Amy Winehouse

[ShawnPorter]

So I'm not the world's most sensitive person, and the deaths of celebrities rarely get me to raise an eyebrow...

but perhaps it's because of all the horrible devastation in Oslo this week, or maybe I'm just softening up...

But is anyone else annoyed by all the snarky, shitty posts about Amy Winehouse's death?

I'm not a fan by any means, but it's a race to see who's more clever or witty or hurtful about the death of a very troubled 27yo and that's just fucking sickening.

Sure, she had the world in the palm of her hand, but she also had addiction. One powerful enough to wreck her life.

I dunno man. I definitely deleted a few 'friends' from facebook for being unnecessarily cruel.

[AlannaCA]

as soon as i turn on my internet browser the latest news pops up and this time it was the death of Amy winehouse. despite her rocky life it was still a shock to learn of this. it alway saddens me when i learn of someones death because i always think that they were loved by somebody.

[Avery Taylor]

I am with you Shawn. Anyone that thinks her death is funny can go fuck themselves. I can't say that I have ever had her on heavy rotation, but anytime I did hear a song of hers I thought it was pretty good.

[MsRad]

i liked her quite a bit, and i'm not ashamed to admit that. she brought back a sound that had been forgotten by pop music in my opinion. i'm just sick of snarky, ignorant comments in general. i made a decision to stop being friends with someone this week over a "joke" in which he stated that it should be mandated that all people with mental illness should be euthanised. when i confronted him on it (albeit, not doing so the best way) i was just met with excuses and the blame was turned around on me for doing so, because i "didn't get" the joke. as a person who suffers from mental illness, fuck that and fuck you. there are some things that just shouldn't be joked about, and people's suffering, again in my humble opinion, isn't one of them. where is the compassion and kindness? do people forget that there is real suffering associated with these things?

sorry for the rant. i really needed to vent.

[dari]

I guess I'm lucky in that I've already "hidden" the users who might post something dumb. The only comment I've seen is "There but for the grace of God go I."

[ShawnPorter]

that's why Im loving google+

I have a circle of about 15 people I actually want to follow, versus the 700 (down from 1000 with 200 awaiting me to reject them) that I'm too lazy to weed through on FB

[hogg]

I'm hugely annoyed, Shawn. It also seems that many are acting as if being saddened by her death is an outright rejection of the tragedies in Norway. They're not mutually exclusive, not by a long shot. Lots of sad news going around, so no need to use it for sanctimonious ends. The net result is that it made me wanna hug my wife and daughter.

She was a huge talent with even bigger demons. She left us too soon and I hope she finds peace now.

[Ursula]

The first thing I saw on Facebook today was

"FINALLY!! Go back to where you came from Amy Winhouse... HELL!!"

A little harsh, even for a junkie.

[CaptCanada]

To be honest, I don't much care for Amy Winehouse, and with her passing I can't really give that much of a second thought. But my sympathize does go out to her family and close friends. Cause they are the ones that will have to continue, not her.

[ShawnPorter]

I work in a bar. One of our bartenders just hit bottom a few months ago and is totally clean and sober now. He logged into FB today to see everyone slagging the "fucking addict"... the same friends who "supported" him during his giving up alcohol. He pointed out that when they were talking about her, they were talking about him too. He was powerless over his addictions too. He went to rehab. He gave up drinking a million times but went back to it. When he almost died, he realized enough was enough.

When people say things like she deserved it, they mean he deserved it too. As do all of the people who fight addiction. It's horseshit, and it's being cruel to be cool.

[JAllen]

too many people are trying to "be cool", it's like being in primary school. i deleted facebook, it has resolved so much exposure to negativity. my google+ has 2 people currently. i wasn't very shocked that she had an overdose, i wish i was more shocked that people think it's funny or try to make jokes about it.

[MsRad]

that's why Im loving google+

I have a circle of about 15 people I actually want to follow, versus the 700 (down from 1000 with 200 awaiting me to reject them) that I'm too lazy to weed through on FB

unfortunately, google+ is where the incident i described above took place.

[ShawnPorter]

For me it's been a clean slate. I used to feel obligated to accept requests from people, so I had a bloated stream of people I barely know. With +, I'm able to have more control over who's musings I want to see, and the circle I read the most are people who're less douchey.

[Ursula]

ugh my Facebook has become almost 100% clogged with people I don't know. For some reason every single random person who has anything to do with tattooing has added me. I guess because I'm friends with a couple good known tattooers that I actually know all these shitty tattooers just go through those guys lists and add everyone.

What shawn porter said is right on the mark though. People don't realize that 1000's of people die yearly from drug overdose and no one cares. Just because someone is a celebrity doesn't put them in a different league than other addicts.

I don't really care that she has died but I don't think she deserved it or anyone else does either. I just don't know her so it doesn't really effect my personal life. Same with pretty much any other celebrity who dies. If you've never met the person I don't understand how you could be so sad or angry that she's dead. It's not your neighbour's kid you grew up with, and you don't know her any better than the junkie on the street that died last night, if you're going to be heartbroken about her, be heartbroken about that junkie too.

[gougetheeyes]

Was worried this would be a negative thread, but relieved that others are bothered by all the negativity. Makes me want to quit the internet.

[Mel Noir]

I just think people can be horrible regardless of what they're being cruel about. I was in a bar in town when Michael Jackson died, and these blokes were so horrible about the fact I was sad they made me cry and go home. Amy Winehouse may have had a shit ton of demons, but she never came across as a horrible person though, so I don't get why people would want to be so mean.

[Ursula]

cause people have nothing better to do with their time and are jealous at the fact that she got fame and money and they didn't

it's pretty much the reason anyone is like that about anyone else, they are usually jealous or see something in that person that they see in themselves and don't like...

at least that's how i see it. i have no problem admitting i've been guilty of this, i think we all have. it just becomes obvious when people put it out there on the internet for everyone to see.

the guy who I said wrote about Amy belonging in hell on Facebook is/was a heroin head himself, i figure he's just seeing what could have and may still happen to him one day and is hiding his fear and pain by lashing out at others..

[Liesel]

I actually enjoy Back to Black and her songs come up on my shuffle occasionally. I was a little sad about it. Every time I saw a picture of her in a magazine looking somewhat normal I thought "Cool. Maybe she will get it together and make another album." It certaintly didn't surprise me but I had been hoping things would turn out better for her.

[Joe Shit]

I was a bit shocked that she had passed.You wan't to see the happy ending where she get's sober and continues to do what she loves.As a recovering addict myself,it's challenging to stay on the straight and narrow.It's probably more challenging when your famous,and have all that money.But in the end,at least she got to do something she loved,and was able to express her unique talent to the world.

[Jaycel Adkins]

Thank you for this thread, has been lucky to avoid the comments going around about Amy Winehouse. When people are snarky and nasty I remember this monologue by Craig Ferguson about Britney Spears, obviously this is more serious situation, but strikes the right notes, then and now:

[dari]

Jaycel,

Thanks for putting that up. I got sober when I was 27, I was lucky. I can't say that I'm a completely different person, I'm not, but 14 years later I'm a lot more useful, and I have a life I couldn't have pictured at 27. I'm sorry that she didn't get the help, love and support that she needed, or find her own turning point, to get out of that hole. Amy Winehouse was once a beautiful, captivating, and incredibly talented girl, we'll never know what she could've brought to the world if she had survived and thrived.

[ian]

for those of us in recovery, it definitely makes you grateful to be one of the lucky ones. I can understand why a 'normie' may look down at her and pass blame because they can't understand the addict mentality without being one and suffering from it themselves.

I'm sure it's a lot harder to hit bottom with a nice supply of money and unfortunately we see the demise of celebrities all too often, not to say that it doesn't happen just as much to us regular folk... I know at least 4 people that have passed in the last 2 months as a result, either directly or indirectly, to using drugs and alcohol. My 2 best friends that I got clean/sober with both passed away, one was 2 years into my recovery, the other was 2 months ago...

For a dope fiend like me I know that one is too many and a thousand is never enough..... So far, 6+ years later I'm still one of the lucky ones and for that I'm grateful....

[gougetheeyes]

Really enjoyed the Craig Ferguson piece. Now, for something a bit more forceful:

[Kev]

So much wisdom in that Ferguson clip- it's about being willing to go to any lengths necessary (like going to a "legit" rehab vs. one of those country club deals). I think when addicts and alcoholics are young, they convince themselves that they have another run left in them, but it's a game of Russian Roulette. Like Ferguson said, the first part is getting sober (and wanting it), the next part is staying sober through putting in the work-spiritual and service-wise.

Russell Brand had an awesome blog post about Amy's death-seems pretty swamped right now www.russellbrand.tv/2011/07/for-amy

[jinxproof1996]

i sympathize with her disease and love the "back to black" record from start to finish.