Standing behind two other women, at the supermarket, I couldn't help but overhear their conversation. They were talking about a young woman, who had recently died, and I was quite puzzled by a recurring theme. More than once they mentioned how it was such a shame someone so pretty - so beautiful - had died. They felt the need to add that qualifier a number of times to the point I wanted to ask, "so it wouldn't have been a shame she died if she had been ugly?" It's amazing how many times I have heard people have similar discussions and it really does make me wonder what value we put on the human population. It's a shame if a beautiful - young - sexy - handsome - good looking - etc person dies. But really I have never heard anyone say it was a shame someone so ugly died.
Even on the news the deaths who get the notice and a lot of media coverage are young, beautiful people. The old wrinkled up and ugly get a mention on the scroll across the bottom.
Just something to ponder......
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Oh the irony that I received an e-mail news item just before reading this that actor Roy Schneider, age 75, had died. He was neither pretty nor beautiful and that's what was great about him. He looked like a man who'd lived life, each leathery wrinkle telling a story. I never went in the water after "Jaws" that I didn't think of him.
Yeah, but how much press did his death get? Almost none. They had an announcement on a radio talk show that Keith heard. Never heard it on the news. He didn't even rate a scroll at the bottom of the screen. I remember him mainly as Joe Gideon in All That Jazz.
I may get booed for suggesting this but I think it is a form of instinct to regret the young and beautiful dying as they are perceived in a primitive sense as being more reproductively desireable. Its all in the genes.
Roy Schneider was 75 and had had a full life and great career. Had he died suddenly at age 28, no doubt quite good looking, people might have mourned him as dying while still young and handsome.
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