Blogcritics: Comments on Michael Jackson kidnapped by Muslims?

Comment by Eric Olsen

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 14:52:46 EST

MD, agree 100% with your last comment. I am a big fan and always have been back to hearing the J5 for the first time. He and I are the exact same age and I have always identified to a certain extent with him and been happy for his extraordinary success. I would like nothing better than for none of this to have happened, and you are right that it goes back decades. He is a very damaged person and it makes me very sad.

Comment by Chris

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 14:46:30 EST

Wow . . . I need to archive this meeting of the minds.

Comment by Mac Diva

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 14:44:42 EST

Actually, I think you are right this time, Chris. And, whoever is advising Jackson to try to get 'street cred' is a bumbling idiot. What Jackson needs to do is to seem as normal as possible and fight the case in court, not the media. Sneddon and company are willing to match his attacks blow for blow in the media, so he needs a different strategy. The degeneration makes me wish Jackson had sought mental health counseling decades ago. Think of all the good music we have been and will be deprived of because of his damaged pysche. We lost John Lennon to a murderer, but Michael Jackson has become just as lost to us in a different way.

Comment by Chris

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 14:32:49 EST

Does this flirtation with NOI and now the police brutality claims mean something else? Is Jackson attempting to gain "street cred?" If so, it seems a pretty transparent attempt. I could be wrong, and often am.

Comment by Mac Diva

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 14:28:58 EST

I think giving his detractors anything they can use against him, such as even a falsely described link to NOI, (if that is what is going on) is a rotten strategy for Jackson, too. I believe this proves he has fallen fully apart or isn't listening to his more savvy advisors at all. Ronn, in an email, pointed out that the NOI is believed to have some of the best security guards in the industry. Their operation is said to be super tight. But, though I don't question their competence, Jackson can't afford anything linking him to the bad image the NOI has at this juncture in his life -- not even one of their tasty bean pies.

Comment by Eric Olsen

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 14:17:20 EST

Rather than "moderate," I would say my views are issue-based and vary from somewhat conservative to quite liberal. As far as the site goes: wouldn't it make more sense to call it an "open salon of ideas" or some such crap? I haven't done a statistical analysis, but I find it hard to believe there is a statistically significant disparity between the number of "conservative" posts and "liberal" posts. There are very strong voices here across the spectrum, including yours. I don't think very many people would call this a "rather Right" site - I would say it's a "rather neutral" forum. Regarding Jackson, as I said, I don't know if the Nation of Islam's involvement with Jackson is nefarious or not - just saying IF he is involved with them, it is yet another piss poor strategic move.

Comment by Mac Diva

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 14:04:10 EST

Because you don't question whether the relationship is nefarious, Eric. (And, I am not saying it isn't. I just want to see more evidence.) Perhaps it is my description of BC that is confusing you. I said the site is mainly Right, I know you try to be a moderate. To better understand what I've written here, I recommend reading the long, twisty NYT article in its entirety. The link is 'story' in my entry. The latest happening in this increasingly strange saga is that the network has been accused of paying Jackson for the 60 Minutes interview.

Comment by Eric Olsen

Fri, 2 Jan 2004 13:52:40 EST

I am somewhat confused how my comment regarding the public's perception of Nation of Islam reveals any political slant and I do not claim to have any special knowledge of Jackson's "true" relationship with NOI, but it is Jermaine who has confirmed NOI's involvement with MJ's security and there must be SOME reason why Backerman quit. I also want Jackson - and every other defendant - to get a fair trial, but I also don't want to see him have access to any more children, for theirs AND his sake.