Why all of the vitriol over Amy Winehouse and the ensuing media coverage
surrounding her passing? I've heard people say that she should rot in hell,
that her demise was self inflicted. The rot in hell part is a bit extreme,
having demons doesn't equate a trip to the heated underground below
earth. To all the people who say that they're sick of the coverage,
I ask you this. Why the hell are you reading articles about a person you
say you have no interest in? Better yet, where is your humanity?
Why are you wasting your time throwing stones at someone who
can't defend themselves anymore? I happened to have loved a
woman who, like Amy Winehouse, ultimately lost the battle with
addiction. I can't speak to the moral character of Amy Winehouse
but speaking for the person that I lost, I can say, unequivocally,
that she was not ticketed for hell. Where did this perception
come from that every person who ultimately succumbs
to addiction is a deviant? Not only do we have the Internet
moralists out in full force, but suddenly the lumping together
of young and deceased celebrities has begun.
Here's some food for thought about this so
called 27 club. Morrison wanted to die
and so did Cobain. The difference is, Morrison
killed himself slowly and painfully and Cobain just
decided, one fateful day, that he was checking
out for good.
I love these tawdry images of every young and deceased
celebrity type sitting around snorting their brains out
until their bodies say uncle. The irony is, according
to the reports coming out, is that Amy Winehouse
may have just died in her sleep. So I guess that dispels
the myth of poor Amy sitting around enjoying a crack pipe
until her life clock ultimately ran out. Hell, if you read
Hendrix's biography, he died under the most mundane
and tragic of circumstances. Can you imagine what
the Internet moralists would be saying if they read
that Hendrix may have accidentally hastened his
demise by taking a half a sleeping pill and a sip
of wine? But that's what we do in the age of
the Internet. We complain about the coverage
of the celebrity train fatally derailing but yet,
we stop to hiss and boo and complain when
it's available for mass consumption.
Let me say this. In our race to grab our axes and
chop down celebrity pedestals postmortem, we've forgotten
one basic thing. Stars like Amy Winehouse were normal folk
who had friends and family that loved them deeply.
I urge mister and misses Internet to stop and
think about what it's like to try and save someone
you love from themselves. Think about that phone call,
the one telling you that everything that you did for said
person simply wasn't enough. Yah yah,
Amy Winehouse had two albums and never realized
her potential as a musical artist. Just, put the down the
axes and the stones; put away the caustic and thoughtless
remarks and put yourself in the shoes of Amy Winehouses'
parents and her friends. Think about what they're
going through in terms of their guilt and their second
guessing and their grief. Think before you post
mister and misses Internet, think before you
post.
