With the death of hte Pope recently, i’ve begun to wonder: why do we mourn strangers? This isn’t limited to the Pope but to every public figure who has passed: Princess Diana, Johnny Carson, Rodney Dangerfield are some of hte names that come to mind. Someone you never spoke to, never interacted with, someone we never knew. Are htey really worth so much mourning? I’m not talking about the passing of a friend’s distant (or not) relative that you never knew, that’s different. A related question would be, why do we obsess over celebrities? Why the fascination over details fo their personal lives? Why do we follow their lives and feel sad when they die?
Re: mourning strangers
Because everyday ordinaires tend to be nosy and are often
left with tremendous amount of available time at their lesiure.
Re: mourning strangers
Because the Pope was a religious figure, and so he was close to the hearts of Catholics all over the world - including the ones that never met him.
We mourned our prophet when he died too, right?
Re: mourning strangers
I wasn't really referring to the Pope. I understand grieving over a religious figure, but I was talking about just celebrities/public figures...
Re: mourning strangers
because people want someone to connect to on a personal level, and often they make celebrities their “personal friends” in their minds - this is the kind of person who knows every move that a celebrity makes by reading those People Magazines.
its silly.
Re: mourning strangers
maybe cus they are celebrities.. not strangers
PCG, na i dont think u have to be a big die hard fan of them and read about them all the time to mourn... for example, the deaths of a few bollywood stars (Amrish Puri, parveen babi, that comedian from maine pyaar kiya).. were all sad too. It's prob cus uve seen their work and u respect them as an actor, and hearing about their death is like... "wow.. they're actually humans"
Re: mourning strangers
I tried all i could to shed just on single tear yet my heart had no feelings :(
Re: mourning strangers
agree with pgc and would like to add that the media is a huge influence and encourage shallow people to subscribe to the latest fashionable show of grief.......... like the Diana debacle.
its ridiculous!
Re: mourning strangers
The type of person who has the ability to influence the public - like the Pope, Lady Diana, Mother Theresa, respected political leaders etc...they have an impact on our lives and on the lives of many. WHen they pass, its a loss to humanity, whether you knew them personally or not. Lady Diana, how many children has she saved with her work on removal of land mines and establishing children's hospitals....she touched the lives of many, as did the Pope, as did Mother Theresa with her unending help of the poor.
May God/Allah rest their souls and may we all have the humanity to mourn their passing.
Re: mourning strangers
Well Said :k:
personally i cry everytime a fictious character in E.R dies, every bloody week. and no, not because “hello” magazine tells me too, im just sensitive..heck im still crying over Tiffany in Eastenders dying…
Re: mourning strangers
I have yet to mourn for the people you named in your post Sara. If I don't have a direct connection with someone I don't find myself moruning their death.
It is sad to hear about young people or others family members dying but usually I say a prayer for them and that's the end of it.
Re: mourning strangers
I can understand the seniment and the show of grief for the Pope, more than a billion people who had great love for him, belief and faith in him and he was in their thoughts and prayers everyday, remembered him in their prayers, were guided by him etc.
and also
Mother Theresa, we'd heard about her, seen her good work
and I guess people other respected figures like Nelson Mandela would also be associated with type of show of emotion through out the world.
However, How anyone can say Diana did very much.
the land mine charity people saved the lives of those kids, they just used her as a figurehead, as a marketing tool... a pretty picture who would send a the message across.
the rest of the royal family work tirelessly for many important charities...because thats their job
I think the crazy outpouring of grief for her was over the top by people who wouldnt give a damn about her whilst she was living was silly.
and no, i dont think she touched a great deal of lives.It was only after she died that small inconsequential anecdotes came out about how she held somebodies hand, how she did this or that..... but most people say that about anyone who dies.
the sad thing was that she died leaving her children and family.
Oooh, I am in a mean mood today!:)
Re: mourning strangers
LD, yes you are! Lady Diana didnt HAVE to do the things she did, she could have been like Fergie and just "led the life" etc. She made sure that the children were safer, she made sure that her boys learned of and saw first-hand the plights of the homeless. these are things that she did of her own caring...and yes she used her position to influence others to give but that isnt a bad thing....
I'm not trying to make her out to be a saint but she DID set an example for others rather than just being one of the "idle rich"....much to be admired there I think.
Re: mourning strangers
Daisy - I agree totally, I had started to post as much then thought ah, forget it. I was a bit offended she was put up there with the Pope and Mother Teresa, minimizing what they did in a way. I also thought she wasn't a very good role model for a number of reasons.
Mo3 - true, never thought of it that way, but a lot of the things she did were obligatory to her position, not a passion. I think that was the difference between the three. I am not saying her death wasn't tragic, it was and I felt for her children. But her image was hyped far too much.
Re: mourning strangers
Simply put, the media. How many of us even knew about JFK Jr. before he passed away? Sure, he was a mini celebrity in the States and happened to be the son of JFK, but what exactly did he do other than create a political magazine that was going down the toilet before he even passed away? He died tragically and was extremely attractive … other than that, there was no need for the insane media frenzy that occured when he died. Repeatedly showing pictures of him on television doing the salute when he was a baby at his father’s funeral … I remember them showing that over and over and over again. In a way, I think the Americans were trying to outdo the Brits and their coverage of Princess Diana’s death.
In a way, it’s nothing more than the media manipulating peoples’ emotions. Mamaof3 is right too. Lady Di did do a lot for charity (not all out of obligation … i.e. the charity she did for Imran Khan’s hospital in Pakistan and many many more) … 
Re: mourning strangers
I could be cynical and say she (Diana) went to paks for something rather different ,and used the Memorial hospital as a cover up.
I agree with what you say about the media.
Re: mourning strangers
Mehnaz - as an aside, I think it was the shock of having both die the way they did, one (JFK)shot and morned for by the boy, then the uncle (Bobby Kennedy) shot, then the boy (JFK, jr)dying the way he did. Then of course, the media up and running with it. Bad all around...