M a y    2 0 0 5 Jazz radio host Yugen Rashad's topics, opinions and insights tend to be controversial, entertaining, and to the point... so caveat emptor! - ed MICHEAL JACKSON A Thriller, or just a Bad Boy? by Yugen Rashad The world wants to know. Is Michael Jackson guilty of child molestation? As his court trial winds down to the final phases soon the jury will deliver its verdict. But let’s look back before considering if Jackson will be able to restore, or recreate, the luster on a seriously tarnished image. Remember when he had that incredible run of hits: Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad? For a while the public’s insatiable appetite for tidbits about him were only matched by his fight to maintain his privacy. Less of Michael meant more speculation. The Jackson Family didn‘t escape the scrutiny. What is it like growing up a Jackson? His life became fodder for tabloids and television. Folks wanted any morsel about the life of Michael. The more he tried to appease his public the more scrutiny came. Till finally a crack was discovered in Jackson’ armor: Never land, a multi-million dollar amusement park he had build where children could come and play inside an enormous dream world filled with animals, games, and Jackson. His kindness was on full display to the world. His music more then ever revealed his abiding love for children of the world. And it was here the dogged efforts of a unrelenting horde of press and paparazzi gained backstage access to his private world. MJ became a larger target. For a while it seemed the honeymoon would last forever. Parents left their children with MJ, the richest baby sister in the world. Many of his youthful guest slept over. Frolicked on the compound. Had the time of their lives. Everything seemed peachy until certain events that would slow the momentum. Marriage, and even children, sold the idea that Jackson was human after all. Now a parent, too. The pressures of the music industry flared even as he climbed trees with children on his compound. And his health became an issue: freak accident while making a soda pop commercial that required scalp surgery for burns; the widely documented plastic surgery, and skin lightening which Jackson maintains is a health issue. This did wonders for media coverage. Now the public could get a daily dose of Michael Jackson news. Entertainment Tonight, the Oprah interview, his talk with numerous media, the now infamous British journalist chat, and other television magazine variety programs that sensationalized every aspect of his life. Then came the charges of in appropriate behavior towards children. Embroiled in allegation and innuendo, Michael struggled without success to clear his name. His taped plea to the public. His statements to Oprah. The interview with a British journalist. His privacy now eroded, Jackson sought to set the record straight. All this would deflect from the whole purpose people love him - his artistry. His brilliance as an entertainer had been virtually forgotten. Gone was the Moonwalk, the white socks. Gone, the jagged body gyrations and spinning shoes that mesmerized. The wispy hand that fingered painted etchings suspended in mid-air. The guttural howl that victory had been won. And now that a jury will soon deliberate MJ’s fate, it’s important to inventory how we got to this moment of great anticipation, albeit for the wrong reasons, regarding Michael Jackson. The hard part is if a jury finds him guilty, a man that brought event and excitement to the world would be gravely, and further disfigured. If found innocent, exoneration is more then likely not possible. And so we can only imagine how great this man would be remember had his life been cut short. Elvis, Dean, Prinze, are worshipped as legends. That MJ has lived past his greatest achievements in entertainment has some speculating he’s finished. Well, if one district attorney has his way, Jackson will indeed be finished. This even though the state’s case against Michael appears a bit shaky. Fans hope he’s not guilty of the charges. Parents need for MJ to be found not guilty. And MJ needs to be able to return to the stage to do what he was born to do. Show us how aliens walk on the moon.