I am very proud of governor Christi for this. Look, Whitney was a complicated person, the opposite of one dimensional. She was evidently a philanthropist, and was a loving mother.
Drug addicion is a brain illness. Whether you want to own that fact or not...any of you. It is a malignancy of the body and soul. When one has the genetic predisposition to become addicted, then when one is around the drug the body chooses, and look at how I put that, then the drug takes over. The person is lost. It is only a matter of time. Shame is gasoline on the fire of drug addiction, so all of us who want to shame Whitney for not being stronger, better, w/e, then we are simply throwing fuel on this fire. And don't you think that happened? She went to rehab to get "clean" a couple of times, I believe. But the drug is extremely seductive, destructive.
It was not her fault, but it was her problem. And it overwhelmed her. Have you ever been overwhelmed?
Ok, so as far as her voice goes...the greatest pop voice ever...the range, depth and beauty. If you who don't care for pop music missed it, I feel sorry for you.
I may sing in tribute to her---"I Will Always Love You (Whitney)". Like Elvis, M.Jackson, and in my mind, Amy Winehouse, also Janis Joplin she was a sort of genius. flawed but incredible in her own way. Peace, Whitney Houston..may you find peace and happiness in a better place.
Whitney, thanks for sharing your unique gifts for as long as you could. I was a huge fan. R.I.P. You will be missed.
"I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whomever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole." ~ Malcolm X Proud supporter of the One-State Solution for Palestine
To me .. W.H was a very sad story. There she was, a straight up church girl with a gift of a voice who made it big ... then got caught up in the "gangsta" world of Bobby Brown, rife with all it's hate, racism, and venom ... not to mention, drugs. She was a true rising star until she met up with that pile of crap.
May she rest in peace .... and "I will always love you". ... one of my favorite songs, even before she performed it ... and she performed it well.
Whitney's family feels the same way. Headline reports "Bobby Brown distraught at being excluded by Whitney's family from funeral."
Yes, the media hype is over the top but not because of anything Whitney did or didn't do. The media hype is due to the cancerous greed and desire for information of the newspapers, websites, and television stations.
Whitney is gone and people will mourn her loss, even those who maybe didn't follow her career as much due to the style of singing she tended to. I love the sound of her voice but I am not sure that she used the full range of her voice, that she tended to go to a lot of high points (aside from ballads perhaps) as many diva singers can do.
For me, the early work of Whitney, Tanya or Reba is arguably their best when they showed a range of styles as opposed to tending to one style or one type of song.
Much as I find it sad that such a talented woman died at the relatively young age of 48, I don't believe that all the hype is warranted. Ms Houston was yet another victim of a self-destructive lifestyle, and that is sad, but not unusual in the entertainment world.
I find the adulation accorded to entertainment/sports idols 'way over the top.
"God is no captious sophister, eager to trip us up whenever we say amiss, but a courteous tutor, ready to amend what, in our weakness or our ignorance, we say ill, and to make the most of what we say aright." from 'A Learned Discourse on Justification', a sermon by Richard Hooker (1554-1600).
You tube can't show the Jennifer Hudson tribute from the grammys due to copyrights but here is a very poignant tribute to Whitney from Hudson from 2010 The Voice
To me .. W.H was a very sad story. There she was, a straight up church girl with a gift of a voice who made it big ... then got caught up in the "gangsta" world of Bobby Brown, rife with all it's hate, racism, and venom ... not to mention, drugs. She was a true rising star until she met up with that pile of crap.
May she rest in peace .... and "I will always love you". ... one of my favorite songs, even before she performed it ... and she performed it well.
