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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E who wrote (51545)	8/16/1999 12:24:00 AM
From: Father Terrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

A poignant story and a nice synopsis.

To: E who wrote (51545)	8/16/1999 12:52:00 AM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

I hardly think my point was that people shouldn't feel bad- I was just annoyed by the EXCESSIVE media coverage- especially when I felt the whole thing was stupid and avoidable. I would have felt much more compassion about his death, actually, had the media not pissed me off with all the extra coverage. Was there anyone here who felt happy about his death? I think not. Were we all sorry a young person had died? I think YES. Were some of us really annoyed at all the very useful public NEWS space devoted to an essentially non-newsworthy (imo- I'd rather here about China and Taiwan and N. Korea and Chechnya) event? YES, I was. And of course I can understand people fixating on public figures- I don't normally do it myself but it is certainly understandable. It was the complete lack of proportion that bothered some of us. Of course people will fixate on celebrities- look at the mourning that went on when Elvis died (or allegedly died- for you conspiracy theorists), or Jerry Garcia, or Lennon. I think this is a lot like religion- either you "believe" and you get the religion thing, or you don't. I don't understand taking any death more personally than you have to- but then I actively avoid tragedy, having lived several.

To: E who wrote (51545)	8/22/1999 8:14:00 PM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

E, actually I think there is a kind of vicarious and essentially hollow public grieving when people they know mostly through the media die. Perhaps it is part of life at the end of the twentieth century--the public and private, authentic and imaginary all have merged together. At the same time, a large part of grief for people that you do not really know is sort of phony and dramatic and is more about increasing the intensity of personal experience for a few days as one ponders the abruptness of the end of life. I am sure that it is not really a sign of societal health!