The long-awaited Michael Jackson trial begins today, 31 January 2005.  He is undoubtedly a very talented singer, dancer and songwriter who deserves his international fame and status.  Regarding his relationship with children, I have always been of the view that he genuinely cares about children and would never do anything to harm them.

Videos of his young accuser in the famous Martin Bashir documentary seemed to confirm that the relationship with Jackson was one of tender care.  Soon after the documentary was aired, however, serious accusations were made: Michael Jackson apparently encouraged the youngster to drink alcohol on a regular basis and, more seriously, sexually abused the boy.  Is it possible that these accusations may be true?

There are two possible extreme scenarios.  Scenario one is that the testimony is entirely fabricated, the youngster forced to make up the allegations by his parents in order to extract money from Michael Jackson.  One could imagine that the family were highly embarrassed to see their son holding hands with Michael Jackson in a documentary where the journalist suggested possible wrongdoing by Jackson.  One could imagine how they might choose to pretend that their son was a victim rather than a friend, to save their embarrassment.  The fact that the boy continued to visit the Neverland ranch on his own with the full support of his parents after the alleged abuses took place seems to confirm this scenario.  And of course, there is documented evidence of other parents trying to get money out of Michael Jackson in the past.

Scenario two, however, is just as possible.  In this scenario, Michael Jackson's power has convinced him that he can get away with anything.  He has a powerful lust for boys that he can no longer control, and he now considers sexual abuse of boys to be normal and acceptable.  Whatever public statements he makes about his care for young people, in practice he is simply a child abuser.  If indeed there are multiple locks and alarms on his bedroom door, this would seem to confirm that he has plenty to hide.  One could imagine how a youngster could be overwhelmed by being able to say that Michael Jackson is his best friend, so there are plenty of reasons why the youngster in this case might have delayed reporting the abuse.  Such a scenario would seem to confirm the idea that power can corrupt any human being.

The reality is probably somewhere between the two, but I will be watching the trial closely as it proceeds.  I sincerely hope that he is guilty of nothing more than naivety, but if it does turn out that he abused this boy my faith in human nature will have taken a severe knock.