Condolences sites and threads

I understand everything you have said and accept it !!
The reason I made those threads was because I was a big Tom Maynard fan and watched him grow into a county cricket icon soon to be a international icon and wanted to let people know about the tragic news and what others thought of him !!

dr_martinov wrote: Which is completely fair enough, this thread certainly wasn't a criticism of yourself 69 or the thread you created; it was the discussion that emerged within it that prompted me to write some of my thoughts down.

Okay, some of the comments was out of control IMO !!

It does get a bit O.T.T. starting threads and getting loads of people reply as if they know the person. Yesterday for instance Victor Spinetti died, no need for pages of posts as if we knew him but in instances like that as with other film stars etc, I think it's more fitting just to remember their films and have a thread about them to bring some light hearted posts in the topic.

dr_martinov wrote: no.6 wrote: dr_martinov wrote: For example, a great deal of sadness was expressed over Whitney Houston's death when clearly she had a cocaine problem. Do the people have the same sympathy towards habitual drug users who happen to have less money and so are begging in the streets? Similar for Amy Winehouse - those that said fairly cold things such as "not much of a surprise" got a lot of flak.   And, when we compare the above examples, what the people have done in their lives and the situation of their deaths clearly is a factor, e.g. Amy Winehouse made some songs that a lot of people have heard, the drug user and alcoholic unemployed guy on the street did not - so does that justify her life being mourned more than theirs? I think society has said that it does. Whether that is right or wrong isn't for me to say. I changed my view about drug users/alcohol dependents some years ago when I worked in the field. While there are obviously a percentage of "wasters" who use and abuse, the majority in my experience are trying to cope with or block out other life events/abuse/psychological or sociological problems. The point about Amy Winehouse in comparison is a good one, a rough sleeper on heroin is "scum" or a scrounger whilst Winehouse was "a talent" with problems, both have issues but Joe Public doesn't want to recognise the rough sleeper as having problems or being worthy of grief like a celebrity. Hands up who had any genuine sympathy for the rough sleeper who got kicked to death in Swansea? And who got more upset about a celebrity they've never met? I guarantee that some forum members will be thinking "what rough sleeper in Swansea?" yet tributes get posted about "celebs".     Indeed, and the more right-wing people want to lock them all up as their solution. I think there is an unhealthy obsession with celebrity lifestyles and, presumably as a result of the opinion they somehow contribute more to society, the same rules don't apply either for or towards them as "normies" like ourselves. In addition to acceptable levels of drug use/abuse you can extend this into extra-marital affairs and other inappropriate sleazy behaviour: I believe people are a lot more accepting of this for a celebrity than they would be of a mate or close family member (I would like to think!). As to whether this has always existed and if the internet has made it worse, I'm not sure - it probably is easier for scandal to spread now so I would say it has. I also found some interesting reactions on here during the recent riots in London: people suggesting the collapse of society and how kids today have no respect etc., whereby they seemed to be ignorant about history and their own childhoods with the major public disturbances in the 80s and 70s, for example. People like to moan and gossip are my conclusions from these observations; talking about tragic deaths of people they have no connection with falling into the latter category.

I think its helathy that we pay our respects to somone like Tom Maynard and his family. In the instance of Diana and Michael Jackson then i did feel that it was odd that people were crying and they didnt know them.Mass hysteria i think they call it. Im not going to be critical of it as they obviously felt very upset. I suppose it was similar to Grav here at Llanelli. I personally didnt know Grav although i would say a few words to him as Grav spoke to everyone. Im sure many attended Gravs funeral that maybe didnt know him personally but felt like they wanted to pay respects to the person and his family. Ive attended funerals and sometimes ive not known the deceased but have attended the funeral because i knew the deceased wife/husband/daughter/son.

Every life is precious celebrity or a drunk living in cardboard city. I feel for them all. I suppose celebrities dying attracts attention as people are interested in there lives and know something of there lifestyle etc. and therfore when they die we feel we know them in a very slight way.

Once a monkey wrote: I think, hope, his point is that the death of the homeless man in Swansea warranted far greater public reaction, debate and indeed outrage. But because he was a homeless man, and we don't like to see such things as a society, it gets ignored. Yet the fact that someone is a celebrity, despite the fact that they may have contributed significantly to their own death or possibly put others at risk, warrants outpourings of sympathy when, in truth, they perhaps deserve less than the homeless man who perhaps never had a fair chance in life and died a horrific death. The latter should prick all our consciences, but generally doesn't.

I totally agree with all that.

The difference comes when hundreds of people get affected even more : because they saw the bloke play cricket.

I fail to grasp the need to express condolensces for someone I've never met, who never influenced/inspired me and perhaps who died undue somewhat unusual circumstances. Likewise, I never commented on the Robin Gibb thread, no doubt a great musician, but not my cup of tea.

This is key. I don't think I commented on the young co-driver who died (as tragic as it was) recently, as it would have been disinginous of me : as I'd never heard of him.

scarlet96 wrote: Don't mean to cause a stir but some of you are saying Tom wasn't well known but to everyone who followed cricket knew he was a exceptional Talent. Some say he was the best welsh cricketer since his Dad Matthew, some even said he was looking better at 23 than his Dad !! He was destained for England glory very soon and could of been the next KP !! Very very sad loss to the cricket world and everyone who knew him !!