From Comeback to Comeback Please

Note: I know that this isn't exactly a current event. I wrote this some time ago but I am just getting around to posting it now.

Like most people, I tuned into the home-going service for Whitney Houston. It was really touching to see the outpouring of love and support that was shown by family and fans alike. It's sad that it takes death for people to say great things about you or acknowledge your accomplishments. But at least it happens.

With all the questions surrounding her death, (drugs, suicide) its easy for all of us become fixated on the last hours of life rather than a person's life, impact, and legacy. In the post-housewife era of entertainment, drama is king. The spiraling descent of a human being is more alluring than the rise. And once they crash, we rather they stay there to see if they could fall further.

Its the most true with entertainers. And the nail in the coffin can be the very thing that might restart your career, the comeback. Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, and Michael Jackson were all victims of it. They were musicians who were at the top of their game, fell off for many reasons (some scandals, others drug use) and were one event away from reclaiming their former glory.

Well, until they died that is...

Killed by the very thing that made them..fame. The pressure to perform to the same standard every time with very little understanding from fans and critics alike when they miss the mark. I know that I'm a guilty of that too. Its just very weird that three of the most recognized names in entertainment all fell within months of making their comebacks. And now, in death they get the attention (good or bad) they deserve. I wonder if we all could've handled that pressure; that criticism in this industry. If that's the case, we should all share in the blame and stop crying comeback please.

Yeah I know it sounds harsh. And its meant to be. Sometimes our expectations of people with a talent can be farfetched. We forget that they are human beings. They allow their artistic expression to be scrutinized by others.

The one thing I realized from the deaths of these artists, is that they really are always working. Even when you haven't heard any new material. A lot goes into that CD we buy or download that we don't see. I'm not questioning the sincerity of our outpouring of sadness for any artist. But I wonder what do we really miss about them? And as fans can we really be expected to miss more than their music? If they weren't as successful would we miss them the same?

About Trayvon...

Greetings to all who read and support my blog. I know I have been away for a while but I finally got a minute to breathe so that I can write something. Ironically, its about someone who isn't anymore.

I just got an email from a family member on some one's take on Trayvon Martin's killing. And it inspired me to write something. I had so many things that I wanted to post about that I didn't get a chance to (Whitney Houston, new music, etc...) But, non of these seem as important as this. When I first heard about the killing I didn't feel much as I saw a blurb about it on the TV at work. It wasn't until I sat down and watched a couple of videos and listened to the 911 tapes that I felt some emotion. Anger. Sadness. Frustration.

But what really made me upset was not the case but my initial reaction. Nothing. I wish I could tell you that I was upset and ready to put on my hoodie and march but I wasn't. The reality is that I have been conditioned to situations just like this one. Where someone of color is arrested, wrongfully-charged, killed, or profiled and somehow justice is not in their favor. In fact, I have come to expect it. And that my friend, is a problem. We are conditioned to immediately react and be outraged when something of this magnitude happens but what happens a week, month, or year from now? We will be caught up in the next major story the news puts out.  I count myself as part of that cycle.

I don't want this to be the case this time. I don't want us as people to forget the outrage, sadness, or anger that any of us feel for this boy and his family. Because that means we are still human. Our humanity is intact when we can still empathize for one another. When we can still rally together for a single cause and make a change happen and our voices to be heard. And I want to believe in that change. The hope that we can still accomplish this.

So how do we keep this movement going? How do we keep the outrage of this situation from dying down? Continue to feel something. Anything. Don't fall into the trap of getting caught up in the next story that every one's talking about and forget. Because the reality is that unfortunately, there will be another Trayvon Martin out there. Because racism is still alive. It's more alive today actually. And though it's not going away anytime soon, we must take those feelings and share them. Talk about them with your neighbor, your coworker, your loved one. Because dialogue leads to communication. And hopefully a better understanding of each other and how we can coexist together in this world.

Sounds overly ambitious right? Impossible? But we fear what we don't understand. Or choose not to understand. And it was obvious by those 911 tapes that George Zimmerman didn't understand something about Trayvon Martin. He ignored signs and warnings because he believed that he had categorized Trayvon correctly. Enough to justify killing him. And as long as things like this happen, we have a lot more talking to do.