Cable TV went berserk. The predictions were mostly wrong and the
analysis was idiotic. One of O.J. Simpson's attorneys, Robert
Shapiro, predicted on CNN that the jury would convict Jackson. Legal
analyst Wendy Murphy confidently prophesied to Fox's Shepard Smith,
"I think there is no question we will see convictions here."
One verdict is indisputable: Michael Jackson is a very sick man
who needs help. Those who see Jackson as a cash cow are not about to
get it for him. They will continue to use him for their own purposes
until his fame, which has morphed into infamy, is drained of its
remaining monetary value. They will then discard him like a soft
drink can, leaving him to consume and to be consumed by his own
"Jesus juice."
What was missing in virtually all of the commentary and analysis
of the verdict was how this case reflects America's moral climate.
The narcissistic generation has come full circle, from indulging
children to abusing them; from setting standards to removing all
taboos. Nothing is wrong any longer, because nothing is right.
In such an environment, who is to say that anyone's behavior
should be judged? In the 1980s, some people rejected the notion of
universal standards, asking, "Who are you to impose your morality on
me?" The question became moot as the immoral have now imposed their
immorality on the rest of us.
This isn't the end for Michael Jackson. He is not free. He
remains a prisoner, not only of the sycophants and dysfunctional
family members who surround him, but of his inner demons.
Michael Jackson exhibits every symptom of pedophilia. One silly
cable TV analyst said before the verdict that whatever happens,
Jackson must change his behavior. It has been easier for Jackson to
change the color of his skin than it will be to alter his
behavior.
Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited," has
written on the "roots of pedophilia" for the Psychology Resource
Center online. It reads like a profile of Michael Jackson.
Vaknin writes that for a pedophile, "Sex with children is a
reenactment of a painful past . children are the reification of
innocence, genuineness, trust and faithfulness - qualities that the
pedophile wishes to nostalgically recapture."
Is this not a description of Neverland Ranch with its private zoo
and toys - stuffed and living? "Through his victim," writes Vaknin,
"the pedophile gains access to his suppressed and thwarted emotions.
It is a fantasy-like second chance to reenact his childhood."
The pedophile, says Vaknin, shares a psychosis with his victim.
He is "the guru at the center of a cult." He regards sex with
children as an "ego-booster," which guarantees companionship.
Most sexual offenders do not stop until someone stops them. There
is no reason to believe that Michael Jackson, should he in fact be a
sex offender, will be an exception.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates
that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys are sexually assaulted before
becoming adults. Only 35 percent of those child sexual assaults are
reported to authorities, so there is more of this occurring than has
met the media eye.
Social sanctions and cultural norms once argued against sexual
license, especially with children. But what happens to a society in
which sanctioning anything becomes a supposed greater "evil" than
what was once almost universally recognized as evil, itself?
Our tolerance for everything has produced an unwillingness to
restrict anything. A jury (how could it be of his "peers," for who
could be said to be a peer of Michael Jackson?) found Jackson
innocent of the charges against him.
But our culture is not innocent. We produced Michael Jackson,
and, like the fictional "Frankenstein" monster, he walks among us as
a living judgment to our promiscuous permissiveness.
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