No R.I.P. posts anymore?

Got home from Sunday lunch yesterday, saw the sad news about Kobe Bryant and daughter (and others).  Was surprised nobody had posted about it yet.

Remember the old boards?  Always folks jumping in to post R.I.P.s. about the famous or infamous.  So now, nothing about Kobe Bryant?  Wow.  Whats' up?

I purposely didn't post this in Kitchen Sink, hoping certain people don't turn this into a slam fest, political bash, the POTUS or racism caused the accident sort of trash.

I was never a pro basketball junkie, but I can appreciate the super athletic talents of those guys including Kobe.

Anyway, RIP Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, and the others who perished in that accident.

According to the United Nations, every day, 7,452 people (on average, obviously) die in the US. That day, nine of them were Kobe Bryant and the people flying with him.

7,443 of them were NOT world-famous multimillionaire retired athletes who could afford a helicopter to flit around and escape the L.A. traffic. They were doctors, plumbers, teachers, drug dealers, baristas, school kids, infants, octogenarians, and some of them were 41 years old, just like Kobe. They, too, had mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and acquaintances. Many of them died just as suddenly and unexpectedly as Kobe.

However, the vast majority of them didn't receive worldwide press coverage of their deaths, tweets of condolence from tens of thousands, and moving, eloquent tributes on prime time TV. They got a two-inch obituary on page twelve.

An alien silently observing all this from his cloaked spaceship would conclude that Kobe's death was, much, much, much, much, much, much more tragic and traumatizing than that of, say, that 47-year-old elementary school teacher in Texas who died in a car wreck. No ten-minute speeches for her about the contributions she made in her lifetime!

I rest my case.  

Which is...?

That certain people would likely follow my post  (i.e. my expression of hope that someone rests in peace) with a slam fest.   You did, as I predicted (but hoped I would be wrong).

Yes, I do feel extreme shock and sadness when I hear of anyone killed in such a violent manner, including a high profile accomplished millionaire, a teenager with her whole life ahead of her, a college coach and his family members.  A pilot doing his job.  I felt the same hearing of the three 737 Max plane crashes, though I know none of the passengers personally.   The Challenger disaster and 9/11 terrorists attacks, I ached for every soul downed so traumatically.  I mourn those lost on the Titanic, first class or steerage, staff.  That these disasters were all likely preventable to some degree makes it hurt worse.  JMHO.

Horrific, untimely deaths get my attention and my sadness and prayers that each person rests in peace.  Whether you like it or not, Kevin.

My point was that celebrity deaths are not more tragic than average-Joe deaths. Yet, the former garner much more attention than the latter.

I found that his death to be tragic. 

A great player!

I have no problem with your writing an RIP post in the LVA forums for a famous person you admired. None at all.

However, if I were to have posted here about the recent passing of a single celebrity whose death I mourned, I wouldn't have chosen Bryant. I would have chosen either Buck Henry, Jim Lehrer, Jerry Herman, or Terry Jones (Monty Python founder), all of whom departed this life since the first of the year.

Each of those deceased meant more to me and contributed much more to society than the basketball player. I admit it, though. I don't get the adoration of athletes, and I admit that puts me in a minority.

Someone being expert at hitting or throwing a ball, whether tennis, golf, basket, or baseball means almost nothing to me. For example, take Pete Rose. Please. Why people lined-up in the Forum Shops at Caesar's to pay a lot of money to have him sign a baseball is a mystery to me. Pete Rose is a moron and a bore and a lousy human being, yet sports fans apparently love him. Again, I don't get it.

Off hand, I can only think of two athletes whose deaths moved me to real grief, and my sadness at their deaths had nothing to do with how well they played their sport. One was Arthur Ashe, and the other was Muhammad Ali. Both were extraordinary shining lights of intelligence, humor, courage, and grace. That Muhammad Ali could knock someone senseless with his fists, if anything, detracted from my admiration for him.

The coverage of Bryant's death on cable news was, imo, crazily excessive. It was given the wall-to-wall coverage usually reserved for a major catastrophe, and it conspicuously and dishonestly left out the only thing I ever read about Bryant's life away from the court (*basketball* court, that is).

It's relevant to an honest appraisal of Bryant's life, but apparently it's verboten to mention, that Bryant was credibly accused of and charged with rape. RAPE.

Rape charges were dropped after the victim refused to testify, but Bryant, when paying a civil settlement for whatever it was he didn't do, conceded, "I now understand how she [the victim] feels that she did not consent to this encounter." Uh-huh.  In an honest appraisal of a man's life, that "encounter" should not be swept under the rug. It mystifies me why that tawdry episode doesn't seem to matter to sports lovers. Even if it wasn't rape, which it probably was, it sure wasn't "Love Story."

I was criticized for opining that the attention given to Bryant's death has been a wee bit excessive, and that ordinary person deaths are just as tragic as celebrity deaths. That, apparently, was blasphemy.

I would probably also be excoriated for saying that Bryant and those with him would probably still be alive if they had chosen some more proletarian way to get where they were going, like a limo. But I'm not going to say it.

And yeah, Bryant falls under the category of "rapist with money." He paid the woman who accused him a million bucks, and far be it from me to suggest that there might be quite a few women out there who would be willing to be raped by a celebrity for a cool million. It's just another illustration of the motto of the Grand Old U S of A: "Money talks."

I watched Bryant play many times. Talented? Obviously. A team player? Not really.

I am going to blaspheme one more time and say that the death of a world-famous, extremely rich 41-year-old celebrity who performed on the world stage and was adored by millions of fans for decades might not be as tragic as that of the schoolteacher who died in a car crash that same day. But lordy lordy lordy, Bryant's death is being treated by the media as if he was the Pope.

Well put.I've lived in the L.A. area for 3 years now and the coverage is just way over the top.I have never been a Laker fan or a Kobe fan so his death,while tragic,means nothing to me. I have more empathy for the other 7 non Bryant family members.For Gods sake,get over it.