Smooth Criminal

Michael Jackson leaving courthouse with unidentified body double.

I've gotta admit, I really thought Mike was going down this time. The behavior we've heard about him and the kids and families is just so outrageous. Also, I felt his fame had diminished to a point where it would no longer insulate him from the public desire to cut down a man who is no longer taken seriously, if he ever was. I hate to bring up the O.J. case, which has long since been overanalyzed and used as an allegory for seemingly all of our social ills, but there is one similarity which shines through. The primary cop responsible for much of the important evidence in the Simpson case was a racist, plain and simple, who had the opportunity to take down a famous Black ex-athlete and (for what it's worth) who was with a White woman. Couldn't you imagine the same type of person salivating over the chance to take down, say...Charles Barkley? The racist cop angle just couldn't be ignored...although O.J. did it. Same with Michael Jackson's (latest) case. Sure, there are Michael's admissions of incomprehensibly strange behavior and a less-than-sparkling image, but it just so happens that the families accusing Michael each time were total grifters and that can't be ignored. It could be that Michael was preying on the families, but for sure they were preying on him, too, and it raises just enough doubt that I think a jury could come to the conclusion that they did without having been starstruck or otherwise influenced.

In other news, The Closer was mighty entertaining. It's tough to beat the whole transgender lesbian plot twist.