Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

I for one am quite dumbfounded that most of our contributing members have by-passed the mention of war heroes past and present yet commented on the death of Michael Jackson. Can somebody please tell me what Michael Jackson contributed that could ever take away from our war heroes?
Sorry but time to get things into perspective IMHO!!!!

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

You mean Michaels dead!!!!!! next you will be tellingme that Jimi Hendrix is gone, Nelson Mandela is free and Santa does not exist!

yeah its a sad state of afairs when the majority of the genral public care more for some black and white singer who may or may not have been a chilld molester

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

in answer to the original question ....check out what Kipling wrote .....guess things don't change much

TOMMY
by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)



I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Bernie, it is because the war heroes were/are unassuming young men. Proud of their country.
They did not and do not proclaim their deeds at every opportunity, there is no agent or publicist trying to make mileage from what they do as a 'norm'.

The young people of today, will only know of the sacrifices that were made for the freedoms that they enjoy if we keep on reminding them.....teaching them their history.........aah, but there's the rub....it may be seen as glorifying war.
Can anyone tell me how war and death can be glorious?

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Noticed that too ... and I agree with you.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Child molesting pop stars are more exciting.

Sic.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

It appears so.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Sorry Bernie,,,yes your right


....GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIER HEROS....

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Tomorrow is veterans day 27th June an ideal time to pay tribute to those people who have given so much and are still giving. These men and women through the ages have given so much for their country and expected nothing in return, we all owe our all members of our armed services both past and present a debt of gratitude

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Thanks for that Jaysay, very true words.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Too true, it should be this that is all over the news channels today to remind us about veteran's Day, not the death of MJ....

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

I think war can achieve quite a lot of good. I don't think it is necessarily something that we SHOULDN'T glorify.

As I reminded people yesterday, on average 25,000 children die a day... equivalent to one every 3.5 seconds or 9 million a year. And that is just children. If I was going to cry about strangers dying, I think it would be them, NOT Michael Jackson.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

The front page of the Daily Express had a photo of Jackson and huge black block with the words "Michael Jackson Is Dead" in large white type. I was, to be honest, amazed and disgusted.

I doubt they will surpass that when the Queen dies.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

I think we will West Ender, with probably whole pages dedicated to her for long periods of time incuding the State funeral, and the new monarch. Well, in this country anyway.

I think we are quite good at honouring our war dead in the form of war memorials, poppy days, etc., and is steady and ongoing, and will be for years to come.

The media are only feeding the hungry public who are demanding the details of his 'icons' demise. I have never been a celebrity worshipper, so not impressed, but millions are. The same would happen if someone like David Beckham passed away tomorrow ... all the football mad fans would expect huge media coverage. Supply and demand.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

I'm talking about the ridiculously dramatic front page, not the rest of the paper. :rolleyes:

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

well i aint one of em bernie, aint commented on jacksons demise cos i couldn't care less.:rolleyes:

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

no one likes to talk about the brave dying as its a sad occasion

everbody however loves to hear that a pedophile has dropped dead

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Mmmm... suppose best not to read it whilst wearing white clothing then.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

The dead diddler didn't make the front page of the Whig-Standard; however a story about post traumatic stress disorder among troops returning from Afghanistand did.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Well I don't know about anybody else but its less than two days since MJ went moon walking in the sky, and I'm already cheesed of, totally utterly cheesed of. This morning as usual I put the ITV news on at 5-30am, the half hour program was wall to wall Jackson, not one mention of anything else, not a mention about it being armed services day, BBC news channel was no better, the world and is wife were rolled out, "whats your feeling about the death of MJ" was asked time and time again. I think for the next four or five weeks I'll look on Ceefax and Teletext to get news, because if I keep watching the News programs on any channel I may just give up the will to live myself:(

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

I can only hope :D

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Why is it necessary to make this comparison? Seems totally pointless to me.
If somebody close to you, or you care about, dies, then it's the most important thing at that point in time.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Don't worry lass I hope to be round a lot longer to keep poking you with a stick, as is my want:rolleyes::D:D

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That's good then. Though I'd always have Garinda and Neil to fall back on.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Been really trying to get my head round this statement all day and still can't. Surely the debt we owe the lads and lasses who have and still are fighting for our freedom far outweighs our thoughts on Michael Jackson. How many of our members can claim to be remotely close to him? Hero worship gone overboard IMHO

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

Ya the lads are great standard bearers

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

It's all relative really. How many people actually know people who've died in the armed forces? I don't mean some distant relation or ancestor, I mean actually know. Whilst I feel saddened by every death in a combat situation, the truth is that within minutes I've forgotten about it, and I suspect that goes for the majority of people if they're being honest. I remember and respect their sacrifices each year in November, but the rest of the year I'm too busy with my own life to mourn people I don't have any personal connection with.

I'm no fan of Michael Jackson, but for many people, his music is deeply ingrained into their lives and their memories. Music has the power to create very deep and emotional attachments. People often refer to 'a soundtrack to their lives' and how it can provoke very strong emotions within them. I was just thinking the same thing as I rewatched the Springsteen performance at Glastonbury from last night.

To come back to my original comment, I still see no need to make a comparison between the lives of Michael Jackson and those of the armed forces. If you only value life by the levels of serious sacrifices made, then many of us are stealing air on a daily basis. It seems quite shallow to make such judgments.

Re: Getting Things In Perspective!!!
 

To be honest, many people remember famous people who have died, it's not like they die and are then erased from our memories. Michael Jackson is no different than any of them. He brought great talent to the world and now he is dead. People do that all the time.

Michael Jackson isn't some sort of supreme being. He's not actually done very much for quite some time now other than make people question his mental health time and time again.

The true test will be if in 10, 15 years time the younger generations will still grant him the super stardom that we do. Elvis is remembered for being successful and dying young. But he's still only really popular musically with the generations who lived close to his time... just like the rock fans of my generation think of Kurt Cobain with people who died young in music...

Will the younger generations that are toddlers now associate MJ with his music or his madness in ten years time? We'll have to wait and see won't we.