Celebs die every day

[fett]

and so do pets. I'm sorry, but I just don't understand how or why we shed tears over media people that bite the dust or pets that have a shorter lifespan that us, excluding parrots. Celebs we grew up with as well as pets die. That's life. I loved my wife and I loved all my pets. But they are dead. I hope in a better life. But to go overboard on the death of a celeb or pet is not in my emotional mode. Maybe, I am old and have seen too much death. But, let me give you young pups a tip, it just keeps happening. So get used to it and put it in perspective.

[fett]

Fuck!!! What a depressing thread. But, I will let it stand. I just put myself on a downer.

[Szostak]

It's all good, I understand you, people exagerrate when it comes to celebs, but pets, i could not relate, as I've never owned one.

[mm2002]

No, really bro, you're right. What you say here is actually a great perspective. I don't have a lot of family left, and have seen many family and friends pass. The youngest "real" friend I remember going away at an early age died at the age of 15 (same age as me at the time). That wasn't an easy thing for me to deal with, but it happened, and I've went on. This will be a good thread. nice to put things in perspective sometimes.

[fett]

The bad thing is I am about ready to cry about the real people in my life who have died. It's life and sometimes it sucks, bigtime. I have blocked out 10 years. Because if I thought about it, I would be a basket case.

[St.James]

Yeah, people die and so do our pets and yes it's just life, but feeling the lose and having compassion is human and normal behavior.

[fett]

I agree. But why does all the compassion and empathy seems to go to people in the media? Get your feelings where they belong. You only have so much real emotion. Save it for when it really counts, it's there. This crying about this stranger or that one dilutes "real" emotion and feeling. This whole deal about feeling "bad" about people that have no bearing on your life is just getting out of hand. True sympathy and empathy is from the heart and should be reserved for people that impact our lives, up close and personal.

[Inazone]

I guess it's just one of those things that human beings do, mourning the loss of complete strangers who they connected with for one reason or another. I've been fortunate to have made it through life without losing many friends or family members, but I'm also not one to follow any celebrities very closely. However, that's not to say that I don't feel some sort of grief. I was genuinely sad when Ronald Reagan passed away, and even watching interviews with Michael J. Fox (not dead!) are hard for me; I watched my grandfather waste away from both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. But those are things that I identify with. I can't identify with stingray attacks, heroin overdoses or ritual suicide.

The hardest thing I ever had to do was have my cat euthanized.

[fett]

I am not saying that to have someone or somethimg outside you immediate situation come to an end or be injured should not be felt emotionally. I guess what I trying to say is that there is so much shit going on that we see that it is spreading our emotions too thin. Once emotions get thinned out to not being there, then nothing has an impact. I am an old fart and I will save my feelings for people and pets that matter to me. I have had enough of personal stuff to cry me a river.

[horns666]

Right now I have 25 candles burning on my front lawn for a fallen fellow Cleveland Police officer that was shot and killed while assisting serving a felony warrant for kidnapping and Rape Suspect...

He left a 8 month baby boy behind that will never get to know his father..

I came close to such a scenario, so this really strikes way too close to home for me..

Right now the flames are still burning..and my tears are falling.

He has his media coverage, although only locally, which will fade soon. The only time a cop is a hero is when he's killed.

RIP Officer John "AG" Schroeder..we love and miss you.

Respectfully

P.O. William Zurlo#2349 retired.

[RacerX]

Cops deserve WAY more respect than any celeb in my book!

[fett]

Horns, you see what I mean. The officer that was killed was one of you. That goes for the armed services as well. What I can't see is the grief and sorrow for someone that means nothing to me personally. The loss of a comrade whether it is up the street or 3000 miles away is a whole other mindset. That, I respect. I left out firefighters and all the other people that serve. But to really care about a guy on TV just doesn't cut it.

[St.James]

I generally feel bad for just about anyone who loses their life.

[GodOfRhythm]

Yeah, I've only really mourned/cried about a select few celebs, like our previous King or Princess Di.

But pets,....., we had two cats that were only with us for 3 years before they got run over, unfortunatly, I didn't shed a tear for them, but I still felt the loss, eventhough I was never a cat person.

When my dog passes away, I will be an emotional trainwreck and I'll cry my heart out for a week on end. He is as good a friend or a familymember as the next person.

[neilli]

When you know the person involved, the whole grieving process is part of life and my thoughts go out to the families and friends left behind. However, I do have a problem with people who are actively upset when someone they've never met dies. I knew someone would mention Princess Diana (no offence meant GoR!)

That whole 2 week period totally revolted me and I'm a Brit who doesn't have a problem with the Royal Family. Don't get me wrong, it's horrible when people die, and , but just cos someone is famous doesn't make it any more sad. Diana's death was a horrible accident and it left 2 kids without a Mom. That's why it's sad, not cos some housewife in Ipswitch won't see new pics of her dresses in Cosmo any more....

Also, this voyeuristic grief feeds the media, and pushes horrific images into news broadcasts etc, at a time when the families of those concerned should not have anything else to deal with. Can you imagine being Prince Harry or William and seeing the news coverage of that wrecked Mercedes, or the pictures in the papers?

In a similar vein, why when there is a train crash or whatever do the news reports always say something like "75 people killed, including 13 children" Surely 75 people killed is bad enough, what difference does their age make? Yes all things being equal, kids have more years left, but what of the kids left behind whose Mum or Dad have been killed? If there were no kids on the train, would it be OK that 12 people over the age of 80 were killed?