Come to think of it, when I was a camp counselor I slept in a cabin with six little girls every. damn. night.

I'm a little unclear on how a sleepover anywhere, much less at Michael Jackson's house, is a special enough thing to dream about. Then again, I have no (a) magic in my heart and (b) cancer.

I just came back from lunch with colleagues, one of whom is madly in love with the football player Tom Brady. I realized after a little bit that although I can think of famous people I'd probably like, if I met them, and famous people I'd find interesting to talk to, I just don't have that module for "loving" someone I've never met installed in my brain.

Clearly, most of this country has that module. I find most of this country a little creepy.

when you see parents say, "my little girl with agonizing cancer finally gets some happiness and rest at a Neverland sleepover" (that's a paraphrase) it's another perspective

It is--I don't want to impugn the parents' motives here, and I am sure some of them feel that way. I still think it behooves them to be careful. I don't know if MJ is guilty, but my gut tells me he is because the prallells to the other pedophile I knew are so close. In his case, he got 13-year-olds to come hang out at his house because it was so much fun for them. He had a projection TV and 8 million videos and guitars and amps and a killer sound system they could all play with and they all really loved hanging out with him. He was the most beloved teacher in the school. But he had all that stuff to draw them in and keep them there so he could insinuate himself into their lives.

Remember, this is just my gut feeling, and like any gut feeling it could be completely wrong.

I just don't have that module for "loving" someone I've never met installed in my brain.

Is that "in love" the same way she'd be in love with an actual boyfriend or husband? Or is it the complete stranger version of same?

I have the complete stranger version installed (it's low maintenance code, doesn't require many CPU cycles), but there were some code compatibility issues with my kernel on the former.

I certainly know there are families where you shouldn't, can't trust blood relatives. Mine isn't one of them.

There's the stat that most molested kids are molested by family or friends of -- does anyone know how that stat flips around -- how many families have a molester, or what %age of kids are at this sort of risk?

I meant spend the night with a relative stranger--I think family or old friends would be a different case.

You know what? MJ's apparent dysmorphia and other misc. issues are enough to make me not want my kid to spend unchaperoned time with him, even if there was never a whiff of pervy-ness. I'd be thrilled to go to the party and ride the rides or whatever, but the kid stays with me.

Not that I have kids.

There's the stat that most molested kids are molested by family or friends

Yup. Absolutely true. Statistically, the most likely person to murder me is my husband; a total stranger is far, far less likely. I still feel safe at night.

Everybody trusts somebody, and everybody can be horribly wrong.

"It is--I don't want to impugn the parents' motives here, and I am sure some of them feel that way. I still think it behooves them to be careful. I don't know if MJ is guilty, but my gut tells me he is because the prallells to the other pedophile I knew are so close. In his case, he got 13-year-olds to come hang out at his house because it was so much fun for them. He had a projection TV and 8 million videos and guitars and amps and a killer sound system they could all play with and they all really loved hanging out with him. He was the most beloved teacher in the school. But he had all that stuff to draw them in and keep them there so he could insinuate himself into their lives." (emphasis added)

Remember, this is just my gut feeling, and like any gut feeling it could be completely wrong.

Gut instincts aside...

A completely innocent person could do all those things, right up to the itallics, for completely innocent reasons. That's the problem with saying "this is sick behavior."

A completely innocent person can send out bad vibes.

It is still smarter to trust your vibes than it is to override them.