A Little Perspective

  

Let me start by saying I know I will get some flak for this but I don’t care, I think it needs to be said.

 

Yes we did lose one of the greatest pop icons in the entertainment industry yesterday but I don’t understand why it gets more coverage then any other death out there.  Other then being a celebrity what makes his passing more valuable then other human being?

 

We have soldiers dying everyday in foreign lands for our freedoms and all they get is the blink of an eye coverage.  There are cops dying in the streets trying to protect us and fireman dying in buildings to save us yet we hardly here much but a whisper bout them.  Innocent children die everyday from starvation due to greedy governments and it is sweep under the rug.

 

So again I ask is this man’s death high priority?  He was a big star in a land of pretend for most of us.  A man I might point out has a shady past himself.  I am not saying it is not sad because the passing of any life is.  In reality it should not be any bigger then that of anyone else who has died, except to his family and friends.

 

Yes he was a big pop star and entertainment icon but what about the heroes, the homeless and the innocent.  I ask it once again.  What makes his life more valuable then them?

Reviews

[Winter McPherson]

I totally agree! I think the media is just making money off of him like they always have. When I heard all of the accolades being heaped onto him by the newscasters I thought weren't these the same people who were bashing him just a few, short years ago? No, he's not more important then anyone else and it just shows you how mixed up our society's priorities are! Shady past, you say? If it had been anyone else that person would have been in prison.

Thanks for saying it out loud!

[THERISA]

Michael Jackson was, a creation of the modern media industry, living almost his entire life under the spotlight, which we placed upon him. Personally, i never cared for his music or the circus that surrounded him. Like vultures, preying on the carcass of the dead, they use his death, to inflate their ratings and bottom line. Sadly, people don't want to remind of everyday life, and thus, the death of police officers, firefighters, soldiers or innocent child go unmourn by the public at large. Thank you, for sharing this rant with us, which you make many valid observation about modern society.

[ABitBrokenPoetry]

you are absolutely right. in the end, death comes for each & every soul that exists. & it is sad when any of them dies. & once again the media is exploiting him. he was no better or worse than any1 else. but this is our sad & pathetic culture. in our insane obsession with celebrities we have forgotten the true heroes. he may or may not have done what he was accused of doing. it is not up to me to judge any1, i have mixed emotions there. but he was a great entertainer, & an icon in the music industry. he deserves respect for that & he got it. and now it is time to move on, world, & let him finally be at peace.

[slate41]

I agree, Ithink the media does alot of the things they do for ratings and shock value.

[Jon Gary Frost]

he fell from grace a long time ago and became an embarrassing abomination. sorry if it seems extreme, but enough evidence was brought up to convict this man as a pedophile. I cannot celebrate a life, no matter how once talented, so marred as his.

I think you took it easy on him and "us".

[Fran Marie]

I agree it's totally blown out of proportion,it's a hyped up media
force feeding us redundant information~enough is enough~his
death is no more important than any one else~IMO~

[Salvatore Buttaci]

The media makes his life more important than ours! Good essay!

[Anastasia Starlena]

I think in all things in life we tend to make hollywood bigger than what it is. You know I did feel like a loss had occured with his passing because he was so prominent in my early teen years. Thriller was the first cassette I ever owned. But the truth is they made him out to be strange perhaps he was. But the minute he dies all his "so-called" friends came out of the woodwork. Where were they at when he was in trouble? Anyway I think it is sensationalism in the highest form. I agree totally with you. There are so many deaths of Soldiers no one cares about or even makes a point to acknowledge. There are young women being murdered in the streets. There is so much violence in our world we do not even know who we can trust anymore. This was a very thought provoking well thought out piece. Your views are dead on in my opinion.

[An Ordinary Woman]

I know, I know. I kept thinking about Neda the voice of Iran and much bigger her death was and is. Like you, I offer my condolences to his family, especially those kids. but it gets soooo frustrating. Ya did a good job with this, Cowboy!

[Helen Woodward]

Dale, I agree with what you say, I happened to like his skill as an entertainer and that is why I pay tribute. His past is more than a little shady, pedophilia is no small accusation and I detest them, but it is just an accusation and I'm trying not to judge though it is difficult. Currently there is a lot of media hype that I would not wish on my family if it were me. I also notice that there is not really an outpouring of public grief, rather a party mood. They are milling around the hospital where he died (when in actual fact he died at home beforehand) And the crowds are now congregating there singing their hearts out and it seems as if the doctor (who was there when he died) administered a lethal dose of Demarol. I am just sitting back waiting for the crap to start coming out by frothing reporters...its a circus with that poor dead bloke center ring!
He had a very sad life, in fact you couldn't call it a life. He is known as a freak and has been for some time and may I say the label is justified.
If he wasn't white before he will be now!! It is because of the things I mentioned that he is getting so much attention...I wouldn't want it, would you?
I think of his amazing ability to entertain, not his bizare actions, which materialized out of brutality...but I always wished he would stop grabbing his crotch...it may have made a difference...maybe not?????????????
Brave write Dale...

Helen.