What Don’t Michael Jackson and OJ Simpson Have in Common

Kleinheider asks us these questions:

Now, of course, I understand the concept of innocent until proven guilty. I do. But I thought that we all had come to the conclusion that Jacko was about as innocent of child molestation as O.J. was of killing Nicole.

Was I wrong?

Because if O.J. dies and I have to watch film of him playing football and people honoring and mourning his death, I’ll lose it. I’m gonna need a heads up on that one, so let me know. . .

What is the difference between O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson? Because I don’t see one. How can the charges of child molestation be the sidebar to a story about a gifted singer, dancer, marketer and producer?

One obvious difference is that hundreds of millions of people loved Michael Jackson and millions of those people thought, and still believe he was wrongly accused, likely set up for extortion. I would not argue that OJ Simpson enjoyed anywhere near that kind of adoration. Like Larry King said about Michael, this one someone who claimed to know him personally, “It was hard to like Michael and it was hard not to.”

But, OJ Simpson was accused of a crime with baggage that was in our ugly past punished publicly with mob justice. Simpson’s alleged violations of the social trust were something that some bragged about dealing with. Jackson’s alleged crime is something that becomes an ugly secret.

That said, it is ridiculous to expect people to behave about their beloved superstar in anyway other than they have, given that Jackson could be considered to have passed on a long time ago, the Jackson they loved seemed to no longer exist. So of course they’re looking back on halcyon days.

There will be plenty of time to get at the root of the crimes Jackson was accused of. I’m sure there are people dying to get on record now that he’s dead. But to wonder aloud why this is not the lede is grandstanding.