The Forgotten

The only good picture I can find of her. Lol.

News of the death of Amy Winehouse broke a few days ago. I was on Twitter and the whole wide world was talking about her untimely demise. Maybe Twitter isn't a bad place to be sometimes. And now the media is planning to make a tribute towards the soulful songstress. But let's rewind and take a look at what people thought of her when she was still breathing. The troubled singer had been struggling with drug abuse and alcohol since her early 20's. There had been times when she was so drunk and high, that she would cancel her concerts and shows. Let's just say that she wasn't actually accepted or respected throughout the world. How can they, if she wouldn't respect her own shameful self? Well, this wasn't entirely her fault, because she only started to become an addict right after her grandmother died. Nonetheless, it was ever so saddening to see a bright, talented girl be flushed down the toilet. It wasn't always so sombre though; she won multiple Grammy awards for her albums Frank and Back to Black, the latter which is still her finest work to date.

Faults put aside, she was still a human being. And everyone deserves a second chance. Unfortunately for Amy, she was too late. She hadn't the time to show the other side of who she is. If we can subtract all the booze, drugs and madness that she attained, there was once a shining star in the making who had a voice so soulful, that if polished well would become a sensation. Let us ask ourselves this : why do someone has to be gone for them to be appreciated? Is it because of their demise that we feel we should forge a tribute? Why can't it be done when they were still breathing in this world? A tribute does not mean that we should wait till they hold their last breath to do it.

Just the other day, someone posted a video link of Amy's song on Facebook, and said that her songs are 'nice'.Well, before she died, you didn't even think twice about her, but now that she's gone, you're starting to appreciate her music? It's cool that people are recognizing and cherishing her work, but why does it have to be now, when Amy's gone and she doesn't know that more people are enjoying her music? If only she knew, she would be happy and appreciative of them. I myself am not a fan of Amy, but I always thought that she was a good singer despite the fact that she cared more about how high her beehive hair is rather than her live performances.

Another good example of these 'forgotten' people is Michael Jackson. The last few years of his life has been nothing but torment and dishonesty. The people whom he trusted deceived him, and he was on his way towards long-term depression and a feeling of uselessness. Michael was always thought of as a strange, eccentric man who liked to play with little children. He once owned a large housing area which he turned into a child wonderland, appropriately named Neverland, after the place where Peter Pan lives. Despite his child-like mannerisms, eccentricity and suspicious behaviour, have not people notice all the money that he gave to charities that supported children rights and poverty-stricken countries? Strange or not, he was a pure and generous human being who only cared about giving love to the world. His ways, when compared to general normalcy, could have been somewhat unusual, but to him it was all love. He was different than most of us, but he was a better person than most of us can be.

Before MJ passed away, he was regarded as a child molester. It has been two years since he died and now, his albums are skyrocketing back to the top, and his popularity has increased throughout the world. Now, and only after he is gone, he's returned to being 'the greatest entertainer that ever lived'? In the previous years, when the presence of this unfortunate charismatic performer is still felt, many thrashed him and called him a molester, but then when he passed, the world cried in grief? Where were all these people when MJ needed them the most? As much as the world thinks that they have done enough to support and remember Michael, he is just another forgotten soul that didn't deserve the malevolence that the public threw at him.

We may have remembered these public figures with respect and integrity, but it would have been better if we respected them as much when they were alive as we are now.