Worst DU reaction to a public figure's death?

[BlueIris]

Poll question: Worst DU reaction to a public figure's death?

[bicentennial_baby]

1. Pffft....Laura Branigan

:D

[JVS]

3. All over a one-hit wonder!

[Pale Blue Dot]

6. Not to start this up again, but she was not a one-hit wonder.

She had 3 top 10 hits (Gloria, Self Control, Solitaire) and several other top 40 hits.

I'm not arguing about the net worth of her music, mind you, just that she does not fit the definition of "one-hit wonder".

[SarahB]

55. .

Four words
















80's music trivia God :rofl:



:loveya:

[BlueJazz]

62. Yep..I was attacked with Knives and Guns and Words after.....

...I posted this (3 years ago)

I don't like no talent hacks but that doesn't mean I don't like the People who like no talent hacks.

Christ..I'm sorry that the Girl died so young (well..not THAT young)
but frankly, she sang about as good as your friendly Home Depot salesgirl.

Look..if you wonder where this (And I) are coming from:
I worked for CBS as a studio Musician for years..I saw Guys and Gals
that could actually make the hairs on your arm rise and REAL tears come down your face (They were that Fucking Good)..You know where 99
percent of them wound up?? Working at a store somewhere because:

1. They were poor
2. They wouldn't suck/fuck the Producers

I saw many, many NTH's go on to semi-stardom because Mommy and Da-DA
had Big Bucks.

BUT as I said before: I detest NTH's but I have nothing against people who happen to like NTH's.

[Frank Cannon]

7. That was my first thought

I couldn't believe the comments that were made about Laura Branigan after she died. You'd think she was Elena Ceauşescu or something.

[Jamastiene]

10. Easily, the worst of them all.

I still don't know why there was so much animosity toward her. At least the bunch listed in the poll earned the scorn. She did nothing to deserve it.

[blondeatlast]

12. We have a winner! nt

[JVS]

26. could someone post a link?

[Gormy Cuss]

17. Yep. Laura Branigan by a mile.

:)

[Starbucks Anarchist]

24. Why was there a flamewar over her?

:shrug:

[bicentennial_baby]

31. here'e the link!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=1603797

[Starbucks Anarchist]

34. Yikes.

:scared:

Nothing worse than a music snob.

[blondeatlast]

35. How I miss Dookus (I think he's still here) and our dear Kathy in Cambridge.

Those were the good ol' days...

[bicentennial_baby]

37. They're both gone...

:(

But yes, they were...sigh.

[acmavm]

58. Oh shit, that was just plain weird.

[no name no slogan]

28. She DIED?

How the hell did I miss that?

[bicentennial_baby]

32. Here you go:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=1603797

[rug]

43. What's odd about that thread is that the poster's name changed.

Look at the poster's name on the title in the view all, message 9, then check on the post itself for the name.

[JVS]

49. There was a name changing opporunity after 2004

That way people who had named themselves stuff like KERRY04 could change to something else

[terrya]

2. I was sort of shocked about some of the reaction to Anna Nicole Smith's death

To put it mildly.

[BlueIris]

4. Yeah, that got really vile.

That's the option I voted for, incidentally.

[Initech]

57. Yeah same here, but I didn't really care.

Just like Falwell - one less "fevered ego" (as Bill Hicks used to call them) on the planet.

[NoPasaran]

5. Other: Croc-a-palooza after Steve Irwin's death

:wtf: was that all about?

[Jamastiene]

11. That one was horrible too.

And undeserved. Good answer.

[BlueIris]

16. I'm going to give myself a break on leaving out Irwin--I was busy with the midterms

and a job from hell at that point.

[AwakeAtLast]

60. Forgot about that one.

Good memory! Maybe I was trying to block it out. ;)

[Left Is Write]

61. That's what I'd say too.

[LostinVA]

8. I's say Anna Nicole Smith & Steve Irwin

The first an inoffensive, tragic woman who hurt no one but herself... the second a family man, huge conservationist, and animal advocate whose public persona irritated some people.

Yet, some posters were beyond hateful about their deaths.

[AlCzervik]

9. The Pope.

[BlueIris]

13. Whoops, that one totally slipped my mind.

My bad.

[AlCzervik]

14. the funniest thread title imo for the Pope wars was "All your Popes are belong to us"

[Connonym]

19. Am I evil because that line cracks me up?

[AlCzervik]

33. i guess that makes me evil too, that line still cracks me up.

[philosophie_en_rose]

15. None of the above.

:bounce:

[bertha katzenengel]

18. Reagan & Falwell are tied, IMO n/t

[BlueIris]

20. I wasn't here when Ray-Gun bought it.

What was that like?

[bertha katzenengel]

22. flame wars extrarodinaire

a great deal of hatred - "good riddance" -- it was disgusting IMO

a little "he was in fact a human being and his family & more loved him - let it go"

a little of both in some posts

[Flaxbee]

47. ugh - the thing that made me so damn mad is that Ray

Charles died within the same week, and the media was still in their Reagan orgy. Though, I stay as far away from death flame wars here as possible!

[NMDemDist2]

21. you forgot when the Pope died n/t

[Kajsa]

23. You mean John Paul II ?

People here were cheering his death?

Friggin unbelievable.

;(

They must have missed Michael Moore's website that day.

Memorable Quotes from John Paul II
April 2, 2005
Thank you, Michael Moore's website:)

"This determination is based on the solid conviction that what is hindering full development is that desire for profit and that thirst for power already mentioned. These attitudes and 'structures of sin' are only conquered - presupposing the help of divine grace - by a diametrically opposed attitude: a commitment to the good of one's neighbor with the readiness, in the gospel sense, to 'lose oneself' for the sake of the other instead of exploiting him, and to 'serve him' instead of oppressing him for one's own advantage."
-- December 30, 1987

"We cannot pretend that the use of arms, and especially of today's highly sophisticated weaponry, would not give rise, in addition to suffering and destruction, to new and perhaps worse injustices."
-- Message to George H.W. Bush, January 15, 1991

"A disconcerting conclusion about the most recent period should serve to enlighten us: side-by-side with the miseries of underdevelopment, themselves unacceptable, we find ourselves up against a form of superdevelopment, equally inadmissible. because like the former it is contrary to what is good and to true happiness. This superdevelopment, which consists in an excessive availability of every kind of material goods for the benefit of certain social groups, easily makes people slaves of 'possession' and of immediate gratification..."
-- March 13, 1998

"Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary."
-- January 27, 1999

"The Holy See has always recognized that the Palestinian people have the natural right to a homeland, and the right to be able to live in peace and tranquillity with the other peoples of this area."
-- March 22, 2000

"NO TO WAR! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity."
-- January 13, 2003

"When war threatens humanity's destiny, as it does today in Iraq, it is even more urgent for us to proclaim with a loud and decisive voice that peace is the only way to build a more just and caring society. Violence and arms can never solve human problems."
-- March 22, 2003

[La Lioness Priyanka]

25. people who cause much harm when alive, should not be mourned when dead

[Awsi Dooger]

27. All of them

DU is at its worst when someone dies. After I joined DU in fall 2002 the first major death was Paul Wellstone. That was devastating but I was shocked at the threads. Everyone was accusing the GOP of killing him by rigging the plane.

From that point I seldom open a thread involving a highly publicized death. But if I had to rate based on number of threads and their titles, and the impressions I got from posters who were participating in them, I'd say the Steve Irwin reaction was the worst. Many posters I respect tremendously were writing in other threads that it was the most disgusting reaction they had ever seen on this site.

[LynneSin]

29. Where is St. Ronnie on this list

:shrug:

[BlueIris]

52. I wasn't a member yet when that happened.

But apparently the disturbance was epic.

[KitchenWitch]

30. The Pope and Terry Schiavo in rapid and rabid succession.

[Karenca]

36. Steve Irwin. nt

[SOteric]

38. Reagan, The Pope, Mother Theresa, Steve Irwin

Oh, we've a talent for dancing on graves around here.

[HuskerDU]

39. I was very much saddened by some of the posts.

It is so rare to come across an uncaring human being here on DU. But it wasn't yesterday. What made me cringe was thinking about how Freepers would react to one of the 'good guys' dying. And we can't say that we're above that now.

[SacredCow]

42. I lurked at FR briefly today....

And there were quite a few posts from FReepers lurking here, shocked (but not really) at just how hateful things had become.

Personally, I can still say I'm above that. But I suppose I don't really blame those celebrating his death- It's just not a line that I care to cross.

[Joe Fields]

40. Steve Irwin

[ForrestGump]

41. Steve

I still remember the a**holes in that case.

In some ways he was a peer of mine, but that has nothing to do with my utter disgust at the reactions of some...the fact is that they did not understand who he was and what he did and when they were told the truth they chose to stick to their hateful guns. F***ers.

Same with Anna Nicole.

Falwell deserves contempt, in life and in death; these others did not.

I totally missed Laura Brannigan. I didn't even know she'd died. But I am, sad to say, not particularly surprised that she inspired a hatefest here on DU. :-(

[WildEyedLiberal]

44. Another vote for the Pope. Actually, a tie between Steve Irwin and the Pope.

I'm basing my judgment on this based on net good the person did in life vs amount of hate on DU. John Paul II was far from perfect, but I believe he was a good person, and he was on the side of the angels in many ways, including war and the death penalty. Some of the hate thrown at him was just disgusting and uncalled for - he even got bashed for supporting Solidarity in Poland, which blew my mind.

Steve Irwin and Anna Nicole Smith also had gratuitously unnecessary hatefests upon their deaths. No one will own up to trashing Irwin now but I saw it and it was disgusting.

Falwell is actually probably getting the most hate here, but unlike the Pope and Steve Irwin, there was nothing good about him, so I don't count this as "worst reaction."

[Danger Mouse]

45. Anna Nicole Smith. Lots of tasteful words thrown about like...

'whore' and 'slut' with all sorts of wanton abandon.
Du can be an ugly place sometimes.
I'm glad I missed the Irwin threads. I think my head would've exploded. He was a good man, and the world is poorer for losing him.

[Cannikin]

46. I have to defend the grave dancing liberals just a bit....

Its not just us, as this comment posted on MSNBC's message board shows:

electMessage #35
05/15/07 01:23 PM For all you morons who think it's "dirty liberals" celebrating the death of the man, I am pleased to you inform you that this is one Republican who is glad to see that fat bastard go. Get a grip on reality you redneck idiots - Falwell is a perfect example of what's wrong with this country, and the fact that you would call him a "great American" and blather on about him being a man of God shows just how bad his infection into the decliniing IQ of this country has been.
I'm glad he's gone - maybe now the Republican party can get its head out of the Moral Majority's butt. Falwell declared AIDS as God's punishment against gays - as if a disease has a sexual preference; declared anti-Semitic remarks as Gospel despite the fact that Jesus was a Jew; spread intolerance and hate and masked it as "God's work".
That is not a great American - oh wait, in this day and age that's what you morons want to emulate? Yeah, he's a great American to you - now get out of my country and go worship some other mindless minions of hatred. I hear Al Qaida has room for some idiot followers.



Thats one republican I might be able to get along with!

[LostInAnomie]

48. Steve Irwin

No contest.

[BlueIris]

50. I can't believe there's only been one vote for the Rehnquist fall-out.

I remember a couple of really nasty threads with titles like "I will piss on the grave of William Rehnquist" that alarmed and offended me very much.

[barb162]

51. the pope's death

[BlueIris]

53. I really have no idea how I forgot about the pope.

Maybe I was too mentally buggered by the Terri Shiavo nightmare to focus on rip-the-pope week, I don't know. I seem to vaguely recall that the pope died during a time when I was still waking up each morning expecting to hear that Bush had formally flipped it for good and sent us to Iran, so perhaps I was too distracted by that fear to note the DU carnage after JP II's passing.

[barb162]

54. It went on for weeks as I recall

Thousands of threads

[Initech]

56. I wasn't here for Ray-gun's week long funeral, but...

I bet that was spectacular to watch here.

[cobalt1999]

59. celebrate or don't but don't be a hypocrite

You can't be hypocritical by celebrating on one death and then complain about neo-cons celebrating when someone they don't like dies either. That sword cuts both ways. What is funny to see some people celebrating and then the exact same people acting all "holier than thou" about a free republic response to a liberal death.

The vile reaction to Steve Irwin's death confused the hell out of me though. I don't want to even visit the reality where you celebrate that one.