So, Now That Death is Prementant and All...

Heath Ledger died today. (Or last night; who knows really?) I didn't find out until about 8pm because I was at work; one of my managers got a text message from his wife telling him that one of his favorite actors was now dead. At first we thought it was a joke or something, then a customer overheard us and filled us in on what the world currently knew. And from there I say this:

People are always shocked when someone dies. Whether they knew the person personally or not, they feel some form of remorse and disbelief in the fact that someone's heart has decided to stop beating. I just wonder, why is that? We all will die some day, our bodies aren't made to last forever. Yes, they have become much more durable as time has gone on, but they still will decay and deteriorate. There's no stopping it. Yet we always get a punch in the face whenever someone informs us that another person has died.

How many people out there actually knew Heath Ledger-personally? Like, could walk up to him and have a normal conversation because you grew up with him or whatever? Not anywhere near as many as the hundreds of people who are already forming groups on Myspace and Facebook to commemorate his death. While yes, he was a great actor and I loved a good majority of the movies he was in, I find it hard for me to say that I 'loved him'. I think that, in this instance, we as people, should respect his family and friends enough to let them be the ones who loved him. Because they did.

We can mourn his passing and the fact that the world is now without another soul, but we should give him and his family the respect they deserve and let them be the ones to mourn. They are the ones who knew him best and will feel the vast expanse of emptiness over the next few weeks, months or even years at their loss.

Secondly, would you mourn the person you passed while you walked into your place of employment or schooling if you knew they passed away? Probably not; but why are we raising this one individual onto a pedestal? He was just like everyone else, a person living in this world. Yet we are ranking him in greater importance than that of the 'average joe' that we meet and greet with on a daily basis.

It's late, I had a much better idea for an entry during work today but wrote it in pencil so it wound up all smudged and illegible. Sorry if I offended anyone. (Not that anyone reads this).