This is not a John Travolta bash. I do feel for the family, however, this is all over the media. People die everyday sacraficing themselves, saving other people and not one word from the media. I am not talking about military but there should be more done for them.

For example police officers put their lives on the line and sometimes die. Sometimes you see local news about it but rarely national attention. Why is their lives less deserving than an actors son. Now I am tredding on thin ice here and I mean no disrespect to the Travoltas but what did the deceased do for society more than anyone else has or had.

Just curious

Joe Soap dying in such circumstances is unlikely to sell advertising.
Travoltas' son does.
It's all part of the dumbing down process Western Society is dying from.

Ever lost a child? Try it sometime then tell us how smart you are. Find something better to bitch about.

Kensco....right on. There is nothing more tragic. NOTHING!

I don't disagree at all that would be the most tragic. That is not what I am saying. I have a daughter and I would be devastated if something like that happened. But that is not my point.

My point is that our media is so obsessed with it and why. Oddbod I think hit it on the head.

I knew someone would read to much into my post.

Earl, I got your point. I think that it's because too many here the USA are abject celebrity worshippers.

They live to know every last tidbit of information concering their favorite (or any, for that matter) movie star, rapper, singer, pro athlete, etc. No detail is too small.

It's perverse, but they seem to feel (and I say feel because there doesn't seem to be much thinking going on) that human suffering must be enormously magnified when a celebrity is doing the hurting, right?

And John Travolta's religion (or whatever "Scientology" is) and his unfortunate son's developmental or physical problems did not help him in this case, as the "bizarre factor" went way up.

I have never understood the fascination people seem to have with celebrities and their every wart and pimple, but it's real and that's for sure.

No one read too much into your post. YOU hit it on the head. You have a daughter.

Those of us that have lost a child don't award you a free ride to get all prissy about Travolta's son and the media attention around his death.

You mention police officers and left out ten zillion other people dying around the world. Do they all deserve "national attention". If not, why not?

So if I read your post again, to be fair to everyone, you want an article in say USA Today on everyone that ever died in the world. I don't see that being real practical, so the media picks out who we may be more interested in reading about.

My guess is you wouldn't read an article on some poor goober that was hit by a car on Jalan Buncit Raya, but you obviously read the media attention on the John / Jett Travolta story. Which proves the media did the "right" thing.

At this point you shouldn't have to ask anyone why celebrity's get media attention. You answered that question yourself. You were drawn to the story, reacted to it, shared your thoughts. The poor goober on Jalan Buncit Raya, who may have been a great guy, is still dead, and his life may be no less deserving than Jett Travolta, but no one is going to read about him in USA Today, because we're not really interested in hearing about some street vendor in Jakarta ..... or his son.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Ever lost a child? Try it sometime then tell us how smart you are. Find something better to bitch about.

Ditto