Pretending to be upset about celebrity deaths

[mrswdk]

Why do people do that?

Also, people attention-seeking about how sad they are when some acquaintance they only vaguely knew dies/kills themselves/whatever.

[Army of GOD]

anyone's death is sad because it reminds me of my own inevitable doom


not to mention that you don't need to know them to be sympathetic. everyone who dies has family, friends, a life they leave behind. the person that dies doesn't exist anymore and will eventually be forgotten. shit sucks

[mrswdk]

I mean things like posting on social media, saying stuff like 'omg I can't believe the news Justin Timberlake has teh cancers ;_;'

Or behaving as if Michael Jackson was just some creepy child molester while he's alive, then worshiping him like a hero when he dies.

[Army of GOD]

I mean things like posting on social media, saying stuff like 'omg I can't believe the news Justin Timberlake has teh cancers ;_;'

Or behaving as if Michael Jackson was just some creepy child molester while he's alive, then worshiping him like a hero when he dies.

I don't understand 99% of what the general population does, so Idk about that

[mrswdk]

not to mention that you don't need to know them to be sympathetic. everyone who dies has family, friends, a life they leave behind. the person that dies doesn't exist anymore and will eventually be forgotten. shit sucks

Posting about a stranger's death on Wechat doesn't do anything to help them or their family. And I don't get how a stranger's death can be that moving in the first place, unless there is a truly remarkable story about the circumstances they died in.

[Army of GOD]

I mean things like posting on social media, saying stuff like 'omg I can't believe the news Justin Timberlake has teh cancers ;_;'

Or behaving as if Michael Jackson was just some creepy child molester while he's alive, then worshiping him like a hero when he dies.

I don't understand 99% of what the general population does, so Idk about that

as an aside, I love when people say "sorry for your loss". My grandpa died a few weeks ago so I got a lot of it, but it's like "what the f*ck are you sorry for?" why even say that?

[mrswdk]

Death's not a bad thing, dude. It's a natural part of life.

[mrswdk]

as an aside, I love when people say "sorry for your loss". My grandpa died a few weeks ago so I got a lot of it, but it's like "what the f*ck are you sorry for?" why even say that?

ikr. I don't get that either. Sounds really phoney.

[betiko]

not to mention that you don't need to know them to be sympathetic. everyone who dies has family, friends, a life they leave behind. the person that dies doesn't exist anymore and will eventually be forgotten. shit sucks

Posting about a stranger's death on Wechat doesn't do anything to help them or their family. And I don't get how a stranger's death can be that moving in the first place, unless there is a truly remarkable story about the circumstances they died in.

I don't agree with anything you say. A celebrity can be part of your life. It can remind you when you used to listen to this or that album all the time, that great movie he directed, that goal he scored for your team or whatever shit that may have had some influence in your life, just like your middle school teacher.
Regarding their families: do you really think it doesn't mean anything to them if they see how much they were cared/loved when they see the reaction of people?

[mrswdk]

I don't agree with anything you say. A celebrity can be part of your life. It can remind you when you used to listen to this or that album all the time, that great movie he directed, that goal he scored for your team or whatever shit that may have had some influence in your life, just like your middle school teacher.

I thought Lee Kuan Yew's death was fairly momentous, him being one of the last of a fairly pivotal generation of world leaders to die. That doesn't mean I am upset about his death on a personal level though.

Regarding their families: do you really think it doesn't mean anything to them if they see how much they were cared/loved when they see the reaction of people?

Maybe it's just me but I don't think a facebook status written by a total stranger demonstrates any kind of love.

[khazalid]

herd mentality.

/end thread

[betiko]

I don't agree with anything you say. A celebrity can be part of your life. It can remind you when you used to listen to this or that album all the time, that great movie he directed, that goal he scored for your team or whatever shit that may have had some influence in your life, just like your middle school teacher.

I thought Lee Kuan Yew's death was fairly momentous, him being one of the last of a fairly pivotal generation of world leaders to die. That doesn't mean I am upset about his death on a personal level though.

Regarding their families: do you really think it doesn't mean anything to them if they see how much they were cared/loved when they see the reaction of people?

Maybe it's just me but I don't think a facebook status written by a total stranger demonstrates any kind of love.

it's part of the zeitgheist. people can react the way they want. Some might over react in our way of seeing things, but who are we to say what someone should feel and how they should express it. I think you're over thinking this.

[jonesthecurl]

I genuinely felt a moment of sadness when I heard that Nigel Terry was gone.
And, even fromn a purely selfish point of view, I'm sad there are no more Terry Pratchett books to look forward to.

[TA1LGUNN3R]

Death's not a bad thing, dude. It's a natural part of life.

So are cancer and AIDS, and I'm not too keen on getting those.

-TG

[Army of GOD]

AIDS isn't natural. Didn't it start because some guy fucked a monkey?

[clangfield]

Why do people do that?

Also, people attention-seeking about how sad they are when some acquaintance they only vaguely knew dies/kills themselves/whatever.

I understand what you're saying - huge outpouring for someone like Princess Diana seemed OTT, but then some were genuinely upset about how "unfair" it was. Personally I can't understand how people obsess over celebrities, sports stars etc - I've never had a poster of one on my wall.
Some people have more empathy than others. I think "sorry for your loss" is just showing empathy and sympathy; it can feel quite lonely when a loved one goes, so I think part of it is just letting people know that they're not having to deal with it all alone (even if, in practice, they are).

However, do you observe the minute's silence on Remembrance day? Is that the same thing?

To me, one of the uplifting things about human beings (and there are many, many negatives) is to hear a football (aka soccer) crowd of 90,000 - many of whom are alcohol-fuelled thugs - observe a minute's silence impeccably. One wouldn't have thought that were possible some years ago.

[notyou2]

I think you are confusing celebrity with celebratory.

I am never upset at celebratory deaths.

[Serbia]

as an aside, I love when people say "sorry for your loss". My grandpa died a few weeks ago so I got a lot of it, but it's like "what the f*ck are you sorry for?" why even say that?

ikr. I don't get that either. Sounds really phoney.

People don't know what else to say. Or, personally, I don't know what to say. A guy I work with, his cousin died of a drug overdose the week of Easter Sunday. I didn't know what to say to him, and "that sucks dude" didn't seem like it would cut it. I just kind of listened and shook my head. I probably did offer a weak "that sucks". I don't really get too upset when people die. But I've not lost anyone close to me who was young either, so that would be a new experience, and probably a difficult one.

Bollocks.

[clangfield]

I think you are confusing celebrity with celebratory.

I am never upset at celebratory deaths.

I think you are confusing a humorous discussion with a serious one.

[TA1LGUNN3R]

AIDS isn't natural. Didn't it start because some guy fucked a monkey?

It's a virus from nature.

I've heard that as well, but I think I read somewhere that it probably came from eating and hunting bushmeat in Africa, and spread there rapidly because of, well, Africa.

-TG

[mrswdk]

Why do people do that?

Also, people attention-seeking about how sad they are when some acquaintance they only vaguely knew dies/kills themselves/whatever.

I understand what you're saying - huge outpouring for someone like Princess Diana seemed OTT, but then some were genuinely upset about how "unfair" it was. Personally I can't understand how people obsess over celebrities, sports stars etc - I've never had a poster of one on my wall.
Some people have more empathy than others. I think "sorry for your loss" is just showing empathy and sympathy; it can feel quite lonely when a loved one goes, so I think part of it is just letting people know that they're not having to deal with it all alone (even if, in practice, they are).

However, do you observe the minute's silence on Remembrance day? Is that the same thing?

To me, one of the uplifting things about human beings (and there are many, many negatives) is to hear a football (aka soccer) crowd of 90,000 - many of whom are alcohol-fuelled thugs - observe a minute's silence impeccably. One wouldn't have thought that were possible some years ago.

In China, November 11th is Singles' Day - a day on which stores hold big sales so that single people can spend big amounts on nice things and put their single status out of their mind. Not many silences observed here.

When I lived in the UK I observed a minute's silence if everyone around me was doing one. However, when I was at work everyone just kept working so I did too. Now that I'm in China, Remembrance Day doesn't even register on my radar.

[khazalid]

i bet you burn money on ghost days though

[mrswdk]

lol. No.

That's different to the other examples anyway though, because people burn money for the benefit of their immediate relatives.

[riskllama]

i for one, would be crestfallen if Gwyneth Paltrow died. woman means alot to me...
@ AoG : f*ck you, why post that your grandpa died then??? would you rather i have said "HAHAHA, i'm glad he died!!!"?