After a stressful few weeks (which has resulted in a lack of posts around here), I snuck away to Santa Barbara with my gal to recharge my batteries with some much-needed rest. On Monday afternoon, as we sat in a nice Italian restaurant on State street and I ate a delicious Red Snapper filet that was lightly breaded and covered in a delicious lemon / white wine sauce, I noticed that the TV over the bar was tuned to a news station that was intensely following a car on the highway.

“Holy shit,” I thought, “Michael Jackson’s on the run.”

Not quite. That would be newsworthy. Instead it was just the dethroned king of pop slowly driving to court for the final time. You know the rest of the story. Not guilty on all counts, blah, blah, blah…nd I’m sure you’ve already read/heard more about this goddamn case than you ever wanted to, so indulge me for a minute while I write about this horrible story :

First of all, fuck the press. Not just for their obsession over another celebrity trial and ignoring more newsworthy topics, but for once again exploiting our racial differences by doing the “here’s how black / white people are reacting” bullshit. I am so fucking tired of the media trying to drive a wedge between us by showing a bunch of black people celebrating followed by a bunch of white people shaking their heads in shame as if to say “how could they support a monster like that?”. There’s an obvious cultural difference here that should be examined, but if you’re not going to examine why the black community (or at least, the members of the community they put on TV) would celebrate the acquittal of an entertainer that the media has already presumed guilty, then you’re just stirring up racial tension to fill a few minutes of airtime. Provide some context assholes.

I actually know somebody who’s got personal experience with MJ and the people who accused him of molestation ten years ago. Back when MJ was hanging out with his previous alleged victim, my acquaintance would shut down her store so that MJ could shop without being bothered by the public. When this happened, the accuser’s mother would bark orders at MJ, screaming obscenities at him, and demand that he buy presents for her son. The person I know insists that Mj is one of the sweetest people she’s ever met and that there’s no way he would have done anything to the boy in question. I’m not so sure I buy that (after all, what kind of grown man shares a bed with children?), but it’s worth pointing out yet again that there’s bad guys on all sides in this one.

OJ’s lawyer won the “obnoxious reference” contest with this embarrasingly bad post-acquittal analysis :

BLITZER: You personally, though, are pretty surprised, Bob Shapiro, you thought this was perhaps going to go the other way.

SHAPIRO: I certainly did. And I didn’t think Michael would be singing “Beat It.” Now he will be doing the moonwalk.

If Jackson’s thinking about a comeback, perhaps he can hook up with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s people. 2006 could be quite a “Thriller” of a year for a “Smooth Criminal” like Senator Jacko.

The jury’s job wasn’t to decide whether or not MJ was a child molester. They were supposed to examine ten claims and determine whether or not the prosecution has made the case. Considering that this case was soaked in reasonable doubt, the decision was obviously valid. I personally think he’s a sexual predator who deserves to be in jail, but I’m also glad that we live in a country that puts the burden on proof on the state. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s the best one we’ve got.

Ugghhh…that’s it. May we never have to hear about this sordid garbage again.