The Midget's Soapbox: Perspective

Before word one on this matter really gets typed out, I would like to say that the death of 22-year old R&B star Aaliyah is tragic in nearly every conceivable way. This editorial (for lack of a better or more appropriate term) isn't to disgrace or diminish that tragedy, but simply to put some people's views in check.

Without further adieu, the new Soapbox;

As I lay in bed on the night of August 31st, 2001, I skimmed by MTV to catch a few seconds of the MTV News: Now special on the tragic death of Aaliyah. This show had been repeating numerous times throughout the course of the week, and finally, I could take no more.

Really, have to ask myself if John Norris would be standing in front of the camera if Gavin Rossdale, Daniel Johns, Chris Cornell, or any other rock star had passed on in such a manner. Would mtv.com have pictures of Sarah McLachlan posted all over their website if she had died in a sudden course of events? Of course not. This makes me absolutely sick!

Now, to be fair, I am fans of all the aforementioned rock/folk singers (but that has no place here). In the end, everyone is a human being.

If MTV is going to drag an already tragic event onward in the hopes of ratings (btw, who else was ever-so-slightly sickened when they saw the commercial for the 2001 Video Music Awards airing right after the MTV News segment announcing Aaliyah's passing?), then they're going to win. People will watch, and although with good intentions toward Aalyiah, her family, and friends, they're ultimately just going to keep this vicious cycle of 'you don't matter because you don't sell records' going.

My main gripe is that although tragic, it's time for the general public to step back and let her family pull together. In this situation, it's generally known that people will ask for emotional help when needed. Her fans (myself actually included) have done enough. Now, let's move on and let the family start putting their lives back together.

That being said, let's summarize.

Aaliyah's death is absolutely tragic, but the public has done what they can. Now it's the family's time to band together and help one another. As for MTV and the fellow television and radio stations, let's be fair. When a person of "lesser" significance (in other words, lesser selling artists) in the music industry is suddenly removed from our sight, let's see you put their complete biography on a MTV News special throughout the following week. You've already dropped the ball once, and his name was Jeff Buckley.