[Mendi the ISFJ]

Why do so many people in society treat celebrities whom have died as something extraordinary ?

Theres a big list out there but once someone who people seemed to get too much of dies they go on and on about how great they were. I do understand the respect of not speaking ill of the deceased, but to me that doesnt mean i have to act like they were great when they were mediocre. People had lots of negative things to say when Michael Jackson was accused of molestation but when he dies at a young age he is later somehow socially acquitted of all crime. Steve Jobs was the butt of many a FB blast, the scapegoat for computer mishaps, then he dies and everyone and their dog makes him their avatar and cuts and pastes poems about him. I guess it just seems fake. what's your opinion?

[MCRTS]

It's the same with normal people. When they're around, we don't appreciate them. When they're gone, we do. That's even worse for celebrities, who are always in the spotlight. For a lot of people, it's better to remember the best that they are, and their contributions. For me, personally, I don't really care about celebrities either way, so it doesn't bother me.

[knittigan]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately for personal reasons and I also find it very strange. Even when people close to me have unexpectedly passed away, I've never felt the urge to share with people or memorialize who they used to be. Quite the opposite, in fact. I withdraw and struggle to wrap my mind around the fact that they're no longer alive, that I will never see or speak to them again.

Perhaps the sudden and unexpected reminder of our own mortality really gets to some people. Maybe we start thinking about that distant (or maybe less so) day in the future when it's going to be us and we fear the possibility that we might be forgotten or that our lives have been meaningless or remembered for that which we don't want to be remembered. Maybe it's a coping method, how we manage that kind of incredibly frightening anxiety? I'm not sure. Just a thought.