I had literally just come home from a huge rant about why I don't really care about celebrity deaths to find my Facebook overflowing with "RIP Jack Layton" updates. And my first thought was that it would be especially hypocritical of me to care.
Now, I'm not going to say that celebrities and politicians are one and the same. Because they are altogether different people, in the public eye for different reasons. But it is because of their presence in the public eye that makes people want to care, is it not?
I never knew anything about Jack Layton, mainly because I am generally uninterested in the world of politics. And perhaps because I am from a "free", "safe", "advanced" country, regardless of who I vote for in elections, the future of my country will pretty much stay the same. But, besides that, I vote Liberal based on whatever uninformed preconceptions I have, and am happy doing so.
In this past election, living abroad and overwhelmed with a whole new sense of indifference, I didn't bother to vote. I can't say I'm necessarily proud of that, but that's just the way it is. I didn't vote and that's that. But if I had voted, it would have been Liberal. Just because.
That being said, the only things I have ever associated with Jack Layton are bright orange and that vandalized election poster that read "E.Jack.U.Layton." That is as much as he has ever meant to me, and that's as far as it will ever go.
I'm sure he was a great man with great visions for Canada. And perhaps things would have changed had he come into power. And perhaps he was the popular youth vote. And perhaps he motivated people in ways I cannot understand.
But perhaps it was also extremely irresponsible of him to run in the last election. If he really was this sick, what was the point of running in the first place? Would it not be your responsibility, as party leader, to step down knowing that you might not be around much longer? Had he been voted in instead of Harper, I feel like this would have just spawned another election, or at least widespread anger across the country.
Every death is sad. And when it comes to politicians, one could argue that they wanted to help the world, and the fact that they have died means that their visions for the country may never be realized. But I also believe that everyone has their own problems in life, and to go out of my way to mourn for someone who I have never known personally, and is not someone who has ever meant anything to me, is a little silly.
Everyone has public figures that they adore or respect or want to marry or whatever. And, anyone who knows anything about me knows that there's at least one celebrity that I would marry in a heartbeat. People like to like people in the spotlight. And if any of those people of yours were to pass away, I think it's absolutely fair to mourn. Because for whatever reason, they meant something to you. But jumping on public figure mourning bandwagons is something I look down upon like nothing else.
Before Michael Jackson died, he was a seen as a huge creeper and pedophile. When he died, he became seen as a misunderstood genius overnight. Amy Winehouse was a crack addict, and people were so sad about the loss of "great talent" when she died of her addictions.
But there are countless good people who die everyday. Good, anonymous people. And no one gives a shit about these people. And that is the bigger tragedy, in my opinion.
So before you label me as a huge heartless bitch, think about this all for a minute. Go pick up a newspaper and read the obituaries of regular people. Give them a minute of silence. Don't give it to those who have already had more than their 15 min of fame.
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