July 7, 2009
Hey, Jacksons: Somebody Should Be Suing Peter King
So, the Alaskan Talibunny wants to sue Shannyn Moore for proffering speculation (which Moore has always presented as rumors, which Palin’s lawyer says Moore presented as fact), while nobody is suing Pete King (R-NY-3), who is claiming as fact that Michael Jackson molested children.
Never mind whether the King of Pop ever did or not; the fact is that he was never convicted of any such crime. (Actually, I’m beginning to believe the molestation accusations were simple extortion. Call me naive, but not until you’ve read this and this. There’s no denying the guy was a freak — but I’m not so sure anymore he was a pedophile, at least in the modern sense of the word.)
Simply put, you can’t run around claiming somebody’s a child molester, or a killer, or anything else without proof, no matter how much you believe it.
Why is this such a big deal to me? Because I’m extremely careful to fact-check, always, but particularly when I’m working on Conservative Babylon. Even if I know Mr. X did indeed rape 25 women, but was only convicted for 24, I cannot and will not say he raped 25. You just don’t do it. Unless you’re stupid or reckless.
Which brings us to Pete King’s rant, which he quickly turned from complaining about too much media coverage of Michael Jackson to a wholesale attack on Jackson himself. He began his rant on YouTube, and continued it in an interview with WCBS-TV:
Rep. King Continues Jackson Rant To CBS 2 HD Over the weekend, Long Island Congressman Peter King posted what is often called “a rant” on YouTube — sounding off. …
On the video, King launches into scathing criticism of Jackson.
“For the last, I don’t know how long now, this low-life Michael Jackson, his name, his face, his picture, is all over the newspapers, television, radio. That’s all we hear about is Michael Jackson. Let’s knock out this psycho-babble. This guy was a pervert, a child molestor, he was a pedophile, and to be giving this much coverage to him day in and day out, what’s it say about us a country?” King says on the video. …
“I just thought, this has gone over the top. It was an orgy of glorification,” King told CBS 2 HD on Monday. …
King also says “there was nothing good about this guy” even though Jackson “may have been a good singer” and “did some dancing.”
On Monday he carried the rant further:
“Yes, he did violate young boys. He did put them in terribly inappropriate positions. And that’s a terrible signal to be sending out to society — that we’re somehow condoning that behavior. And you are condoning it when you give him the type of — when we give him the type of regal coverage! And millions of people fighting to get to this mega-memorial! I mean, this is — this is wrong!” …
More at the link.
You know, slander is bad enough, but slandering a dead man who can no longer defend himself is utterly despicable.
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Filed Under: Celebrities, Hate Speech, New York, Republicans
