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- Geraldine Hughes -

can and crossing long established barriers of color. I am not
saying that race had anything to do with this case- greed is a
demon all by itself. However, why were many facts pointing
to his innocence brushed aside and the voice of one child al-
lowed to completely crucify the character of a mega-star who
had lived an impeccable life-style all his life?
Mega-stars of Michael Jackson's status traditionally have
lived shady life-styles of drugs, alcohol, multi-marriages and
divorces. Michael Jackson's life-style began to take on some of
these characteristics only after enduring the pain and humilia-
tion of the child molestation allegation. Somehow the hype
behind the allegations caused people to forget who he really
was and the life-style that he had demonstrated throughout
his entire life. Why was it that the public suddenly forgot the
Michael Jackson that supported thousands of charities through-
out the years, helped many children achieve their goals of edu-
cation, helped schools financially and supported many foun-
dations? Why did the public forget that Michael Jackson had
spent his entire adult life supporting and helping children, not
hurting them?
The Bible says that, "you shall know a tree by the fruit that
it bears." Why did we forget the Michael Jackson that we have
known since his early entertainment years of blessing millions
of people with his incredible talent and life? These are the deeds
that go to the heart of who Michael Jackson is. His only acts
toward children were to support them, give them love, nur-
ture them, and show them kindness-giving them a sense of
hope, pride, opportunity, love and attention. It is a shame that
the every thing he loved the most was used as a weapon against
him.
Unfortunately, humanitarian stories of people helping one
another seldom make the headlines. We live in a society that
loves to hear the bad news and feeds on vicious gossip. Hurt
and pain dominate the news media and tabloid magazines.
Even notorious criminals are elevated to the place of stardom.
Although we live in a society where the justice system says
that we are, "innocent until proven guilty," too much nega-

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