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The Trial of Michael Jackson By Ahiaba Gideon
Michael Jackson. King of Pop. Wacko Jacko. These, and many more, refer to the one and only weird/enigmatic and highly gifted forty-six-year old Afro American singer/entertainer who has held, for four decades now, the whole world spellbound by the sheer magic of his dancing steps/general body movement and the ever captivating lyrics/danceable rhythm of his songs.
Michael Jackson on stage, any time anywhere, is an infectious entertainer. He is, undoubtedly, the most popular human being on the face of planet earth today. If you doubt this, ask anybody - whether boy or girl, man or woman, old or young, black or white – from any part of the world if the name “Michael Jackson” rings a bell - and the instant answer would be a loud “yes”. The fact that Michael Jackson has, over the years – even from childhood – succeeded in bringing immeasurable joy, laughter and entertainment to every house hold can never be questioned. He has been able to utilize his rare natural gift to the fullest. This maximum attainment of success in the field of musical entertainment has equally brought with it tremendous wealth, glory, fame, jealousy, envy and popularity. All these portray one side of Michael Jackson, the good or positive side.
However, there is another side of Michael Jackson which has always been there and is increasingly becoming more visible courtesy of the ongoing trial. This is his bad or negative side. It must be stated here that we, as human beings, all have our positive and negative sides. The things that are regarded or viewed as “positive” or “negative” vary from one society to another, from one individual to another. Such factors as religion, laws, beliefs, cultures/traditions, mores etc have all acted together, over time, to define or shape what the entire human society has eventually come to agree as good or bad, positive or negative. The question as to which side of these two great divides a particular society places any individual rests, to a larger degree, on that individual – the way and manner he or she conducts him or her self or lives his or her life. If one strives to abide by the tenets of a particular religion or toe the line of what a particular society has come to agree to be positive, that one comes out normally as good or positive before that society and vice versa. Other factors such as the ability of an individual to cover or hide his negative indulgences or his deviations from societal norms/tenets of his religion and to present him or her self before the society as clean or unblemished, the evil designs of wicked forces or enemies who would want to plot the downfall of an other wise good or positive person by weaving untrue stories around such a person and finally, wealth/position or power induced and praise singing actions of benefactors etc can all go along way in pushing a person to either side of these two great divides.
Today, the fame, glory, wealth and popularity of Michael Jackson are all on the verge of ruination through one or a combination of the above factors as he is standing trial over a serious allegation of child sexual molestation brought against him by a cancer- patient child –friend who is strongly backed by parents with a questionable background and an untidy history extorting money from celebrities. This god of entertainment/idol of many homes seems to be in big trouble unless he is able to come out of this great trial totally unscathed. The questions now are: Is Michael Jackson innocent or guilty of these allegations? Is he being set up by wicked/evil forces as he is claiming? Or has he actually been indulging in these acts and has been covering them up all along as being claimed by the prosecution? Whatever be the case, the whole truth will, sooner or later, come out either through this trial or through other means.
It must be stated here however that the following factors have played, are playing and will play a major role in the eventual determination of Michael Jackson’s fate. These are:
§ The fact that there were similar allegations against him in the past which he settled out of court by offering large sums of money. § Michael Jackson’s inability to grow up into real adulthood as manifested always through his actions or behaviors. He has not been able to break away from childhood to adulthood all along thereby pushing him to surround himself with children and childish images or things all the time. § His identity crisis or inferiority complex which has pushed him into expressing regrets for being born black and his physically trying to alter this by changing his color thereby destroying his skin pigmentation in the process (though he has denied this severally and has attributed his present white pigmentation to a rare disease condition). § His early loss of privacy to fame and stardom leading to massive invasion by both the print/electronic media dated to as far back as when he was just about 5 years old. § The pull-down syndrome by the white supremacist press/security apparatus which is usually fuelled by racism, envy and jealousy against popular/rising black stars – examples in history are: martin Luther King, O J Simpson etc. § Finally, and linked to the next point above, the questionable and dishonorable background of the accuser and his parents and the role of the Police in framing these allegations.
Which ever way the outcome of the trial goes, I feel strongly that the positive side of Michael Jackson far outweighs his negative or bad side. The judge and the jury must strive to live above racial sentiments and be seen to be fair and just in this trial. The Western media should refrain from giving biased coverage in this case. After all, Michael Jackson did not commit murder or manslaughter. Come to think of it, in a morally bankrupt and totally debased society such as that of America or the entire Western world where homosexuality, lesbianism, nudity and murder of different shades and through different weird means have become the order of the day, a society where the Church and many State governments have allowed or are allowing gay or same sex marriages, a society filled with so many unprintable immoral acts, would it not amount to a mere circus show or sheer mockery to single out an individual and make him wear the mask of a hoodoo or paint him as a symbol of immorality? Indeed, it is the entire American or Western society that should be tried for its tolerance/export of evil acts and immorality around the globe. The world still needs Michael Jackson and the power of his entertainment. The few bad eggs of the white world should not use this trial of another black star to lubricate their troubled/diseased, racially bigoted, minds.
Finally, my candid advice to Michael Jackson at this moment is as follows:
§ He should try and break away from childhood and grow into adulthood by doing away with childish things. He should get married formally and settle down to a full family life. § He should draw closer to God by submitting his life fully to Him in all things. § He should identify with his roots. You were born black and you should be proud of that.
Sincerely,
Gideon Ahiaba – WHO, Yaba, Lagos.
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