I am not sure ....

[lillygator]

You are missing my entire point. It is not that you should not morn whom you want to morn. It is that the news should not spend days or weeks covering anyone's death. When Lance dies I would expect the same. The news should state he died, maybe spend 5 minutes recalling what he did, and then move on to what is important. NO athlete or pop star is worthy of the coverage he is getting. There have been presidents who didn't get this amount of coverage and all they were (regardless of what you though about their politics) was leader of the free world.

Feel free to morn for anyone you want but pop stars and athletes are pretty much useless in the grand scheme of the world, even Lance.

but we ARE what makes up the news and media aren't we? in fact - why would have LANCE had all the coverage he did over the years with his cheating, dumping, illness, and other cheating?

 

[FireDancer]

but we ARE what makes up the news and media aren't we? in fact - why would have LANCE had all the coverage he did over the years with his cheating, dumping, illness, and other cheating?

If we are what makes up the news and the most important thing happening to us is a dead pop star than for Christmas all of us should ask for a shotgun with a toe attachment. I am quite proud to say I have a fulfilling life that is far to busy to watch the funeral of any pop star. I chose to stay informed about what is important instead of allowing the media to spoon feed me fluff.

 

[lillygator]

If we are what makes up the news and the most important thing happening to us is a dead pop star than for Christmas all of us should ask for a shotgun with a toe attachment. I am quite proud to say I have a fulfilling life that is far to busy to watch the funeral of any pop star. I chose to stay informed about what is important instead of allowing the media to spoon feed me fluff.

no you just get spoonfed via the great DIS.

 

[MoniqueU]

I just can't believe people tuned in to actually cry over this today and admitted as much on the Dis. I might want to get a list of them going tomorrow so I can start a long ignore list. While I don't routinely cry over the loss of soldiers, I have just seen it alot it does sadden me. I have made the trek to the war memorials in DC and Ground Zero in NY (talk about tears, I think it took me over 2 years to stop crying over that) I have never made the trek to Neverland and never will. I wouldn't go to graceland either. Honoring dead od victims just isn't high on my priority list no matter how many records they sold. I balled like a baby when Terry Anderson our hostage was freed and returned home. These are the types of people you shed tears for and send prayers out for. I do get all the media coverage and honestly had he stilll been popular here in the US there would of been tons more, I thought it was a bit more subdued at least on fox then it could of been. But I am still in shock any grown thinking non relative of MJ's woul shed tears.

 

[lillygator]

I just can't believe people tuned in to actually cry over this today and admitted as much on the Dis. I might want to get a list of them going tomorrow so I can start a long ignore list. While I don't routinely cry over the loss of soldiers, I have just seen it alot it does sadden me. I have made the trek to the war memorials in DC and Ground Zero in NY (talk about tears, I think it took me over 2 years to stop crying over that) I have never made the trek to Neverland and never will. I wouldn't go to graceland either. Honoring dead od victims just isn't high on my priority list no matter how many records they sold. I balled like a baby when Terry Anderson our hostage was freed and returned home. These are the types of people you shed tears for and send prayers out for. I do get all the media coverage and honestly had he stilll been popular here in the US there would of been tons more, I thought it was a bit more subdued at least on fox then it could of been. But I am still in shock any grown thinking non relative of MJ's woul shed tears.

I think as far as crying...........whether a celeb - if they have been a part of your life in some capacity I can see many people shedding a tear.

dead od victims may not be high on your list just as those walking into fate may not be high on another.

 

[Tink rules]

Hey V...

I think I need to go to bed...

Think bubbly thoughts... and we'll chat tomorrow...

Gotta take mom to the Dr. for a check up...

Sweet Mickey Dreams...

 

[jemgumby]

I think this says much about our society. EVERY life should be important whether a pop star, soldier, stay at home mom, etc. This really shows how we have lost empathy for people. It does sicken me when I see how the world tends to grieve over stars, etc. and then your everyday person is virtually ignored but then again that is something we as a society are doing. Change can only happen if we all WANT it to happen.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Recognition how? Across every news page and channel in the US, that is what it seems his "aunt" wanted. He also signed up for it right?

Well, yeah. Why DON'T the newspapers put individual troops' deaths on the front page?

 

[Nancyg56]

It does sicken me when I see how the world tends to grieve over stars, etc. and then your everyday person is virtually ignored but then again that is something we as a society are doing.

I think that this is the reason so many people have become offended over the MJ coverage and the hoopla surrounding his funeral arrangements. The coverage is almost nonstop and is on every news channel. By comparison the deaths of our soldiers seems to be spot on a screen I am not sure that that people would feel that way if asked, how hard is it to discuss the loss of life in a war, or to personalize that death? Much easier to change the channel, think about the cost of the war later adn let that soldier's family mourn.

I have to say that I am offended that there seems to be a resolution in the HOR to honor MJ. We are in the middle of two wars, we are up to our armpits in debt and the economy is in the weeds, the same families are sacrificing over and over in these wars and the loss of life has been terrible. Out lawmakers need to stick to takling care of the mess we are in and leave the honoring of dead celebrities to their peers.

 

[HakunaMatata2]

I believe this mother was asking in general for recognition of soldiers making the ultimate sacrifice. I feel sorry for the Jackson family as I would for any family losing a loved one, but MJ's passing is not a greater loss than those serving in our military.Certainly someone who gives their life for us has an impact on each American because that person was brave enough to give their life to help protect our freedoms. A celebrity is a person working as an entertainer and makes quite a bit of money doing it. I choose to honor a soldier before a celebrity any day.

 

[Jennasis]

EXACTLY! MJ is not more important than the thousands of other people who died last week from heart ailments. If I had to chose one person to spend a week covering the soldier is much more deserving than MJ. I wonder how many doctors died over the last week that spent their lives saving others. How many policeman and fireman that spent their lives saving others. These people deserve more than a celebrity that did nothing more than sell some albums. Even if he didn't touch the kids (which if you believe that you are as dumb as they come) he is merely a pop star.

To the first part, wow. To the second part, anyone who thinks Michael Jackson was "merely" a pop star....

If you haven't noticed, the US Armed Forces has done much more for most of these countries than a pop star could ever do.

True that. However we aren't talking about defense or humanitatian aid here. MJ had a WORLDWIDE appeal and had an effect on people across the globe. His music was revolutionary.

People can get their panties in a twist over the coverage OR you can change the channel or shut off the television. I managed to go the whole day without seeing any coverage, including the memorial.

 

[MoniqueU]

I think this says much about our society. EVERY life should be important whether a pop star, soldier, stay at home mom, etc. This really shows how we have lost empathy for people. It does sicken me when I see how the world tends to grieve over stars, etc. and then your everyday person is virtually ignored but then again that is something we as a society are doing. Change can only happen if we all WANT it to happen.

So am I supposed to cry when OJ simpson dies? He was a part of my life for a long time, he was aquitted for murder, he was a father and EVERY life should be important.

Sorry but there are some people I just can't muster up some sadness for and a self admitted child cuddler and severly drug addicted and whatever all else we all know he was type person is one of them.

 

[Darsa]

I thought this was interesting.

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-288836

Apparently I'm one of those "dumb as they come" people, because I'm not going to call someone who was ACCUSED BUT NEVER CONVICTED and whose accusers took nice big paychecks instead of insisting on justice for their children... a child molester. Color me stupid.

 

[jemgumby]

So am I supposed to cry when OJ simpson dies? He was a part of my life for a long time, he was aquitted for murder, he was a father and EVERY life should be important.

Sorry but there are some people I just can't muster up some sadness for and a self admitted child cuddler and severly drug addicted and whatever all else we all know he was type person is one of them.

No but you could have certainly grieved for Nicole (O.J.'s wife) when she was killed, that would've shown empathy.

 

[jemgumby]

I think that this is the reason so many people have become offended over the MJ coverage and the hoopla surrounding his funeral arrangements. The coverage is almost nonstop and is on every news channel. By comparison the deaths of our soldiers seems to be spot on a screen I am not sure that that people would feel that way if asked, how hard is it to discuss the loss of life in a war, or to personalize that death? Much easier to change the channel, think about the cost of the war later adn let that soldier's family mourn.

I have to say that I am offended that there seems to be a resolution in the HOR to honor MJ. We are in the middle of two wars, we are up to our armpits in debt and the economy is in the weeds, the same families are sacrificing over and over in these wars and the loss of life has been terrible. Out lawmakers need to stick to takling care of the mess we are in and leave the honoring of dead celebrities to their peers.

 

[kaytieeldr]

True that. However we aren't talking about defense or humanitatian aid here. MJ had a WORLDWIDE appeal and had an effect on people across the globe. His music was revolutionary.

Respectfully, rock & roll was revolutionary; jazz was revolutionary; rap was revolutionary. Pop is pop.

People can get their panties in a twist over the coverage OR you can change the channel or shut off the television. I managed to go the whole day without seeing any coverage, including the memorial.

Ditto! When the anchor on a news station I flipped to early this morning started saying they'd be back with more on the tribute to Michael Jackson - that was enough warning for me to change channels. I pride myself on watching no actual coverage of the whole thing.

 

[Allison]

I just can't believe people tuned in to actually cry over this today and admitted as much on the Dis. I might want to get a list of them going tomorrow so I can start a long ignore list. While I don't routinely cry over the loss of soldiers, I have just seen it alot it does sadden me. I have made the trek to the war memorials in DC and Ground Zero in NY (talk about tears, I think it took me over 2 years to stop crying over that) I have never made the trek to Neverland and never will. I wouldn't go to graceland either. Honoring dead od victims just isn't high on my priority list no matter how many records they sold. I balled like a baby when Terry Anderson our hostage was freed and returned home. These are the types of people you shed tears for and send prayers out for. I do get all the media coverage and honestly had he stilll been popular here in the US there would of been tons more, I thought it was a bit more subdued at least on fox then it could of been. But I am still in shock any grown thinking non relative of MJ's woul shed tears.

I agree. Michael Jackson was a celebrity more known for his odd behavior in recent years than his music. The non-stop coverage of his death makes me sick as it would for any celebrity. They are just people and aren't deserving of any more adoration than the next person.

The OP is right about one thing. The two can't be compared. One died a hero representing our country, the other died as a spectacle of weird behavior and drug abuse. This country has it's priorities messed up if people think Michael Jackson is the person more worthy of attention.

 

[Jennasis]

Respectfully, rock & roll was revolutionary; jazz was revolutionary; rap was revolutionary. Pop is pop.
.

Wouldn't the world be terribly boring if we all felt the same way about everything?

 

[MoniqueU]

No but you could have certainly grieved for Nicole (O.J.'s wife) when she was killed, that would've shown empathy.

Oh I most certainly did. I also donate as often as I can goods and clothes to a battered womans shelter. And poor Ron too. Seeing his dad and sister grieving for him now that broke my heart.

 

[redrosesix]

BTW, there were actually 7 of your soldiers who were killed that day -- the highest number of fatalities in the past year.

Recognition how? Across every news page and channel in the US, that is what it seems his "aunt" wanted. He also signed up for it right?

I think that was very, very cold...and I'm not even an American.

I just can't believe people tuned in to actually cry over this today and admitted as much on the Dis. I might want to get a list of them going tomorrow so I can start a long ignore list. While I don't routinely cry over the loss of soldiers, I have just seen it alot it does sadden me. I have made the trek to the war memorials in DC and Ground Zero in NY (talk about tears, I think it took me over 2 years to stop crying over that) I have never made the trek to Neverland and never will. I wouldn't go to graceland either. Honoring dead od victims just isn't high on my priority list no matter how many records they sold. I balled like a baby when Terry Anderson our hostage was freed and returned home. These are the types of people you shed tears for and send prayers out for. I do get all the media coverage and honestly had he stilll been popular here in the US there would of been tons more, I thought it was a bit more subdued at least on fox then it could of been. But I am still in shock any grown thinking non relative of MJ's woul shed tears.

I agree, although some of the coverage has brought a tear to my eye, like a sad movie, or any sad news story would. But then again, I can't watch World Vision commercials either.

What shocked me about Princess Diana's funeral was the number of people around the world, none of which knew her, who seemed to want to wallow in grief. They were crying more than her own family was, and maybe even more than they would for their own family members. I'm thinking it must be some kind of group mentality thing, because it just doesn't make sense to me.

The MJ memorial was very similar in that way. I just don't get it.

You are missing my entire point. It is not that you should not morn whom you want to morn. It is that the news should not spend days or weeks covering anyone's death. When Lance dies I would expect the same. The news should state he died, maybe spend 5 minutes recalling what he did, and then move on to what is important. NO athlete or pop star is worthy of the coverage he is getting. There have been presidents who didn't get this amount of coverage and all they were (regardless of what you though about their politics) was leader of the free world.

Feel free to morn for anyone you want but pop stars and athletes are pretty much useless in the grand scheme of the world, even Lance.

Agreed! The news is supposed to be "new", not a constant re-hashing of events that happened 2 weeks ago, and should have much better priorities about their story-lines. I actually got a Breaking News alert on my blackberry from CNN yesterday "Michael Jackson's daughter talks at his memorial" -- although very sad, that is certainly not worthy of a Breaking News alert.

I'm not saying a wouldn't watch a documentary or a 60 minutes segment about his life, his death, etc somewhere down the road, but that's where stories like this belong, not on the front page.