RIP
When Michael Jackson was alive, he was a “freak” (or so many of us thought). We joked about him. Brought up the kid thing. We even laughed at his music. When he died, though... something changed. We were “shocked”. We felt bad. How can that be, though? I think it’s tied to two things. First... there’s the tendency to get caught up in a Princess Di-like bandwagon of grief. I mean... did we really care about Princess Di? Maybe. When she died, though... it was a “tragic” event. Was there a bandwagon effect? Sure. Same with MJ. If you see other people grieving, you tear up a bit.
There’s more to it, though. I don’t like to admit it, but... I remember listening to “Thriller” when it first came out and... I loved it. I loved the Jackson 5, too. There was a time when we all loved Michael. I think we sometimes get caught up in our adult lives and in trying to fit in with society. If everyone thinks Jackson is strange, well... we fall in line. Is that what we really feel, though... deep down? Did we dislike him or did we lose our childhood innocence along the way and succumb to a jaded existence?
Patrick Swayze died tonight. My first thought was ... ok. I wasn’t a big fan. I know a lot of women love Dirty Dancing, but... not really my thing. Ghost was pretty good, I guess... but the others were so so. A lot of “RIP” updates on Twitter, though ... and on Facebook. People going on and on about how they loved The Outsiders, Red Dawn and Road House. It was too bad that he died, but... so? I don’t like Patrick Swayze, I thought. Then a funny thing happened. I started to remember watching those movies. I loved “The Outsiders”. Ponyboy Curtis. Cherry. Van Morrison’s “Gloria”. Ok, so... maybe I kind of liked Dirty Dancing, too. “At Kellerman’s...” I can hear the song.
Huh. Fascinating...
My point is that... sure... some of this is due to the media coverage and ... we see and hear all these people reacting, so we get caught up in it. A lot of it, though, has to do with the fact that... these folks genuinely touched our lives. Maybe it was a “fairytale wedding” in the UK we caught on TV. Maybe the son of a dead President, saluting his father’s motorcade. A Peter Pan who thrilled us. An actor we remember from movies that made us smile or laugh ... back when we still retained some of that innocence.
Buddha
Reader Comments (3)
It is funny how some people touch our lives in ways we never even noticed. You don't have to be face to face with someone to let them have an impact on you.
This was a very interesting article! Thanks for sharing! Have a SUPER day! ~R
I like your comment. My thought is that it shows that we're all connected whether we like it or not. If it affects one, it affects us all. Sure, you can tune out a lot of it...can you? I wonder.