Re-directing celebrity grief

I was in the checkout line when the clerk told me Michael Jackson (MJ) had just died at age fifty. I admit I was shocked and when I returned home, found everyone all a-Twitter with the news. The media’s obsession with MJ’s death was expected and we’ll be hearing about it for some time. But the online expressions of grief seemed excessive and practically shut down the Internet.

In the days since MJ’s death, I’ve seen crowds of people expressing grief with notes, flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, and vigils. I, too, can remember feeling sad when a news anchor or actor I enjoyed had died. I read the tributes and sometimes watched the specials, but I quickly moved on. Wasn’t it best to spend my time writing notes, sending flowers, and making visits to folks I knew or who were in my community that were grieving a loss?

I hear often from the bereaved that after the initial few weeks, when loss has truly hits, the calls and visits have tapered off and they feel sad and lonely. Can you imagine the positive impact if those embedded in celebrity grief would channel their efforts to the bereaved in their own communities?

While I recognize what a great loss this is to a community of fans, it does not have the personal connection to those within our own circle of friends and family that have lost loved ones.