On Amy Winehouse

In all honesty, I never really listened to the music of Amy Winehouse. Back in the day when two addicts played out their problems across the front pages of the nation’s newspapers, I tended to be more in the Pete Doherty camp. This doesn’t mean, of course, that I can’t see the tragedy in her death. Another talented musician dies at 27. Another talented musician to join what Kurt Cobain’s mother once referred to as the “stupid club”.

Now, the response to Winehouse’s death has shown that many would concur that there was something deeply stupid about Winehouse – just as there is about any addict. And while I would agree that there is something terribly and tragically predictable about Winehouse dying young, I do think that a lot of people miss the crucial point about addiction. Yeah, people can choose to get over that addiction. However, such a view runs the risk of making that choice – and its implications – sound very easy. In fact, overcoming an addiction to drink or drugs (and Winehouse apparently had addictions to both) is a massive and incredibly difficult thing to do. Making the choice to fight an addiction is only the start of the process – and that process is something that lasts for the rest of that addict’s life. Furthermore, for anyone who has ever (over-)indulged in drink or drugs, there’s probably the faint feeling of “there but for the grace of God…”

Of course, this won’t stop the small-minded tutting to themselves and muttering that they saw this coming and that Winehouse, as a drunken junkie, got what she deserved. That such thoughts are grossly inappropriate in the wake of an untimely death won’t matter to them. But for those of us who don’t sit in gilded towers of social conservatism, looking down in disdain at the people below, we can see Amy Winehouse’s death for what it is – a tragedy for her fans and, in particular, for her family. And we can also see how messy both life and death can be, at the same time as noting just how easy it is for some to lose control of their lives.

May I be the first to say "couldn't happen to a nicer person":

North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, is suffering from life-threatening cancer of the pancreas, South Korean television reported today. It is the latest indication of a leadership crisis in the isolated and nuclear armed dictatorship.

You can measure your success or failure as a political leader using many different parameters. Kim Jong Il can be defined whole-heartedly as a failure since I know I am not alone, as harsh as it might sound, in keeping my fingers crossed that the "Dear Leader" does indeed pass on. Because his death may be the best hope for that poverty stricken, abused and beleaguered nation. 

Mourning Jade Goody

Letters From A Tory on Jade Goody's death:

Personally, I won’t miss Jade Goody in the slightest and I see no reason why I should. What happened to her over the past year has been awful and must have been extremely traumatic for her and her family, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the fact that she ultimately became famous for being incredibly ignorant and stupid and that I always switched channels or closed the newspaper I was reading if I ever came across a story about her because I found her incredibly annoying. Please do not fall into the sycophantic trap that no doubt many journalists will today and over the coming days. If you liked her, fine, if you didn’t like her, fine - just don’t pretend that your opinions of her formed over many, many years have suddenly changed just because she passed away.

I can't really disagree with any of the above, and I think that it is important to keep her death in perspective. Her death is a tragedy - just like any premature death is a tragedy. She was brave in the same way that every other cancer sufferer is brave - they fight for their lives against a terrible illness. And her celebrity status was simply a result of her willingness to leave behind any notions of dignity in her search for fame. She wasn't, as some people claim, talentless - but her talent was simply being able to seek and achieve fame through any means necessary. Even if that meant she was as famous for negative reasons as she was for positive reasons.

Jade Goody's death will be mourned, and quite rightly so. However her passing should be mourned by her family and friends, not by the whole nation. 

Jade Goody: Dying in Public

If you've been living under some sort of rock for the past few weeks, you may just have been able to miss this story. Otherwise, you'll know that reality TV star Jade Goody is dying.

Make no mistake about it - she has my deep sympathy. Cancer is a horrific disease, and for a young mother to be struck down by this disease is a real tragedy for all concerned. The grim truth of the situation is that Jade isn't going to make it, meaning that we are bearing witness to her final days.

Which is the problem I have with what is going on at the moment. We - the nation as a whole - is acting as witnesses to the death of this person. The media coverage means that we are effectively watching her die. 

Jade Goody lived in the media's spotlight - she took what little talent she had, seized on a medium that would allow her to project herself on the national stage, and then turned herself into an instantly recognisable celebrity. She was always a fiercely polemical public figure -  a real love her or hate her personality. But she seemed determined to live her whole life with the nation watching. And now she seems determined to die in exactly the same way - with the nation looking in on her. 

Now if I was in her position, I'd be determined to die with as much dignity as the cancer allowed. And that would mean avoiding the media glare at all costs. I certainly wouldn't be doing what Jade is doing, and projecting my final moments onto the national stage. I can't imagine anything much worse than dying with the whole country looking in on me. 

Which is really the point. I find what Jade has chosen to do with her final months cringe-making. But she has chosen to do it. It is her choice to die as she has lived - with a reality TV camera poking in on her. So be it. The fact that I'd go for another way to die is irrelevant. How you die should be just as much a question of personal choice as how you live. I hope Jade is able to take whatever comfort she can in her final few months.