Mourning someone you didn't know - acceptable?

[TheDudeAbides]

With the anniversary of Princess Di's death coming up - it's got me wondering. Is it okay to mourn the death of a celebrity or someone you didn't know? I worked retail at the time of Princess Di's death, and the assistant manager had to take a week off work because she was so distraught over her death. To me this seemed utterly ridiculous. When she did finally come in, she would frequently be overcome by tears. She was neither British nor (as far as I know) actually a member of the Royal Family.

When Jerry Garcia died I'll admit I was sad. But it was mostly from a selfish point of view. I wouldn't be able to enjoy any new music from him, and at the time it was a really big part of my life (I used to see around 10-15 shows a year). Nonetheless, I still never would've cried or missed work or anything like that.

So Loungers - is it acceptable to openly mourn the death of a celebrity? Does it even make sense to do so? And by mourning I'm talking specifically about crying or missing work or anything else that would impact your daily routine. I can understand being saddened by it, but that's about it. It just seems silly to me.

[diebitter]

Yes, if you miss that person, it's okay, but not to the extent of taking time off work.


Diana was a quite special case. She was really the first and foremost first lady of the cult of celebrity that we're in now. That's sort of badmouthing her, and she did like celebrity I've no doubt, but she did use it in a powerful and beneficial way. She visited aids patients and touched them at a time everyone was scared of them, she kissed aids babies, she raised the issues of landmines etc. She put herself, in other words, in a place to help people and leveraged her celebrity in a strikingly positive way. And it was this I think that made her death a true loss to so many people, she touched their emotions. I honestly think she's unique in that respect, though there are comparisons with JFK and the hopes he engendered.

I was pretty sad when she died because she was familiar, and I'd be as sad, probably sadder, if a woman I vaguely knew died unexpectedly and left 2 sons behind.

Unfortunately I do believe the cult of celebrity is now one that sort of chases Diana's ghost, where they're trying to find that one person that is guaranteed, just by being on the front cover, of selling all your magazines/papers.

Sorry, I've gone off-topic.

Yes, it's okay to mourn a celeb if it's a loss, but not to the extent you have leave for mourning from work.

[DrewDevil]

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With the anniversary of Princess Di's death coming up - it's got me wondering. Is it okay to mourn the death of a celebrity or someone you didn't know? I worked retail at the time of Princess Di's death, and the assistant manager had to take a week off work because she was so distraught over her death. To me this seemed utterly ridiculous. When she did finally come in, she would frequently be overcome by tears. She was neither British nor (as far as I know) actually a member of the Royal Family.

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That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of, and I can't believe she got away with this.

I was really sad when Chris Farley died, but to miss work? Unfathomable.

[4_2_it]

I'm with Drew. Taking off work for the death of a celebrity is very odd. However, if she got paid, OP should clear the rest of the week to mourn Merv Griffin.

[Blarg]

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With the anniversary of Princess Di's death coming up - it's got me wondering. Is it okay to mourn the death of a celebrity or someone you didn't know? I worked retail at the time of Princess Di's death, and the assistant manager had to take a week off work because she was so distraught over her death. To me this seemed utterly ridiculous. When she did finally come in, she would frequently be overcome by tears. She was neither British nor (as far as I know) actually a member of the Royal Family.

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That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of, and I can't believe she got away with this.


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Ditto. I was actually chuckling through the rest of the thread once I read that.

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I was really sad when Chris Farley died, but to miss work? Unfathomable.

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I was very sad that Raymond Carver died, because he lived such a hard life and came from so little to be such an incredibly great writer. And just when he was finally starting to make a little money at last, he dies. Lung cancer too -- horrible death. Friggin' bummer. If anyone deserved some good times, he did.

Miss work? Hell no.

There were a few other celebs whose deaths made me sad, but not many, and usually not very. John Lennon and Jim Croce come to mind, and Harry Chapin. There are not that many celebrities who accomplish all that much, certainly not all that much that is particularly valuable, lasting, or demanding. Rodney Dangerfield recently, but he made me sad when he was alive, too. If you've read any interviews with him, he seemed like a guy who had had a lot of disappointments. When he died, the sadness of that seemed all of a piece with his life.

[katyseagull]

Agree with you that crying and taking time off work is silly. Feeling really bummed out is fine, like when Chris Farley died.

Your coworker sounds like a trip. Some women are ridiculously emotional. I know this one girl who cries at the drop of a hat. Her eyes will well up with tears whenever she hears a sad story, even if it's about a stranger. I used to think it was retarded but now I just think it's hormonal or something. I'm sure she bawled her eyes out when Diana died.

Diana was pretty unique. I remember one of my sisters telling me that she was actually depressed for many days after her death. I think Diana was a hero to a lot of people. She was very giving and acted like she genuinely cared about people who were disadvantaged. She was both playful and tragic and connected well with the people.

[dlk9s]

The coworker needs to get a life. I can't stand when people are obsessed with celebrities. I didn't take a week off of work/school when relatives died.

Of course, I've been sad when certain celebrities have died. Mr. Rogers, John Candy, and Walter Payton come to mind, but [censored].

[DrewDevil]

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Agree with you that crying and taking time off work is silly. Feeling really bummed out is fine, like when Chris Farley died.

Your coworker sounds like a trip. Some women are ridiculously emotional. I know this one girl who cries at the drop of a hat. Her eyes will well up with tears whenever she hears a sad story, even if it's about a stranger. I used to think it was retarded but now I just think it's hormonal or something. I'm sure she bawled her eyes out when Diana died.

Diana was pretty unique. I remember one of my sisters telling me that she was actually depressed for many days after her death. I think Diana was a hero to a lot of people. She was very giving and acted like she genuinely cared about people who were disadvantaged. She was both playful and tragic and connected well with the people.

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On a related note, "The Queen" with Helen Mirren is one of the best, most fascinating movies I have ever seen.

[katyseagull]

I saw it and was a little depressed by it. Do you think it was pretty accurate in its portrayal?

[DrewDevil]

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I saw it and was a little depressed by it. Do you think it was pretty accurate in its portrayal?

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I have no idea. In fact, I wasn't real jazzed about seeing it, as I don't really care about the Brits, or Lady Di, or whatever, but Mrs. DD really wanted to see it.

I just thought it was fascinating how everything played out, and how Tony Blair went from "great, like I don't have anything better to do" to "Your majesty, I feel it is my constitutional duty to insist that you make a public statement."

It was simply amazing to me how out of touch the royals were, how angry the people were, etc., etc.