I threw a stone once.............. and it came back to hit me!!!

Fade2Black
"Watcha duin? You at work?" asked familiar voice thru celluar wires, reminding me of penny candy, pep squad and sock hops. "I had to leave work, they are announcing the verdict."
"26 year. You are a fool. You left work?"
"You know it. Mike is my boy. They can't let the King of Pop go to jail."
"You are one loyal fan. I bet you still have that Thriller poster. Your room was full of that Michael Jackson stuff."
"That's my boy, always has been. You know he ain't guilty, he just got some problems. I wonder if they sold his soul for that fame and fortune. His mother is sitting there looking like, 'My poor baby. What have I done.'"
"Uhh, if they did, the devil's already taken his revenge. Look at that fool's face. I'll quote Chris Rock, a la Whitney Houston. 'I ain't saying he's a molester, he's just molesterISH.' I don't know, he might really be doing something. Maybe after all this is said and done, someone will come forward with some actual proof. Or they'll find a bunch of bodies on his ranch."
Laughter...
"Don't say that! He just needs some help.... Girl, they got people standing outside on cell phones, carrying signs.. Wait, they are announcing the results..."
"Count one, indecency with a child we find the................ not guilty." muffled sound from t.v.
"Can you hear it?"
"Yes," I say, "They aren't going to find him guilty.. The people that come forward never have a solid case."
"Girl, they have a woman on tv releasing doves as they announce the verdict."
"Doves?"
"Yea, she's kissing them and setting them free as they announce each not guilty verdict."
"You got to be kidding me."
"Naw."
"She's releasing doves? I wonder if she'll let him babysit."
"Probably not, but, he's still the King of Pop. And he's not guilty on all counts."
FADE2BLACK
"I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways."
FADE2BLACK
Funny, it's so easy to cast judgment on another, without truly placing the mirror in front of yourself. Perhaps it is difficult to actually face your demons, or is it easier to look at someone else, see what's wrong with them, what they need to fix. I am in the middle of a personal growth spurt. In other words, I have begun to concentrate on myself more then ever. I, for the most part, have always gone about my daily life allowing others to be themselves. In that I work diligently at not making judgments or requiring others to change their behavior. In the past, I would make comment, and make a determination to not be around you if you did something I didn't like. NO IFS, BUTS, or MAYBES. I would be ghost. Gone. Now, some would say I was judgmental, but judging another requires an action of some sort. A comment that they are doing something wrong, and require that they change thru passive or sometimes aggressive comments like "You need to" or "You ought to". This is often followed by some sort of intervention. I am not willing to take the action. You have to learn for yourself.
Now, I am working on not making comment altogether. I have learned that, often making comments create a very disturbing chain of events. In addition to, perhaps, putting your business out there.
What I'm saying is that some people are strong enough to be THEMSELVES. What's wrong with that? Michael says he likes to sleep with children. He says there is nothing wrong with it. (At least until yesterday.)Why make comment? Just don't let your kids sleep with him. Adults who appearingly maim themselves are not allowed to sleep with my children. PERIOD. It's not your family's value, but it appears to be his. Now I'm not advocating, just using this extreme to make a point. If someone is doing something you don't like, while we are free to say anything we wish, sometimes without consequence, just leave them the FCK ALONE. Believe me, they will get the point. They may ask, in Michaels case, "13, why don't you let your kids (if I had any) come around anymore? You used to visit often.". My response would be, "Well, King of Pop, my values are not consistent with yours. But continue to do you." Because believe me, he will find someone to love and accept him JUST THE WAY HE IS. And guess what, he WILL PROBABLY NEVER MISS ME. Know why? He wouldn't have someone lurking in the background making judgment, trying to change him, advise him. A wise man once said, "If the pain is great enough, it will produce change." I cannot determine the amount of pain another can endure. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, so.... You can only imagine what others say when they think of things they believe I need to change. But I could care less. I do me and I do me well.
So I say leave Michael alone. Stop your kids from chilling at his crib, and riding his rides (Amusement Park, for the dirty minded)if you're that concerned.
I once threw a pebble, and it cam back as a stone to knock me in the back of my thick skull. I'm still reeling from it. And while it happened many years ago, it stings like yesterday. I made a judgment about a friend and demanded that she change the behavior. Insisted that she was lying to herself and her then boyfriend. That her behavior would hurt her, and ultimately the relationship once her "truth" was revealed. Not knowing her circumstance or situation. A few years under my belt and some life's experience I found myself in that same place. Entering the same type of relationship for the exact reasons. Yes, both of our relationships ended. We had to face some basic truths, but not without me calling her a few months into my relationship to apologize. Less then a year later she called me to tell me I was right. February 2004, I called her to tell her we were both right. Today we laugh about it. But we are happier, individually and collectively. Yet, I still rub the back of my head, it continues to have the sting. I hope that it serves as a constant reminder of my shortcomings and downfalls. So that I can embrace and love another for who and what (s)he is. And discontinue to impose my beliefs and values upon them.