Alita
2
Por ahora lo pongo en inglés, pero en cuanto pueda hago la traducción:
He'll never moonwalk alone
By Bill Keveney and Cesar G. Soriano, USA TODAY
SANTA MARIA, Calif. — Michael Jackson's fans want to touch him.
Fans from New York, Nevada and Michigan demonstrate on behalf of Michael Jackson outside Neverland Ranch.
By Dan MacMedan, USA Today
They've surrounded his black SUV, and the 45-year-old singer has rolled down his window.
Marta Wozniak can barely speak, still trembling after touching her idol's hand.
She has traveled all the way from Katowice, Poland, to support the pop star, who is facing trial on charges of child molestation.
"I'm sorry. I don't know English anymore," Wozniak says, laughing slightly, her blue eye makeup smeared by joyful tears. "I told him that I loved him, and he said, 'I love you more.' "
That bond partly explains why 1,000 loyal fans would travel from around the world — taking time off from work or even losing jobs — to stand outside court for Jackson's arraignment Friday.
But how do they absorb the child molestation charges filed against him? How do they respond to those who believe the singer could be guilty, especially after settling a lawsuit based on a similar accusation 10 years ago?
Fans interviewed in recent days simply reject the premise that Jackson, who pleaded not guilty, could commit such a heinous act. They offer a range of explanations, such as prosecutorial vendetta, an accuser's greedy mother and media bias. They say a man who has done so much to help children could never hurt one. Jackson, they say, is being persecuted.
With such a strong belief in his innocence, they say they were not troubled by Jackson's impromptu dance on top of the SUV outside the courthouse. Although others may see it as a cavalier response to serious court proceedings, they viewed it as a show of appreciation for fan support.
"I hope that he's happy that we are here. We are supposed to be here," says Aneta Kepka, 26, of Gniezno, Poland.
For Kepka, whose husband accepts her devotion to Jackson, traveling to California meant taking time off from her job as a tour guide. This trip won't affect her employment, but she has lost several jobs as a result of traveling to see Jackson.
Anika Kotecha, 19, a Londoner who attended a candlelight vigil outside Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch last Thursday, explained why she is so dedicated to Jackson:
"He's such a positive influence on my life. If you compare Michael Jackson to a lot of the other stars, you don't see Michael Jackson falling out of a club at 4 in the morning drunk out of his mind. You don't see Michael Jackson videos filled with half-naked women prancing around."
Like the old Jackson Five song I'll Be There, Jackson's fans have always been there for the singer. Maybe it's because Jackson has been there for them as well, courting fans with a personal involvement that is matched by few celebrities.
When Jamie Leigh, 22, of Princeton, N.J., lost friends on 9/11, Jackson called to console her. When Barbara Zimmerman, 54, helped organize a 45th birthday party for Jackson in Los Angeles in August, Jackson showed up.
Of course, Jackson's devotion to his fans, his eagerness to open his home to children, has been a double-edged sword. Charges in the current case reportedly revolve around a then-13-year-old boy who had sleepovers at Neverland.
Fans use words like "family," "love, "humanitarian" and "genius" when they talk about the singer, who remains an object of fascination even as his musical career has faded.
"The love between Michael and the fans is very strong," Marloes Groen, 19, says by e-mail from The Netherlands.
"He's there for us, and we're there for him in times like these."
Ron Sweet, 32, who hosts an online radio show about Jackson, says by phone from Georgia, Vt.: "We stand up for him because for years he didn't stand up for himself. He's a very special person.
"What doesn't get printed is who he truly is: a humanitarian."
Some hard-core supporters even compare Jackson's upcoming trial to the crucifixion of Christ; Jackson is Jesus, and Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon is Pontius Pilate.
"The one simple reason I am attracted to Michael is because he is Christ-like," Trinity Williams, a U.S. Army sergeant stationed in Japan, says by e-mail. "The way he cares for people and the love he has for people can only be God-driven."
Though such statements may shock non-fans, at least one person who knows Jackson well isn't surprised by the fan fervor.
"There's something about Michael that's very fragile and endearing and reaches out to people so that you want to be protective of him," says J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness.
Fans believe Jackson is a victim, and "they as fans feel equally victimized because others don't understand their compassion or empathy for him," Taraborrelli says.
Irving Rein, a communication studies professor at Northwestern University who has written about celebrity fans, calls it the "Elizabeth Taylor syndrome," in which fans bond with a celebrity over his or her personal problems.
"Obviously, these people see something in Jackson about themselves," he says.
Some fans do seem defensive.
"I've got to tell you, it is hard to be a Michael Jackson fan," says Jen Winings, 21, of Cincinnati, who says she met the boy at the center of the child molestation charges when they both stayed at Neverland March 9 and 10. Winings, who spoke by phone from Friday's post-arraignment party at Neverland, says she didn't see any inappropriate behavior.
"Obviously, I think (Jackson's) innocent," Winings says. "They're not going to change my mind, just like I'm not going to change their mind. I can't imagine my life without Michael."
Says Williams: "It takes a strong individual with a heart of steel and raging waters to voice that they are a fan of Michael Jackson. When Michael is attacked, we are attacked. When Michael has to fight, we have to fight."
Although Jackson's Santa Maria following included many racially diverse young adults, other supporters, among them African-Americans, said they wanted to make sure Jackson was treated fairly.
"For the record, I am not a Michael Jackson fan. I am a fan of justice and civil rights," says Najee Ali of Project Islamic HOPE in Los Angeles, who led a protest at the district attorney's office Thursday before traveling to the Santa Maria courthouse.
Malik Shabazz, a New Black Panther Party representative from Washington, D.C., who led chants outside during the arraignment, says Jackson is the "victim of a double standard."
"Racism reeks in this case. I can't see him facing the same situation if he were a white defendant," Shabazz says.
From a legal standpoint, will Jackson's fan support have an impact on his case?
By hosting open houses for fans, as he did Friday after his arraignment, Jackson is acting like someone who is innocent, says Dana Cole, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney.
The Jackson pep rallies, the supportive signs and the tears could influence the people who matter most — the jury pool — positively or negatively.
"On one hand, all the demonstrations may appear orchestrated and therefore manipulative," Cole says. "On the other hand, if potential jurors see he is beloved by a large group of fans, that may blunt the impression that the prosecution is trying to convey of a child molester."
Biographer Taraborrelli — who believes Jackson was innocent in the 1993 case but says it's too early to reach a conclusion about his current guilt or innocence — says the fervent fan following can only help him.
"The jury will all have been exposed to this devotion," he says. "It speaks to Michael's character on a subliminal level: If a person has this kind of devotion and admiration from so many people, there must be a good reason."
Contributing: Bill Keveney reported from Santa Maria, Calif.; César G. Soriano reported from McLean, Va.
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http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-0...kson-fans_x.htm
He'll never moonwalk alone
By Bill Keveney and Cesar G. Soriano, USA TODAY
SANTA MARIA, Calif. — Michael Jackson's fans want to touch him.
Fans from New York, Nevada and Michigan demonstrate on behalf of Michael Jackson outside Neverland Ranch.
By Dan MacMedan, USA Today
They've surrounded his black SUV, and the 45-year-old singer has rolled down his window.
Marta Wozniak can barely speak, still trembling after touching her idol's hand.
She has traveled all the way from Katowice, Poland, to support the pop star, who is facing trial on charges of child molestation.
"I'm sorry. I don't know English anymore," Wozniak says, laughing slightly, her blue eye makeup smeared by joyful tears. "I told him that I loved him, and he said, 'I love you more.' "
That bond partly explains why 1,000 loyal fans would travel from around the world — taking time off from work or even losing jobs — to stand outside court for Jackson's arraignment Friday.
But how do they absorb the child molestation charges filed against him? How do they respond to those who believe the singer could be guilty, especially after settling a lawsuit based on a similar accusation 10 years ago?
Fans interviewed in recent days simply reject the premise that Jackson, who pleaded not guilty, could commit such a heinous act. They offer a range of explanations, such as prosecutorial vendetta, an accuser's greedy mother and media bias. They say a man who has done so much to help children could never hurt one. Jackson, they say, is being persecuted.
With such a strong belief in his innocence, they say they were not troubled by Jackson's impromptu dance on top of the SUV outside the courthouse. Although others may see it as a cavalier response to serious court proceedings, they viewed it as a show of appreciation for fan support.
"I hope that he's happy that we are here. We are supposed to be here," says Aneta Kepka, 26, of Gniezno, Poland.
For Kepka, whose husband accepts her devotion to Jackson, traveling to California meant taking time off from her job as a tour guide. This trip won't affect her employment, but she has lost several jobs as a result of traveling to see Jackson.
Anika Kotecha, 19, a Londoner who attended a candlelight vigil outside Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch last Thursday, explained why she is so dedicated to Jackson:
"He's such a positive influence on my life. If you compare Michael Jackson to a lot of the other stars, you don't see Michael Jackson falling out of a club at 4 in the morning drunk out of his mind. You don't see Michael Jackson videos filled with half-naked women prancing around."
Like the old Jackson Five song I'll Be There, Jackson's fans have always been there for the singer. Maybe it's because Jackson has been there for them as well, courting fans with a personal involvement that is matched by few celebrities.
When Jamie Leigh, 22, of Princeton, N.J., lost friends on 9/11, Jackson called to console her. When Barbara Zimmerman, 54, helped organize a 45th birthday party for Jackson in Los Angeles in August, Jackson showed up.
Of course, Jackson's devotion to his fans, his eagerness to open his home to children, has been a double-edged sword. Charges in the current case reportedly revolve around a then-13-year-old boy who had sleepovers at Neverland.
Fans use words like "family," "love, "humanitarian" and "genius" when they talk about the singer, who remains an object of fascination even as his musical career has faded.
"The love between Michael and the fans is very strong," Marloes Groen, 19, says by e-mail from The Netherlands.
"He's there for us, and we're there for him in times like these."
Ron Sweet, 32, who hosts an online radio show about Jackson, says by phone from Georgia, Vt.: "We stand up for him because for years he didn't stand up for himself. He's a very special person.
"What doesn't get printed is who he truly is: a humanitarian."
Some hard-core supporters even compare Jackson's upcoming trial to the crucifixion of Christ; Jackson is Jesus, and Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon is Pontius Pilate.
"The one simple reason I am attracted to Michael is because he is Christ-like," Trinity Williams, a U.S. Army sergeant stationed in Japan, says by e-mail. "The way he cares for people and the love he has for people can only be God-driven."
Though such statements may shock non-fans, at least one person who knows Jackson well isn't surprised by the fan fervor.
"There's something about Michael that's very fragile and endearing and reaches out to people so that you want to be protective of him," says J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness.
Fans believe Jackson is a victim, and "they as fans feel equally victimized because others don't understand their compassion or empathy for him," Taraborrelli says.
Irving Rein, a communication studies professor at Northwestern University who has written about celebrity fans, calls it the "Elizabeth Taylor syndrome," in which fans bond with a celebrity over his or her personal problems.
"Obviously, these people see something in Jackson about themselves," he says.
Some fans do seem defensive.
"I've got to tell you, it is hard to be a Michael Jackson fan," says Jen Winings, 21, of Cincinnati, who says she met the boy at the center of the child molestation charges when they both stayed at Neverland March 9 and 10. Winings, who spoke by phone from Friday's post-arraignment party at Neverland, says she didn't see any inappropriate behavior.
"Obviously, I think (Jackson's) innocent," Winings says. "They're not going to change my mind, just like I'm not going to change their mind. I can't imagine my life without Michael."
Says Williams: "It takes a strong individual with a heart of steel and raging waters to voice that they are a fan of Michael Jackson. When Michael is attacked, we are attacked. When Michael has to fight, we have to fight."
Although Jackson's Santa Maria following included many racially diverse young adults, other supporters, among them African-Americans, said they wanted to make sure Jackson was treated fairly.
"For the record, I am not a Michael Jackson fan. I am a fan of justice and civil rights," says Najee Ali of Project Islamic HOPE in Los Angeles, who led a protest at the district attorney's office Thursday before traveling to the Santa Maria courthouse.
Malik Shabazz, a New Black Panther Party representative from Washington, D.C., who led chants outside during the arraignment, says Jackson is the "victim of a double standard."
"Racism reeks in this case. I can't see him facing the same situation if he were a white defendant," Shabazz says.
From a legal standpoint, will Jackson's fan support have an impact on his case?
By hosting open houses for fans, as he did Friday after his arraignment, Jackson is acting like someone who is innocent, says Dana Cole, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney.
The Jackson pep rallies, the supportive signs and the tears could influence the people who matter most — the jury pool — positively or negatively.
"On one hand, all the demonstrations may appear orchestrated and therefore manipulative," Cole says. "On the other hand, if potential jurors see he is beloved by a large group of fans, that may blunt the impression that the prosecution is trying to convey of a child molester."
Biographer Taraborrelli — who believes Jackson was innocent in the 1993 case but says it's too early to reach a conclusion about his current guilt or innocence — says the fervent fan following can only help him.
"The jury will all have been exposed to this devotion," he says. "It speaks to Michael's character on a subliminal level: If a person has this kind of devotion and admiration from so many people, there must be a good reason."
Contributing: Bill Keveney reported from Santa Maria, Calif.; César G. Soriano reported from McLean, Va.
USATODAY.com partners: USA Weekend Sports Weekly Education Space.com
Home News Money Sports Life Tech Weather Travel Job Center
Resources: Mobile News Site Map FAQ Feedback
Email News Jobs with Us Terms of service Privacy Policy Media Kit Press Room
Add USATODAY.com headlines to your Web site
© Copyright 2004 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-0...kson-fans_x.htm
