News of Anna Nicole Smith's death is barely 24 hours and I am already weary of the articles about how much we cared for her. Such dribble is both a lie and a shameless attempt to make us feel better about the way we treated her life. She was a metaphorical blow up doll for our sick pleasures.
Let's be honest, Anna Nichole was our own freak show. She probably thought we were giving her the one thing she wanted most in the world, love, when we were really just ogling her body or giggling about her life as a train wreck. It's sad that self-respect is in such short supply that most people can't even tell the difference between attention and compassion. If we had cared about her we would have stopped rewarding such superficial and damaging behavior. Her death is our own.
Honestly, I never paid her much attention, and I generally am unsympathetic about bad decisions. I don't know anything about her mom but I it must be hard watching your child's self-destruction get fueled by society. And now, we eulogize her with trite, the ultimate disrespect. Her premature death has given us a chance at self-reflection, which is being used the way we always used her.
My prior post was a commentary on how ridiculous and confused her life was. It stands as an alarming symptom. I hope her next life treats her better. I hope she finds a little peace. But for the living, the only question now is: who is next?
Bernie Taupin seemed to get it right when he wrote "Candle in the Wind."
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marylin was found in the nude
Goodbye, Norma Jean
She was nothing more than sexual, and then an oddity to all of us. Nothing more than our Anna Nichole.
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