Always_lost_X wrote:
if a non famous bum dies, what makes his life less important.. ? 10 to 1 you would care less.. thats all im saying
It depends, Xavier. Is the bum talented and good-looking?
Seriously, though, it relates to a blend* of familiarity and fondness.
You might not know someone personally but like or dislike him based on his work. Say, for instance Heath Ledger or Strom Thurmond.
You might know someone but not be particularly close to him. "Did you hear Bob in Accounting fell down the elevator shaft?"
Then there are those you don't know and haven't even heard of. The obituaries are chock full of those every day. Even those can spark an emotional response. A 90-year-old woman dies peacefully in her sleep, versus a drunk driver rearends a car, killing the children in the back seat.
What am I rambling on about? I dunno. Just thinkin'.
*what I like to call fondiliarity