Heath Ledger Died Recently
By Daniel Miessler on January 28th, 2008: Tagged as Culture
Photo by Kevin Carter
…oh, and like 40,000 Africans. Which story makes front page news, and which is a side note? And why do I do nothing about this other than blog about it?
Sickening, all around.
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Edit: And yes, I do know it’s tragic for anyone to die, including Heath Ledger; the point is that the media has a responsibility to focus attention on the stories that matter. But the fact that we’re worried about Mr. Ledger’s demise while tens of thousands of people are dying the Middle East and Africa is proof that they’re failing in that responsibility.
It’s not like it’s a positive story meant to be uplifting — it’s the same kind of story, only it’s about one person instead of many thousands.
Actually i think his name was “Heath”. If you’re going to make unfair comparisons, you should probably get the man’s name right.
Comment by Kirt — 1/28/2008 @ 4:08 am
Good point — about the spelling.
How is it unfair? I’m not saying him dying isn’t sad. I’m saying that it’s dwarfed by the goings on in the rest of the world.
Comment by Daniel Miessler — 1/28/2008 @ 4:13 am
Because you’re implying that they are somehow related by drawing a comparison between them. It’s a cheap trick to try to “shame” people by trying to draw a comparison between one American man’s death and 40,000 Africans. It also indirectly makes light of his death by using a popular news story as a segway into making your point.
Comment by Kirt — 1/28/2008 @ 4:24 am
No, what I’m saying is that we should feel, at the very least…unfomfortable…for feeling sorry for Heath when tens of thousands of humans are dying under the radar. The entire point of the post was to encourage that uncomfortable feeling.
Did I not do it correctly, or is this your reaction to my being successful?
Comment by Daniel Miessler — 1/28/2008 @ 4:28 am
Your point is well taken but I think the method you chose is in poor taste. You should tread lightly when using a man’s death to prove a point. Or better yet, just don’t.
Comment by Kirt — 1/28/2008 @ 4:34 am
Hmm, perhaps you’re right…
Anyone else?
Is raising consciousness — even to this small degree — worth the offense I’ve made? Or is the benefit simply too small, or non-existent — making the whole thing just crass?
Comment by Daniel Miessler — 1/28/2008 @ 4:38 am
“It also indirectly makes light of his death by using a popular news story as a segway into making your point.”
If Kirt is going to point out spelling errors, I think someone should tell him that it’s spelled ’segue’ not ’segway’.
For the record, a Segway is a two-wheeled motorized personal vehicle consisting of a platform for the feet mounted above an axle and an upright post surmounted by handles. As an intransitive verb, ’segway’ is merely an invented word used by people who don’t know the true spelling.
My work here is done.
Comment by Rhine — 1/28/2008 @ 2:03 pm
Daniel,
I understand Kirt’s point, but I essentially made the same point you are making yesterday when my wife and I were watching some show about Ledger’s life and death. I think Ledger was a great actor, I am sure he was a great person, and I do think it is a tragedy for some to die so young. My heart really goes out to his family and especially his little daughter.
However, I made the point that there are thousands of people dieing everyday in tragic situations, and they are not given some show about their lives. It just saddens me when we worship a certain group because they can act, and we give not a crap about some guy who dies in the same situation but was a construction worker.
Comment by Michael R. Farnum — 1/28/2008 @ 3:06 pm
It’s pretty clear to me that Heath Ledger had more of an impact on your average American person than thousands of nameless/faceless people in another part of the world and I don’t think the comparison is really fitting.
Both events are tragic, but comparing the two in the reaction they draw from American people is pretty futile considering the “relationship” people had with Heath Ledger as opposed to thousands elsewhere.
This comparison begins to approach the comparison of the death of a family member versus thousands elsewhere. sure, the total sum and reasons of deaths elsewhere is a greater loss, but which one hits home more?
Comment by Derek — 1/28/2008 @ 6:24 pm
Maybe the discussion uncovers a harsher truth–America’s obsession with celebrities. We somehow think we know these stars and when they die, it’s like the death of a member of the family. If we didn’t idolize them to the degree we do, maybe we’d have a wider frame of reference from which to view the world.
Comment by John — 2/15/2008 @ 9:26 pm
The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic. -Joseph Stalin
Comment by Dylan — 3/4/2008 @ 7:40 am