Anger begins and ends with ourselves: We may feel that we are mad at something or someone but really we are the direct objects of our rage.

So true, and how sad it is that some can't contain it and allow their anger to adversely affect others.  I mean,  how ridiculous, that two old farts would get into a fight on a moving bus over the life/death of Michael Jackson. The fact that one pulled a knife meant there was a potential for other passengers, innocents to be injured.... and that, to me, is human stupidity in the extreme.

I dunno!  Sometimes it seems the more civilized we get the more uncivilized we become.

The melting pot is boiling over.

People who have been injured by rapists, as adults or children, have justifiably strong feelings about this issue.  And so do people, like myself, who have had to help and counsel those victims through decades of PTSD trauma.

So while it is true that only we can control (and therefore "end") our own anger, to claim that it "begins with ourselves" neglects the facts about the now-well-understood cycles of physical and sexual abuse.

Excalpius....When one realizes he/she was not 'guilty', and not 'deserving' of violence, then he/she can let go of the anger, directed towards ones self which presents as comorbid Depression/Anxiety. When one comes to forgive violence done to ones self when in a position of relative helplessness, one can proceed with life and find joy.

The crime is horrendous...not the issue. No argument. The anger/rage only hurts you. That is the issue. The molester? Let the courts take care of him.

@starkers:  Indeed.

"Let the courts take care of him."

Normally, I would agree with you 100%, but we've seen a number of cases over the years where fame has blindsided justice...Mr. Jackson being one of them.

"When one comes to forgive violence done to ones self when in a position of relative helplessness, one can proceed with life and find joy."

For some traumas, this is indeed possible.  However, science has shown that some PTSD and similar severe situations of systemic abuse actually can cause lasting physical damage to the brain.  

This is why, in some severe cases, the cycle of abuse lasts for generations.  Only external intervention can bring peace, and not necessarily for the present victim, but only for their children and loved ones.

IMHO, Mr. Jackson's money and fame acted as a terrible wall.  While it protected him from legal punishments for his darkest actions, it also walled him off from the kind of psychological help he clearly needed for decades.   If he had not been so rich and famous, his actions might have gotten treatment a very long time ago.  That could have saved himself, and many others, from a great deal of pain.

It's also why this nation was founded on the principle that no man is above the law, whether by power, celebrity, or wealth.

I understand if I get flamed and I don't blame you but he was a child in a man's body. One could see it as playing DR more than molestation.

In agreement with Vamp...I deleted what I posted.

RIP Michael!

i wish people would just "respect" the posters wishes and what she wanted this post to be about......

Thank you kitty

seems to me everyone has an opinion on whether or not MJ was guilty. Well unless you were actually there and saw him do the things he was accused off then those people can keep their opinions to themselves. He was found not guilty. He MAY have paid off the families or he MAY not have.Dont forget that a jury of 12 people heard all the testimony and then came to a not guilty decision and i think they had access to far more facts than we heard in the so called free press (most of which was sensationalized in order to sell copy). but as we were not privy to any "meetings" MJ may have had with the families of the alleged affected boys then i suggest we concentrate on the fact that MJ was one of the most important musicians of our time and let the man rest in peace. Say a prayer for his children.

*Peace to all.