He Was a Good Man

I heard the news about Johnnie Cochran yesterday but it wasn't until I was on the tredmill at the Y this morning watching ESPN that I really listened to any of it. Being on vacation, I try to detatch myself from as much of the normal routine as possible. But this morning, while watching ESPN SportsCenter I listened to, what we call it, the "hits, runs, and errors." The details of the story. It was also during this story that I thought back to many of the stories we do in the news.

Let me say right here, right now... THIS IS NOT A COMMENT ON JOHNNIE COCHRAN. HE WAS AN OUTSTANDING LAWYER WHO MADE AN INTERNATIONALLY-KNOWN NAME FOR HIMSELF DEFENDING HIGH PROFILE INDIVIDUALS. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT! HIS DEATH? ANYTIME SOMEONE'S LIFE IS CUT SHORT IN SUCH MANNER IT'S A LOSS. I FEEL SAD FOR THE INDIVIDUAL, SAD FOR THE FAMILY, AND SAD FOR FRIENDS. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THEM.

However, This business has really soured my outlook on many issues- and death is one of them. Not the actual dying part, but the reaction of people after someone dies. I'm sure you've seen the soundbytes after someone's "life is cut tradgically short." There's the neighbor saying, "I can't believe something like this would happen to him/her." There's the mother saying "I know he/she had his/her problems, but he/she was such a good boy/girl."
I know it's not proper to kick the dead, but isn't "news" "something that doesn't happen all the time." If that's a fair definition of news then I'm wondering when we're going to hear the soundbyte from the neighbor "He had it coming"... "couldn't have happened to a more deserving person"... "it's about time"... That would be NEWS!!!!!

Johnnie Cochran? A great lawyer. I would have wanted him defending me if ever the need arose! His passing? NEWS!!! Reaction to the passing? It's reached another level when a non-sports figure has sports anchors on ESPN lauding "He Was A Good Man" as part of their sportscast. That makes his death even more NEWS Worthy!