Many of us don't don't follow celebrity hype, but some of it is difficult to avoid. Many of my favorite film and television actors and actresses have died recently. I'll miss Harry Morgan more than Whitney Houston. OTOH if I never see Betty White again it will suit me fine. We have CDs by our favorite singers, from Sinatra and Perry Como to Pavarotti. Paul Simon is one of my icons and the early albums with Garfunkle treasures. My film library on DVD has a zillion fine films starring Gregory Peck and many fun films with Tom Hanks.
Whitney Houston wasn't on my radar but I do see the tragedy in her life.
I have had several friends over the years that have been dealing with some of these same kinds of self-destructive issues. The drugs, the drinking the violent and tumultuous relationships and then the lying, he denial, the coverups and the deciet that go with it.
A few lost and a few seem to be in recovery and I think the big difference is that a major celebrity has almost endless resources, a regular person is at risk of becoming homeless. There is only so far a regular person can go with these things and still stay "a regular person". You either have to turn your life around and get a grip or decend into some kind of early death or skid row situation. Whitney did not have appear at least to her to be in that same situation. Drugs were easy to get and that next gig paying tens of thousands of dollars is right around the corner.
It is hard to imagine that this kind of career and talent is just not enough for some people. But I guess it is not, it can be pretty hard to empathize with someone who lives such a different life from anyone else you know.
It is the very lifestyle that feeds this. You've got the glitz and the glam, the parties where the drugs and booze flow freely and expense is no object; the fame and adulation, which can easily enough lead one to this sense of personal superiority and invulnerability. The media treats you like you are not an ordinary human being, how long before you begin to think of yourself as not being an ordinary human being, where the rules applying to ordinary human beings do not apply to you?
Well, there is the flipside of this too, the media treats them like crap as well. Stars are scrutinized in a way that none of us are. If every mistake you ever made, every extra pound you ever gained, every wrong move you ever made was flashed all over the entertainment channels and criticized, analyzed, etc...that would be pretty damn tough to bear.
The whole celebrity hype in my opinion is total bulls__t. Whitney Houston was a wonderful singer but she was not some sort of goddess. But again, at the top of this food chain it is the public who feeds this. So you have public craving for the latest photos of Princess Diana, which leads to the only logical reaction by the paparazzi, who literally hounded her to her death. Total bulls__t.
I agree. Truth is, it isn't the media's fault, it's our fault, because we think we have the right to know everything about these people, judge everything about them, and hold them to some impossible standard AND we have no problem with the media following their every move so that we can do so.
"No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible." George Chakiris
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.” Stuart Chase
It is hard to imagine that this kind of career and talent is just not enough for some people. But I guess it is not, it can be pretty hard to empathize with someone who lives such a different life from anyone else you know.
It is the very lifestyle that feeds this. You've got the glitz and the glam, the parties where the drugs and booze flow freely and expense is no object; the fame and adulation, which can easily enough lead one to this sense of personal superiority and invulnerability. The media treats you like you are not an ordinary human being, how long before you begin to think of yourself as not being an ordinary human being, where the rules applying to ordinary human beings do not apply to you?
The whole celebrity hype in my opinion is total bulls__t. Whitney Houston was a wonderful singer but she was not some sort of goddess. But again, at the top of this food chain it is the public who feeds this. So you have public craving for the latest photos of Princess Diana, which leads to the only logical reaction by the paparazzi, who literally hounded her to her death. Total bulls__t.
I think addiction is very hard to understand if you don't have that issue yourself. Even I tend to think that much of this kind of thing is narcissistic self destruction.
I don't "weep" for Houston. I do feel for her daughter who is so young to be now without a mother and her father has pretty serious issues too. She must be feeling quite adrift in the world right now. For me, I can't sing and I really don't have any glamerous talents. I tend to think that if I had a tremendous voice that I could not want for anything else. That life would have so many opportunities. I would gladly make a career out of singing if I could. It would be such a blessing and a priveledge. It is hard to imagine that this kind of career and talent is just not enough for some people. But I guess it is not, it can be pretty hard to empathize with someone who lives such a different life from anyone else you know.
No, Jane. I'm just telling it like it is. I have no pity for addicts who don't even make an effort to clean themselves up.
Whitney Houston entered rehab three different times and relapsed each time. She did make an effort to clean herself up. Studies show that addiction hits women harder then it does men and they die from addiction quicker then men do. We should all have empathy for those that are stuck in addictions and instead of criticize or judge try to have some understanding.
No, Jane. I'm just telling it like it is. I have no pity for addicts who don't even make an effort to clean themselves up.
Whitney Houston entered rehab three different times and relapsed each time. She did make an effort to clean herself up. Studies show that addiction hits women harder then it does men and they die from addiction quicker then men do. We should all have empathy for those that are stuck in addictions and instead of criticize or judge try to have some understanding.
"No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible." George Chakiris
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.” Stuart Chase
I saw an interview on CNN yesterday with people who had known Whitney Houston. They said she died after a two-day alcohol and drug binge. As well, one of the people said that she wasn't taking care of her voice anymore, and it was becoming coarse.
The bottom line here was that she was an alcoholic cokehead who ended up as so many other drug addicts do: dead at a young age.
It's what happened to Billie Holiday (who was a much, much greater talent than Whitney but ended up just as dead in her 40s), Marilyn Monroe, dead in her thirties, Amy Winehouse, Judy Garland, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Elvis, and so very many, many others.
Why weep and pray for people who had everything in life and threw it away for a quick fix? Why even pity them? They knew that what they were doing could kill them, but they did it anyway.
