I can't imagine how hard it must be for Heath Ledger's family right now, for his ex-girlfriend and their little daughter. The art of film has had a great loss, but Mr. Ledger's family and friends have suffered an even greater one, with the added horror of having it blaring at them from every media source imaginable. So I'm not going to say any more than that.
The thing is, lives are lost every day, tragically--young people die needlessly, senselessly. And these stories don't make headline news; people have to fight to make injustices known, only to be met with deaf ears and blind eyes. Just because someone wasn't a handsome actor doesn't make his death less sad, less important, less deserving of recognition; in fact, the opposite is probably true.
On New Year's Eve, a 25-year-old UCLA alumnus was shot and killed by police in La Habra, California. He was shot 10 times after allegedly attempting to attack a police officer with a tire iron; the police officer shot once, and his partner apparently fired the remaining bullets. Many people are calling the officers' actions an excessive use of force; I have to agree. There's a surveillance video tape floating around on Facebook and YouTube of Mike before he was shot, and it's clear that he really posed no threat--at least, not a threat to be dealt with using 10 bullets.
The Korean-American community is outraged, and has called for an investigation into the incident. Rightfully so. It's sad to me that more people aren't grouping together in activism about this. If this happened to Heath Ledger, what would the state of the matter be? Wouldn't people be angry? Dragging the police officers out in an uproar, demanding an explanation for every action that was taken? The answer is yes, --well, the answer is: this would never happen to a famous gorgeous person. But why is that so? Did Mike have less to offer the world, less to contribute? Was Mike's life less of a contribution to the world? No. He was you, he was me, he had dreams and friends and a future. He wasn't a famous actor, but he was still a beautiful person. So let's mourn him, let's be angry at the senselessness of his death, let's feel the pain and fear he felt as he lay dying--handcuffed and riddled with bullets, declared guilty by two cops without ever having a chance to prove innocence. It's a tragedy that'll never make headline news, but it should.
I encourage anyone reading this to stay on top of the issue, to follow it to see if justice ever finds its way home.
Sometimes I wonder: will our society will ever clean up our ugliness? The racism, the classism, the sexism, the random acts of violence, the ignorance? The gross disparities between the unheard and the heard, the rich and the poor, the well-tended and those left withering without care? The stifling of those trying to make it, the silver spoons of those who will never have to try? ...the apathy?
[My disclaimer: I was acquainted with Mike in high school--he dated a friend; he went to the sister-school in my district. From what I know, he was nothing but kind, caring, full of an infective joie de vivre that centered itself around the arts.]
2 comments:
God, that's awful Jess...I'm glad you blogged about it b/c I hadn't heard anything about such an incident before today- but I've read many an article/comment on the death of Heath Ledger.
In my mind, when I think of people I know- you, me, our friends and families- I think it is totally possible that one day we could become a kinder society, but when I read the news and walk outside and actually take a look around at the reality of the situation, I think it's nearly impossible.
But I think it's important that the ideal is there in some people's minds at least, no matter how idealistic it may sound. Imagine how destructive our society would be if we didn't at least try for a Utopia.
REALLY? Man totally fell for that one.
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