Michael Jackson paid multimillion-dollar settlements to make child-molestation cases go away. Yes, but . . . he was so brilliant a performer, he transcended color lines that had kept most black entertainers from the diverse audiences they deserved.
Although Michael Jackson was acquitted of seducing a young cancer victim, lewd details exposed at trial showed Jackson to be as creepy as a neighborhood perv on a kiddie prowl.
Yes, but . . . can anyone listen to his utterly perfect "Man in the Mirror" without feeling inspired by its urgent call for personal change, for a greater good?
I contacted David Clohessy to stew over the ambivalence I've been feeling about the Gloved One's legacy.
Is it possible, I asked, to appreciate the totality of who Michael Jackson was, when his demons drove him to behave in such a disturbing way with children?
"I feel both sympathy and revulsion" for Jackson, said Clohessy, a childhood victim of molestation and national director of The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "I feel sorry for anyone who came from a family where burning ambition was just drilled into children.
"On the other hand, there's a danger in minimizing the abuse charges. When you watch a 30-minute memorial to Michael Jackson, and they don't even mention the molestation until 22 minutes into it, it tells present sex-abuse victims that abuse isn't that bad.
"When there's all this adulation, what does that tell the kid who's being molested by his charismatic track coach, who tells the kid no one will believe him if he tries to get help?"
Still, Jackson's case seems different to me, which is not to dismiss his sex scandals. His formidable talent and tremendous contributions to pop culture do not trump his vile ways with kids.
Besides, anyone who reads this column regularly knows that I've been a loud, frequent critic of the Philadelphia Archdiocese for its repugnant and soft handling of sex abuse by clergy.
