i’d like to pop your culture, baby
let us be honest with ourselves
until pete seeger died yesterday
no one cared that he was still living
and probably couldn’t have told you
whether or not he was still breathing with
any certainty
and the man was a legend
who will transcend for all time
but when a celebrity dies
there is this gratuitous outpouring
on social media
a need to participate in the feigned
community grief
just like the professor on gilligan’s isle
were we holding candlelight vigils for them?
were we sending checks to a hollywood old folks home?
truth be told
absolutely not
because in american culture
between the time you peak
and the time you die
you wither on the vine
we’ll pay attention if you’re arrested
or get caught telling a lie
but from day to day
we couldn’t give a flying fuck
if you’re still alive
4 replies on “if i had a hammer, i would shatter your illusions with it”
You gdamn tell it. Yes.
Thanks, girl, hell yes, thank you.
Too true in many cases. Sometimes, we go to the other extreme and refuse to let them die in peace, as in the cases of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe and, more recently, Michael Jackson. Perhaps, we tend to ignore them because, to many, they are not “real people,” just the characters they portray, and, usually, after the show dies, so do the actors as far as the public is concerned. I was raised around show business and later worked in the industry, and it is sad how fast the public forgets some celebrities as soon as new faces appear. So, let’s hear a round of applause for those who deserve it!
Well said, ma’am!