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Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor:
Ian Tobias Montry
Editorial Editor:
Travis Willse
Monday, November 24,2003
EDITORIAL
Media circus
mayjeopardize
Jackson's right
to have fair trial
Battle lines have been drawn yet again in what is sure
to be the (newest) trial of the century, set to begin on
your television screens with around-the-clock news cov
erage starting in January. OK, so maybe the media
blitzkrieg has begun, but any facts actually relevant to
the case will most likely go unspoken for the next
month, after which he's slated to be formally charged.
That's right, Michael Jackson (allegedly) did it again.
This time: a young male cancer survivor, the intoxicat
ing effects of wine and the infamous mystique of the
Neverland ranch — allegedly. Oh, and the love letters.
On the eve of Jackson turning himself in for the lat
est (alleged) molestation charges, CNN spent hours re
playing a clip of Jackson exiting his car and waving at
nobody in particular. Another clip of what seemed to be
Jackson's vehicle driving down the highway was also a
popular shot. The OJ-like car scene — save the drama of
the original 40-mile-per-hour chase, of course — cou
pled with Jackson's brother Jermaine spouting about the
modern-day "lynching" of Michael by society or the me
dia or whomever, made for a pleasant afternoon of me
dia insanity (somewhere, Kobe Bryant is thanking his
lucky stars).
The only aspect missing from the media-deemed
open-and-shut-case was an expert interview of a come
dian to figure out whether (alleged) child molestation
is still funny or not. After all, it's only a matter of time
before the jokes start flying and everybody forgets about
what we're really talking about.
Then there was the mugshot. Finally, more fodder as
commentators quickly switched focus from "Did he do
it?!?" to "Is he an alien?!?" Admittedly, the Editorial
Board has no formal medical training, but we're pretty
sure his head isn't supposed to be (allegedly) offset on
his neck like that.
The one thing the media's circus left out, amidst in
terviews with family members and legal consultants and
that homeless guy who got Jackson's spare change, was
whether Jackson should really be charged with corrupt
ing America's fairy-tale view of the ever-innocent Peter
Pan, who symbolizes every American's dream of never
growing up. Jackson declared in a documentary last year
that he is Peter Pan, shortly after admitting that he
shares a bed with small children.
Suddenly, it all made sense. Jackson and his (alleged)
obsession with "the lost boys" at the Neverland ranch.
His insistence that he was really interested in "Wendy"
the whole time, and no, it was not a media cover-up, and
no, that kiss was not staged. And who can forget the for
midable Captain Hook, now played by Tom Sneddon,
the Santa Barbara district attorney who (allegedly) lives
to beat Jackson in an epic clash between good and weird.
The only discrepancy is that Jackson can't fly. Oh well.
In the end, we hope that despite his momentous me
dia profile and constant television coverage, Jackson will
— like any other American should expect — receive a
fair trial and avoid an assumption of guilt. Despite how
smart and prolific the broadcast industry thinks it can
be, only two people know the truth, and that truth will
be revealed in a courtroom — where it should be.
EDITORIAL POLICY
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses can be sent to letters
©dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor and guest
commentaries are encouraged. Letters are limited
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Authors are limited to one submission per calendar
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to edit for space, grammar and style.
Eric Layton Illustrator
The problem with Thanksgiving...
Every year when the end of November
rolls around, all opinion columnists face
the same challenge: How can we write a
witty and heartwarming article about
Thanksgiving?
Inevitably, a few columnists this week
will buckle under the pressure and resort
to the cliched "what I'm thankful for" ar
ticle. The only thing I'm thankful for is
that I wasn't around when the pilgrims
first came to this country.
Other columnists will mix a cup of
sappy with their cliche and tell the story
of their most memorable Thanksgiving.
It's a classic holiday recipe that, without
fail, includes all or most of the following
ingredients: a cooking mistake, an argu
ment or misunderstanding, ensuing hi
jinks and family reconciliation at the
dinner table.
Somebody please tell all those aspir
ing writers out there, "Enough with the
stories about Thanksgiving already! Fam
ily is what really matters. We get it."
This brings us to the most popular sub
genre of Thanksgiving-inspired columns:
The anti-Thanksgiving columns. For some
reason the holiday brings out the social
critic in many columnists. Vegetarians (of
whom I am one) write about the evils of
turkey and the virtues of tofurkey, femi
nists write about the sexual politics of
meat in our patriarchal society, animal
r
rights activists describe the terrible living
conditions and stunted emotional life of
caged birds, and environmentalists point
out with disgust our orgiastic celebration
of overconsumption.
The best of these articles are the ones
that discuss hunger and philanthropy.
This is especially relevant in Oregon,
which is one of the hungriest states in
the nation.
David Jagernauth
Critical mass
A few social critics will use their
columns to discuss the genocide com
mitted against the Native Americans and
question why we celebrate a holiday
based solely on a completely fictional
ized account of history.
Others will choose to discuss a current
issue within the Native American com
munity. The sport mascot debate is a
more obvious choice, especially when
the Cowboys play the Redskins on televi
sion (which, as a Washington fan, is one
of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions. I
love listening to John Madden discuss
his turducken).
Somebody should write about the out
rage that is the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and its horrendous mismanagement of
tribal trust funds. I will write this article
one day, but not on Thanksgiving.
That is the problem with all of the
above article ideas. They have all been
done before. Every year it is the same
tired routine. Columnists and reporters
use these holidays to make sweeping ref
erence to minority issues and then think
to themselves, "Well, I don't have to
write about Native Americans till next
year." Martin Luther King Jr. Day and
Black History Month work the same way.
It seems clear to me that nothing
meaningful can come from a Thanksgiv
ing column. I bet somebody has even
written this smart-alecky "there is noth
ing to write about" article before.
So I give up. I'm taking an early
Thanksgiving break. Happy holidays.
Contact the columnist
at davidjagemauth@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.
ONLINE POLL
Each week, the Emerald publishes the results of the previous week's poll and the coming week’s poll question.
Visit http://www.dailyemerald.com to vote.
Last question: What does the Civil War football game mean to you?
Results: 78 votes
• A chance to remind Beaver fans of the Ducks’ obvious superiority: 46.1 percent or 36 votes
• A chance to watch some great football: 20.5 percent or 16 votes
• Football is meaningless to me, I’m here for an education: 12.8 percent or 10 votes
• A chance to party! 10.3 percent or 8 votes
• A chance to show some school spirit: 10.3 percent or 8 votes.
This week: What’s on your Thanksgiving menu?
Choices: Turkey; Ham; Faux turkey or Tofurkey; Restaurant or bar food; other stuff.