Ok, so this will be a bit of a rant.
You have been warned. 🙂
If you were online at all yesterday, then you have probably heard the news that “The Artist Formerly Known As Prince” died on April 21st. As can be expected, his family, friends, fans, colleagues, and other people who loved, respected, and admired him are in mourning. Many have taken to social media to share their pain, reminisce, and do a variety of other things that are helping them to process and grieve the loss.
And it is a loss.
He played the role of family, friend, lover, philanthropist and many other titles. However, most of us know him as a musician. The fact is that the music industry lost an artist that is viewed by many as being a legend and a genius. Someone who has graced the stages and the airwaves for at least 38 years.
38 years.
That is how long he has been a public figure. On our radios. On our tv screens. At concerts. 38 years of connecting with millions of people all over the world.
It is no surprise that when he died, his fans would be impacted. It is no surprise that his fans would mourn. And, given the popularity of social media, it is no surprise that they would do so publicly.
So why is it that there are people who seem surprised by it?
Not just surprised, but feeling as though this outpouring of emotion is somehow ridiculous. Perhaps you have seen them. The people who make pointed and sarcastic remark such as “I didn’t know Prince personally like so many of you did. Hope y’all ok.” The ones who ridicule people who are sad about Prince’s death.
Honestly, it’s not even just with Prince. I see similar comments every time a much-loved celebrity’s death causes people to air their grief online.
While I agree that not everyone is impacted by the deaths of celebrities, I honestly do not understand the need to judge and police other people’s emotions and reactions. Especially when those emotions come from such a good place – a place of connectedness and empathy. Have we gotten to the point where those are things to be ridiculed? Where caring about others in a real way is viewed as foolish?
1 million sighs.
I said this in a blogging group that I am in and I will say it again:
“I feel sorry for people who only care about the people who are physically in their lives. If you’re incapable of being impacted by people outside your direct sphere of influence, then you miss out on adding to your life’s tapestry.
I have cried real tears over people I never heard of until they died. Imagine a world where no one cared about anyone other than the people right there with them. No one would have cared about Martin Luther King or Malcolm X or Princess Diana. No one would care about any of the victims of school shootings or police brutality. No one would care about kidnap victims who were killed. Or victims of natural disasters. Or war. We HAVE to care about others. Just because you have not met someone does not mean their life mattered any less or that you can’t feel something about the fact that they are gone. If anything, feel sad for THEIR loved ones.
But even if you could not care less about anyone but yourself and your family, I still don’t believe in policing other people’s emotions. One day, each of us will lose someone we love (unless we live a life devoid of love & affection). When we do, I’d hope that people would at least respect our right to mourn – even though they don’t personally know the person who died.”
When it comes down to it, you don’t have to care about Prince’s death. Or any other celebrities. You can live and love in your circle. And grieve in that circle. That’s totally fine.
However, what purpose is served when you tell someone else “Hey! No… no. You are not allowed to feel that way about that person. Stop.”? I would much rather live in a world where people are able to feel a connection with people they don’t even know than to live in a world where your connections are limited by distance. The beauty of things like television, radio, and the internet is that they serve as a bridge between people who likely would have never known about each other – let alone cared about each other. So the fact that we can genuinely care about people without ever having met them is a lovely thing.
So the next time you feel the need to give someone the side-eye for crying over someone that they never met, just be thankful that we live in a world where someone can love you from afar and feel so touched by you that they feel a sense of loss when you are no longer here. Besides…it’s just plain rude.
