'Michael should have 'just closed' the gates of Neverland after the '93 extortion attempt' Thoughts?

[Victorious]

In retrospect this might have been the way to prevent the Arvizo case, but was it that easy..?

1. Michael got a lot of fulfillment from giving children a happy moment, a little escapism, by inviting them/letting them visit Neverland; some kids that never went to Disneyland or never even left their own neighbourhood, kids that were terminal or never left the hospital etc.

2. He thought that all of his success came from children: from seeing their honest, amazed reactions to his work, their innocence.; that inspired him (like Spielberg). People must understand that a lot of his work (writing, dancing) was also done together with children. So if you think that all your succes came from this it must be very difficult to stop all of this.

3. If he had closed Neverland it could give the impression that bad things actually did happen.

4. Stubborn as Michael was he didn't want to change anything if he didn't see a problem with it.

5. He had to fire all his personnel

6. More..?

 

[etoile 37]

You're talking about how closing Neverland would have affected Michael, but can we talk about all the children it would have affected? Michael helped so many children who were very sick or living in poverty, he even saved the lives of some children by helping them get the medical treatment they needed. Would it have been better for Michael to protect himself and let those children die? I think not. In the end, all that Michael suffered may have been worth it to save those kids. Let's not forget all the good that came out of it just because of a few rotten apples. I'm glad Michael never stopped doing what he knew in his heart was right and I appreciate that he was enough of a hero to be willing to risk his own well-being for the well-being of others.