<<<We probably shouldn't judge people, but we do, and our
ultimate judgment on lives is our response to death. I would
rather see people judged, since it seems we must judge, on
the basis of personal achievement, rather than family
connection.
I suppose that is horrible. >>>
It's not horrible so much as it is incomprehensible, at least to me.
Anyway, stop mentioning family connection every minute. Human beings are normally more upset about the death of one they have long felt an affectionate warmth toward and less upset by the death of a stranger. Is this a sordid characteristic? They saw this guy grow up. They remember what he looked like when he was Jenny's age. In dozens of interviews they saw his face change and mature, and they saw that he seemed to grow up to be really nice-- a regular guy. He had a lovely smile, a disarming, natural personality. Hundreds of people saw him speeding around New York on his 10-speed bike. No, thousands of them, over the years. He was very physically attractive without having that face-consciousness that often ruins the appearance of handsome men. More than 'very' attractive-- almost breathtakingly. I think there is something real to Joan's point about that, in fact. And there is something about seeing in the adult face the two faces of the parents, faces also 'known' to one, that touches the heart.
And you just keep talking about they're sad because of "who his father was," and implying they should feel more sad after a "judging" exercise to measure personal achievement.
You're a hard man, Steven. (I don't really think this; I think you're just generically annoyed at celebrity-worship, which is insane, and confusing it with what is not necessarily identical, even if it does overlap.)
And yes, it is tasteless of the media not to pretend more sensitively and competently that everyone feels an equal sense of personal loss for the three victims, those whom they didn't know, and those whom they felt they did, sort of -- in a way real enough to them. This must be very painful for those poor parents who lost their two daughters. |
