On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 10:08 AM, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote:
> Sandusky was convicted of felonies in a courtroom and nobody can keep > it out of his obituary. On the other hand, I think Michael Jackson is > as guilty as Sandusky but in his obit if any word appeared at all it > was deep in the story and was referred to as a controversy. > > There are many people who became filthy rich from Microsoft stock when > the company was flying high and most of them opted for a private > lifestyle and it's possible that there will be no mention of their > wealth in their obits. Bill Gates chose to become public and start a > foundation and his obit will probably mention the good works of his > foundation before his personal wealth. > > As for Hemsley, we don't know the circumstances when he realized he > was gay or started telling others. He could have gotten so much > negative feedback and/or threats that he decided it was best to keep > the fact private and he never revisited the decision even decades > later when society became more inclusive. And if it is something he is > not known for, there is no reason for it to appear in his obituary. > Perhaps I should make it clear that I am not arguing that his obits should have included information about his sexual orientation. On the other hand, if there is some rule that works systematically to keep information about LGBT status out of obits, while keeping information about heterosexual status in, then it seems like that rule contributes to the invisibility of LGBT people, and a distortion of their role in and contribution to society. I interested in understanding the rules that guide the writing of obits in newspapers. When an obit includes information about a dead man's wife, or girlfriend, it is saying something his sexual orientation, though of course at least in the case of a marriage the person has made the decision to make it part of the public record. If I were writing a feature story about Sherman Hemsley today, and he had not died yesterday, and learned from talking to most of his friends and associates that it was well known that he was gay, I think I would want to include that in the story (if true, the fact that he was gay seems at least as relevant as the fact, mentioned in at least two obits of his that I read, that he was several decades younger than his TV wife on The Jeffersons, but nobody seemed to notice or care). If Anderson Cooper had never officially come out, it seems like it might be relevant to note in his eventual obit that it was widely known by his friends and associates that he was gay, but he preferred not to publicly announce it. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
