GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE

Stop Vendetta Against Michael Jackson!

Michael Jackson, the 45-year-old black megastar dubbed “King of Pop” for his stellar musical career, is once again being hounded by vicious state prosecutors and unscrupulous media vultures on yet another witchhunt over alleged “child molestation” charges, to which he entered a “not guilty” plea on January 16. Last November, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon announced an arrest warrant for Michael Jackson, a day after no less than 70 police investigators invaded Jackson’s 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch to conduct a privacy-busting search into his palatial estate. Set up for maximum humiliation, Michael Jackson surrendered himself to police for booking on November 20, and was released after posting an outrageous three million dollar bail, many times more than that set for high-profile murder cases. He was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering alcohol to a child. After Jackson reported on 60 Minutes that he was mistreated during the arrest, the Santa Barbara sheriff threatened further criminal charges against Jackson for daring to even speak out about his treatment.

Since then Jackson’s life has been plunged into chaos; reportedly already mired in debt, even if he wins this case, Jackson stands to lose millions of dollars in legal fees, not to mention what further impact it might have on his life and career. Should he lose, he could face the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars, as each charge carries three to eight years in jail.

This case is a government-sponsored anti-sex witchhunt, targeting a man who is famous for challenging both racial and sexual identities. It showcases the hellhole that is capitalist America, where the government persecutes people for real or imagined sexual adventures—especially if they involve minors—while extolling the virtues of “democracy” and “freedom” by bombing whole countries into submission. The capitalist media, whose main job is to indoctrinate the population with bourgeois values and prejudices such as anti-gay bigotry and racial stereotyping, advance like hungry hyenas on celebrities such as Michael Jackson whenever they dare break the “one man on one woman for life” (as long as they’re “adults”!) ideal. “Deviance,” as can be seen by watching most of the “celebrity” shows available, is punished with harassment, moral reprobation and, whenever possible, state prosecution, to set examples for the masses. And to be a target for state and media harassment, who better than a black man who sounds very feminine, wears makeup, looks whiter than many “pedigreed” whites and openly professes a love for sharing his bed with pubescent, mostly white, boys?

As we said a decade ago when Michael Jackson was facing similar accusations:

“Witchhunts like the one against Michael Jackson are manipulated for reactionary political ends and serve to reinforce the bourgeoisie’s warped and indecent values through fear and intimidation.”

— “Stop the Witchhunt Against Michael Jackson!” WV No. 592, 21 January 1994

These “morality” campaigns are really designed to prop up and glorify the repressive institution of the family, the main source of oppression of women and children under capitalism. They serve as battering rams for social reaction, from anti-gay bigotry to anti-abortion and anti-science campaigns. The state has no business interfering in people’s private lives, much less in what goes on with people’s crotches. Government out of the bedroom!