Of Dr. Seussian Statements and Ignorant Opinions

Don't you love it when people make judgements/assumptions with basically no coherent argument to back it up?
"Oh, he was a junkie, nothing more."
"OMG, he molested kids! He's gonna burn in hell!"
"He's a Muslim because his name sounds like Osama!"
"OJ did it, man!!"

Alright, forget the OJ thing. There is solid evidence to prove that he did do it, so why defend him in this little rant? Plus, what has OJ really done for society? Really. He's always getting busted for stuff. My reason for this is because I read something that really upset me last night. I always read things that upset me, because I am a defensive old bat who can't stand it when people bash things I love for no good reason. If you're going to bash something and want to debate with me about it, have a reasonable argument ready. I'll admit that sometimes my own arguments have several holes, but I will not act as though my opinion is fact if I know this.
As usual these days, the subject was Michael Jackson and his alleged pedophilia. The person in question called him a couple unsavory, disrespectful names, that really shot all credibility in the ass from the start. The whole fiasco began because of a header banner at a forum I frequent. Both Michael and the subject of the forum (Layne Staley, who is also deceased) were in it together, and that offended this person because, "OMG he's a pedophile! That's disrespecting Layne!" That's basically the gist of what was said, not verbatim. Verbatim would just make this person look worse, to be honest.
I love Layne to death, first of all. He was my first real love, and even if I don't feel quite the same anymore, that will always mean something to me. But let's face some facts here. The man was a junkie. Sure, he was also a brilliant musician, wonderful artist, and one hell of a guy, but he was still a junkie. Everyone in the fandom knows that. But because we respect the man and his art, we don't go around defining him by his habit and get angry when others do, when they obviously know nothing about his character otherwise.
Same goes with Michael. Most people calling him a pedophile are merely parroting what the media had said about him before he passed away. There is solid evidence that he did not molest those kids. And you know what? This is coming from someone who was not always a defender of his innocence. I did research and came to my own personal conclusions. Independent thinking is something more people should look into. I don't quite understand the sheep mentality. Michael was a very loving, exploited man who was misunderstood mostly by self-righteous puppets.
So you'll see where the hypocrisy comes in. Getting angry about Layne being called a junkie, which was a proven fact that he didn't even try to hide, yet spouting off accusations about Michael with NO FACTS...God, obviously you have no common sense. I compared Michael to Jesus in part of my argument. Not saying he WAS Jesus, but the parallels are there. A kind, pure-hearted man comes into the world and wants everyone to love each other. In turn, those around him shun him and it eventually leads to his death. The response was that as an atheist, she knew nothing about Biblical stuff. You know, I would understand if we were talking about a slightly more obscure Biblical figure like...Job. Not everyone knows about him. But Jesus is common knowledge, especially if you are from uber-Christianized America. I was an atheist for a decade and never really paid attention in Sunday school as a child, and I still had enough Biblical knowledge to successfully debate Christians about their faith. I know a lot of atheists who do, so they don't look like the morons some of the more conservative types paint them to be. Declaring ignorance about that doesn't reward points in your favor. Also saying that Michael contributed nothing to music shows that you have ignorance in that field too. Why don't you just admit that you fail? Take your proverbial ball and go home.
Anyway, to me junkies and pedophiles are both not good. The point is that we know one was one thing, and the other MIGHT have been, but probably wasn't. Who gives a shit anyway? They were brilliant, amazing souls who need to be left alone and remembered for what they did contribute to the world. RESPECT.

I think I now understand why my mother has always said I should be a lawyer.

Also...when the hell did it become uncool to spell "judgement" with an "e?" The spelling is acceptable, according to the dictionary, yet every flipping time I type it, I get that stupid red line of death. "Judgment" looks weird to me. I refuse to embrace that spelling. Ever. Ine Facte, I'me goinge to starte puttinge ane "e" ine almoste everythinge. How do you like them apples, spellcheck?