a rerun re·run n. The act or an instance of rebroadcasting a recorded movie or a recorded television performance. tr.v. re·ran , re·run, re·run·ning, re·runs To present a rerun of. of the same old soap opera of a decade ago. Jackson has even claimed that the charges are nothing but a scheme to pick his pockets and to put the final nail in the coffin to his long career. If he wants people to feel sorry for him, it's not going to work. Even many blacks who are publicly more than willing to give Jackson the benefit of the doubt privately blast his seemingly unnatural fascination with boys. And mainstream black leaders have steered a wide berth around him. Leading members of the Congressional Black Caucus Congressional Black Caucus, organization of African-American members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Founded in 1970, it addresses legislative concerns of African Americans and other minority citizens, such as employment, welfare reform, minority business , for instance, openly snubbed Jackson during his whirlwind schmoozing and political fence-mending jaunt to the Capitol earlier this year. More recently, a group of African diplomats in Washington vigorously protested his receiving a humanitarian award for his financial contributions to the AIDS fight in Africa. Jackson's indictment is only the first round in the D.A.'s quest to put him behind bars. There are still endless legal battles ahead. But given the intense emotions that surround him and the hot-button issues involved, it's safe to say his trial will be much more than just another glitter celebrity case. And it's going to take a lot more than the race card to set him free. CAPTION(S): photo, drawing Photo: (color) Singer Michael Jackson has been indicted by a Santa Barbara County grand jury investigating child molestation allegations. Ed Souza/Associated Press Drawing: (color) no caption (Michael Jackson) Knight Ridder Newspapers 
A circus comes to mind.<br><br>No humiliation is too great, no debasement too complete for the mass media. And that's putting it kindly, after reading the avarice in this article. |
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