(With Apologies) Michael Jackson

Trust me, I had no great desire to write about this but...

I'm someone who has tremendous respect for Jeralyn Merritt, a defense attorney who has taken up the legal gauntlet for many people who would not have had adequate representation otherwise, including Tim McVeigh (feel how you want to about Tim McVeigh - OK City was an atrocity although I think perhaps we might be worrying that this Iraq War will bring us more McVeighs; he deserved representation as everyone does and Jeralyn was one of his lawyers).

But tonight - well, still love Jeralyn but I feel like Michael does't quite "Merritt" the sympathy. Jeralyn posted on her blog, TalkLeft, that it was unfair that the judge in the Jackson case was not interrupting the trial

Michael had his third, fourth, fifth, or 17th emotional crisis of this trial today, arriving in court late again, with a doctor in tow, crying, shaking, men on either side of him holding his arms and/or hands. He no sooner takes his seat than he gets upset and gets up to leave; so the trial goes on hold while lawyers and the doctor go into chambers. Michael has fallen and got hurt, we hear. Well, he fell less than two weeks ago, too. He seems to fall a great deal. Then there was his great flu with "a fever of 96.9" that stopped the trial for a week because he had to be hospitalized (only he slipped out of the hospital a day later).

Now, I actually do feel a little sorry for Michael. I don't think the story put up by this kid and his family is true (my opinion). But Michael insisted on flaunting his strange fondness for "the beauty of sharing your bed with a child" AFTER he paid off the first kid who he probably didn't molest either. He put the world on notice then that he was vulnerable and when tested, would pay. Probably not wise. However, I do appreciate that he may have felt it was required to pay off the first kid to keep his career. But his odd behavior pretty much derailed that career.

Michael is a tender creature. He's definitely not.. uh.. quite the same as everyone else. I appreciate that you can't cookie cutter everybody and every situation. Hell, I'll even go on record as saying California DA Tom Snedden should be prosecuting ANY PARENT WHO LETS THEIR KIDS GO to Michael Jackson's house.

But, Jeralyn, Michael made his bed, he let children lie in it, and now... well, the California judicial system and those jurors really don't deserve to have the process grind to a halt every time Michael can't cope. Michael can't cope a lot. This trial would never go forward. And there are far more important trials than Michael's. Many innocent people are probably being held in jails awaiting trial to try to prove their innocence, but Michael - and the nitwits who made this a 6 month trial - are making them wait.

The rest of us - those without celebrity - would have to sit there and go through it. Michael should, too. If this week has taught us nothing, it should be that celebrity causes and celebrity solutions are inherently unfair.