This weekend, tired of the wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Jackson’s death, which all the news channels were covering with the same seriousness that the protests and deaths in Iran had been given just days before, I turned for relief to my latest Netflix mailer.
And what film, by sheer coincidence, did I have waiting for me? The Woodsman, a 2004 film about a pedophile leaving prison and trying to start a new life without molesting more children.
As the film unfolded, I was appreciating Kevin Bacon’s subtle and courageous performance in the lead role, feeling Kyra Sedgwick’s character as his new love interest wasn’t quite believable, wondering what it was like for this real-life husband and wife to do this film together, when slowly something began to hit me, and by the end it was inescapable: This was a love song to a pedophile.
There are several ways in which The Woodsman slants the deck towards its lead character:
He engages in what seems a basically healthy relationship with an adult woman, which makes him seem more "normal" and sympathetic and enables the audience to relate to him. And it is in a scene with this woman that we find out exactly how he molested young girls – by having them sit in his lap while he stroked their legs and smelled their hair, which is a far less horrifying form of molestation than what actually happens to many children. The fact that we only see him enact this behavior with the adult woman who is already his willing lover significantly dilutes the horror of a grown man forcing these same attentions on an unwilling child.
He’s seen struggling mightily to avoid the temptation to molest kids again, which is fair enough. But then the film goes a wildly improbable step further and turns him into a child defender-vigilante by having him observe another child molester at work, and angrily beat up his fellow perpetrator. The police officer who has been suspiciously monitoring him up to this point acknowledges this beating with a “wink wink, we won’t arrest you, you’re secretly a hero” exchange.
He pursues a girl with intent to molest her, but then deduces that her father is treating her similarly, and stops in his tracks and seems transformed (for the rest of the film) by the simple sight of her teary face during this conversation. Gee, if child molesters were transformed by children’s teary faces, do you think they’d ever molest more than one child? How many of their victims do you guess cry (not to mention scream or protest in other ways) during or after their molestation?
And so too do I find all the public sorrow over Michael Jackson’s death, who experts describe as showing behaviors of a textbook pedophile, with a world class ability to seduce children (often with the cooperation of their parents) because of his extreme wealth and fame, which made possible that ultimate pedophile’s lair, the ironically and tragically named Neverland.
As the news coverage and blogs show, many of his fans ignore or even deny his behavior – they say he was “cleared” of all charges or “proved” not to be a pedophile, neither of which is true. He was found legally "not guilty" in one court case, period, while paying off at least one other victim to the tune of $20 million (what innocent person would do that?). There is ample evidence, including testimony of Jackson's staff, that those were just two of the children who received suspicious attention from him. Jackson himself often provided damning information, as in the notorious Martin Bashir documentary in which he not only admitted but defended his practice of sharing his bed with other people's children (only boys, never girls, despite Jackson's always using the general term "children").
(A well-documented recap of the evidence can be found in the collection of articles Maureen Orth did for Vanity Fair, which are listed and linked here. "The Jackson Jive," which analyzes his interview with Diane Sawyer, and reveals the reaction to that interview from the police who have the actual facts is a good example of how the media has enabled Jackson’s cover-up despite the facts – something that continues in the news about his death, which has largely avoided this elephant in the room. There’s also a fascinating analysis of several of Jackson’s public statements about the molestation accusations by someone who teaches statement analysis to law enforcement. Among other intriguing insights, he points out that Jackson never actually denies molesting children despite many opportunities to do so. Jackson has also at times used what experts on child abuse will tell you is a classic feint, saying “But I love children!” rather than denying the charges. This is actually damning once you know how pedophiles define "loving children." )
There is so much evidence that most people don’t even bother to deny it, but say we should focus on his artistry “instead.” So if someone rapes me, but he’s a good painter, I should focus on his art?
Yes, the man had an abusive childhood. His father was a horror, and I’ve long suspected that he was molested himself – not a rare fate for a cute kid in show business, and the usual history of a child abuser (repeating what happened to them). That people are reduced to, “Yes, but he was abused himself” rationalizations is itself stunning -- and damning.
Literally tens of millions of people in this country were also abused as children, but they haven’t all become child abusers themselves. And those that have still bear responsibility for their actions, both legally and morally. We each choose our response to our circumstances and are responsible for it. There’s no excuse for harming others, especially children. None.
No matter how couched in art his portrayal is, I have no sympathy for the pedophile. I can think only of his victims.
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Douglas Moran
Will Someone Feed The Cat?
Kathy Riordan
Thomas Rogers
Deborah Sosin
Juliet Waters
Salon.com
Comments
But this wasn't so much about the film as it was about Wacko Jacko. I'm with you all the way on that. I was never a fan and have no use for the pedophile. Bye Mike.
I haven't seen "The Woodsman", but it is interesting that it makes the lead character, a convicted child molester, so sympathetic. A very similar thing was done in the movie version of "Little Children". In the movie, that character is portrayed as the victim of the bigoted townspeople, but in the book, he quite the opposite of a victim. (I think we discussed this before elsewhere.)
For me, I guess my mind immediately went to childhood. But, you're right - I was able to have a childhood while the ones he hurt were not.
That Martin Bashir series was so weird. I felt creepy even watching it. I just kept thinking how uncomfortable he looked holding his baby. Almost like it was the first time.
It's been awhile since I've seen The Woodsman but I do remember thinking they were hitting me over the head in trying to make him somehow redeemable.
Great post Silky!
I don't Care if it was Proven that MJ was a pedophile or not. If he were in my family, I might enjoy spending Christmas way back when at Neverland Ranch, eat the turkey, the stuffing, the pies. But my children would have never been alone in any room with him. That's my barometer. Maybe he's innocent, but....
"There is a perception that the vast majority of sex offenders will repeat their crimes. Research studies by the US Dept. of Justice and the Canadian Government have found, however, that sexual offense recidivism rates are much lower than commonly believed, averaging between 14 and 20% over 5-year follow-up periods. Studies that have tracked sex offenders over longer follow-up periods have found that pedophiles who molest boys, and rapists of adult women, were the types of offenders most likely to recidivate at rates of 52% and 39% respectively."
http://www.atsa.com/ppOffenderFacts.html
rated
Cap'n, I just didn't buy that character or maybe it was Kyra's portrayal, although I normally like her. I think it hurt that I know they're married - that kept interfering. But I also forgot something about it that adds to my indictment of that film - she says all her brothers molested her, but that she still loves them AND she continues to love Bacon's character who is also a child molester!!
Jeanette, yes, the Little Children discussion rings a bell and agree with you on that - I haven't read the book, but he is definitely sympathetic in the film.
Lea, I think you're right or close to it. I think that most experts would say at most pedophilia can be controlled, not cured.
Julie, MJ has never held a press conference to discuss the molestation, AFAIK. I think you're thinking of the taped statement he made, which is actually discussed on the Statement Analysis site I linked above (He also provides a transcript of what MJ said). You'll notice that the wording MJ uses is quite careful and lawyerly, a la Bill Clinton. (Side note: Fascinating area on that site in which he analyzes statements made by suspects in many famous cases, including OJ, Scott Petersen, etc)
Livemonster, sadly your experience is all too common. Almost every woman I've ever known has had attempts made to molest her and quite a few were actually molested. I'm guessing more men have than I know, as men are far less likely to talk about it. And once you know the type of behavior, it's easy to identify.
Mary, I think there's too much evidence to think that it's a false accusation. Why would someone pay $20 million against a false accusation that had no evidence behind it? Not to mention the police were ready to prosecute until the victim dropped it, and they don't do that in sex cases unless there's damn good evidence. I highly suggest anyone who doubts to at least read the Orth articles, which present a lot of facts that people seem to either not be aware of or ignore, instead relying on Jackson's own highly misleading public statements.
Conservative, so we're back to the old equating of gayness with pedophilia? I thought we were beyond that. Not to mention that child molesters are pretty much always former victims themselves, which suggests it has nothing to do with genes at all.
Connie, your point brings up one of the classic thought experiments about MJ: Imagine a strange man who isn't famous and isn't MJ, doing what MJ did (such as sleeping with many little boys alone in his bed): What would you think of him? MJ was able to get away with, well, not murder, but something pretty heinous, because of his celebrity.
JLee, thanks!!
No matter how sympathetic a perpetrator is, the damage of the molestation has already been done. It's also likely to be passed on to the next generation.
Having had to deal with this, you can read the archive on my daughters, and seen their pain, I appreciate your posting on this Silk for the purpose of the dialogue.
I wouldn't bother to see the movie, though.
I wanted to make a note that people who treat both abusers and their victims have told me that they distinguish between "molesters" and "pedophiles." Molesters can seem to commit crimes of opportunity, usually with their own children, other child relatives or kids known to them, often in their own homes -- and may be one-time offenders (not recividivists). They usually also have adult sexual relationships.
Pedophiles, by contrast, are compulsive serial offenders who deliberately seek out and victimize children, usually strangers to them, many times over many years. Pedophiles are generally exclusively sexually attracted to children (and thus less often have adult relationships) and they are the ones who seem resistant to either treatment or punishment and who will keep victimizing more children. MJ fits the pedophile profile.
Really I was posing the question of are we or should we except that some behaviors are genetic and if that is true how do we go about punishing it if at all. I know it's a bit off topic, but it's an angle that is rarely talked about.
Steve, I think the MSM has covered it to some degree, which is why I pointed to the Vanity Fair articles (which they have highlighted on their site since his death). But you're right that most of the coverage is going with the "well, he was an odd duck, but let's celebrate his artistry" angle this week. And it's started to really bug me, as you can tell from this post.
that scares me. you guys are writing about a fictional character and making up facts. this is exactly what i wrote my post about, and it got a quarter as many rates.
this sympathy is in your imagination: the post mortem which hunters though, are out in full force.
"According to a national study, within 3 years almost 7 out of 10 released males will find themselves back in prison. The study says this happens due to personal and situation characteristics, including the individual’s social environment of peers, family, community, and state-level policies."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recidivism
I know nothing about what goes on within, to 'trigger'
the urge to be with a child,
or,
any obtuse, unwilling, confused person 'victim' in such abnormal behaviors. pathology.
I do not understand it.
I am ignorant:`'of stuff' ...
When I was doing advocacy work for veterans in the Veterans Administration system, I'd meet all kind of interesting character.
`
I refused to write a PTSD diagnosis for an inmate in prison who raped a real estate agent. I met a man who went to somewhere overseas to have a "cervical vault" constructed. What's a cervical vault? sigh.
I'd prefer helping war victims.
But, I just try to listen and learn.
The male penis gets some sort of surgical procedure done. The penis is inserted inward. After a few phone calls to John Hopkins, in Baltimore, ref:`steroids, facial hair growth, and breast atrophy with the natural age process... I insisted, to the interesting Korean male.... that I am not the one with this sorta expertise. apology.
I did see photos when the sad person was "taking on" Texans and strip dancing. I stood with a chair between us whenever it was possible. There are some behaviors that I'll never be able to condone/agree.
Good article.
I did read a 'clip' about Letterman and Michael Jackson in the magazine:`THE WEEK. - Woopi Goldberg's deadly job, the tumult
in Iran, (in Iran- it's so sad), and research on the great chimps. Chips were laughing the fir hide creatures:`pre-human chimps wearing clothes, pre-historic, and:`
the small clip about Michael Jackson. M.J. was struggling to form a Child's Choir for the upcoming London Tour. He wanted a choir with children ranging from 5 to 13- years young. They were to be mixed raced. A source said the request was a "logistical nightmare" and a "near impossibility."
a digg?
The magazine was a Salon Premium Bonus. P.S. If you have two Salon Premium memberships (bebop-o and GoodCelery!), one is a membership for me, and the other Premium Gold Star Membership was for the farm -
But,
You can't use the Salon Premium anyway? No. It's a minor irritation, but, I admit, just another bewildering *thing. Ignore.
It's jest:`Talk In he Boondocks.
But, who cares when perversity seems to abound:`Wars, bailouts, land/air/earth CEO's foodies degradations etc., on and Nabisco chocolate cookies are recalled for e-coli? Wow! on/out/over. Wild days. Poor fools.
You can bank on it.
i've read the vanity fair piece, the smoking gun pieces, and all the pieces here... most of which take the position you claim is rare. and that troubles me, because there is no evidence he did anything besides act like a nut. it's enough for you to know he "slept" with children. and i grant that's weird, but there is no evidence the man did anything with them, but sleep.
this kind of fantasizing is so disturbing to me that i wrote about it, as i said. yes, i did research the case. i've looked at it for years, trying to see the guilty person you guys keep ranting about.
i read your post a couple times now, and it disturbs me enough to ask you how you are so certain. can you talk about the real numbers i just gave you, with a citation so you can see how they were researched?
our response as a society must focus as much on healing as on protecting, in many cases punishing is nothing more than piling on
Two members of my own immediate family have been abused. I have promised them secrecy, so I can't divulge more. It is COMMON, reprehensible. I don't see increasingly Draconian methods doing anything but increasing the problem.
Saying "they can't help themselves" and "it's out of their control" is really granting permission for VOLITIONAL acts and locking people away in one form or another with no treatment is not going to help matters.
This is a very risky comment; anyone who discusses this issue with an ear to finding a solution risks alienation and ruin. Please note that I am not advocating anything but finding better treatment while remaining in line with our Constitution's Bill of Rights. I know the devastating results of childhood sexual abuse well. Prevention and treatment are desperately needed here, and if we can pull out heads out of the sand to discuss this issue rationally, there is hope. Fear and knee-jerk reactions aren't the answer.
Thanks for raising this issue, Silkstone. Great post. I really love your spirit.
http://floacist.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/gq-article-was-michael-jackson-framed/
And in terms of having no sympathy for the pedophile, only his victims....life gets much more complicated once you realize that the majority of molesters were victims themselves. In fact, once John Bradshaw, The Courage to Heal, etc. made it more accepted, even popular, to break the silence about one's childhood sexual abuse, there have been cases of male sex offenders luring in victims by telling them they understand, or are especially gentle/sensitive/feminist/trustworthy, due to their own molestation.
I do agree that a lot of the harm from such abuse is likely imposed by our own moral righteousness, but abuse is more about control that sex, as with rape. That doesn't change the fact that it is hugely damaging.
First, thank you all for your comments. I know that this subject in general is one people have extremely strong opinions on, and then throw MJ into the mix, and... Well, let's just say that I knew I was posting something combustible here, but I felt like I had to say what's in this post.
Leslie, Roy and others who brought up a point that I also did in my post as well as in my comments -- yes, AFAIK, it's nearly a virtual certainty that a child abuser (of any stripe) will have been abused themselves as a child. Yes, that helps explain it, and it also shows the best prevention: trying to prevent children from being abused.
It's still unclear how to do this the most effectively, but enabling or ignoring child abuse and abusers clearly isn't! That's part of what angers me about situations like this -- burying evidence of or ignoring child abuse of any kind not only hurts the child victim but means a greater likelihood that the victim will go on some day to be a victimizer of other children. It perpetuates a tragic cycle.
So yes, help and treat abusers if they can be helped. But saying it's not their fault or otherwise mitigating their crimes because of that - sorry, it not only isn't fair to their former victims, it only leads to more victims. And it doesn't help the victimizer, either, because it's enabling sick behavior, to use the recovery term. Everyone loses.
As for MJ in particular, my theory is that the people who have trouble facing the evidence about him are largely people who were fans of him when both he and they were younger, and who don't want to look at what he may really be.
I understand this -- I have had facts come out about artists or other famous people that I've admired and it's far harder for me to accept those facts, and change my formerly good opinion of them, than it is when something comes out about an artist that I have no investment in. This is human nature. It's the same reason it's harder for us to believe "bad" things about people we know and like personally (friends, family etc).
I was never a fan of MJ's, but neither did I dislike him. I could see he had a lot of talent but his music just wasn't my cup of tea. I was basically indifferent to him, while noticing his popularity. Then he started all the plastic surgery and I started to view him as an odd, sad person. Then I heard about what his father did and I thought he was a rather tragic victim of child abuse compounded by fame. So he still had my sympathy. Then the abuse charges started coming out and things flipped for me, all the more so as more and more came out.
I think people who say they grew up with him, that his music was part of the soundtrack of their lives, have had a far harder time digesting what's come out. I notice many people have only paid attention to MJ's own public statements, which are naturally self-serving, and choose to ignore the many accounts from reputable sources that have researched this thoroughly. I simply recommend people look into those before they defend him.
Finally, I want to say that I appreciate the people who have commented here and mentioned their own history or personal experience with abuse. Sadly, it still takes courage for people to say that publicly, even though it should not be considered something that goes against them, but only their abusers. Sadly, I think victims are still often held to higher standards than those who abused them.
Neither I nor anyone else said that. In fact, I said the opposite - that millions more people are abused that don't become abusers.
What I and others said is that virtually all child abusers have themselves been abused. IOW, abuse doesn't occur in a vacuum - it comes from a past history of being a victim.
But many victims don't become abusers. Precisely the point that I made - that it's not a foregone conclusion and that everyone is responsible for his or her actions as an adult.
I really would appreciate people reading more carefully before ranting about something...that hasn't been said!
There is no amount of talent that would make up for or justify child molestation. It leaves damage that can never be undone.
...I was never a fan of that person.
What innocent person would do that? Easy: An innocent person that would stand to lose more than $20 million if brought to trial, regardless of whether the likeliest outcome of such a trial was a guilty verdict.
When people are accused of sex crimes against children, there is a presumption of innocence in the courts, but in the media, there is a presumption of guilt. Michael (or more likely his advisors, who included the late Johnny Cochran), knew that, and knew that $20 million dollars was cheap compared to what he would lose in income due to the media circus that such a trial would become.
Like my friend the Cap'n, I've never been a Jackson fan, neither of the five, nor of the one. I've never liked his/their bubble-gum music. If it was on the radio, I changed stations or turned it off.
Being a kid of the 60s and 70s, I suppose, as I said in my post about the absurdity of news coverage about all this, I might be labeled a sacrilegious nut case. My music leaned more towards Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, CCR, Deep Purple, Steppenwolf, Iron Butterfly, Ottis Redding. I was in love with Diana Ross (which now I understand so was MJ. Oh shit, does that make me a pedophile too?) Anyway, he never impressed me much. He was just another weirdo made even stranger by his access to excess.
When the stories started hitting the news about his pedophilia cases, I knew without a doubt he was going to get away with one of the world's most despicable crimes, a crime that never goes away in the mind of the helpless abused.
Every once in awhile, my crystal ball works. It did with him, it did with OJ, with a guy named Kennedy, a television cook who ripped off Wall Street and spent a few months at a country club planning her next venture and many other cases in which social stratification protected the incredibly wealthy.
It's irksome. No it's much more than that; it's infuriating to see notoriety lend itself to additional notoriety wherein the notorious continue to kill, rape America and molest our kids.
Justice just isn’t blind, it’s deaf and dumb as well.
BUT OH HOW SHE CAN SMELL MONEY!
Very well spoken and affluent. I'll be back.
Why am I forgiving him?! I don't know, but I'm glad you raised the question.
Anyway, regarding sexual abuse: yes, perps tend to have a history of abuse. It's a cycle that NEEDS to be broken.
But I also caution against making accusations based only on "your" information. I'm not talking about MJ (or you!)- his case is readily available for anyone who cares to read the legalese.
I find it disturbing how people leap to assumptions about people who have been accused of a crime, or convicted, served time, and released.
I have worked with convicted sex offenders. I was only scared once. This is completely off topic, but I would like to see a better policy for rehabilitation, and less sensationlist drama.
I'm offended by the sex offender registry.
What Michael Jackson did or didn't do is now moot. The Bashir documentary - Bashir is, like, the epitome of a horrible film maker, but he did get access.
Read zumalicious' post on Lupus and the skin/pigment disease he suffered.
I'm not sure what I want from Michael Jackson, now that he's dead.
I guess I forgave him already. Is that wrong?