Why do you weep at the death of a stranger?

I conclude that people treat the dead better than the living.

MJ died, and sparked off ostentatious demonstrations of grief throughout the world. Even our Hong Lim Park saw an inpromptu wake of some sort, where fans left flowers, little toys and notes. And to what purpose? Was it not the same man who was reviled for his increasingly bizzare behaviour, and whose every lurid detail was lapped up eagerly? The public seemed to have forgotten how they treated him when he was alive. Untimely deaths have the inexplicable power of canonising fallen stars.

But in the same way they devoured the father, the media is going after the children now. It pains me to see MJ's children walking through the gantlet of news vultures, their faces literally masked to protect them from the snapping cameras and intruding microphones. For goodness' sake, just leave them alone to grieve! Aren't there other sources of interesting news?

Why weep at the death of a stranger, when you treat the living so shabbily?