It’s no secret a legend in the music industry Whitney Houston passed away last weekend and many people worldwide are mourning the loss of what was considered to be one of the greatest voices of our generation.
As to be expected because of Whitney’s troubled history the media has run with this story and round the clock focus has been placed on her death. Thanks to the popularity of social media word of her death has spread like wildfire via Facebook and Twitter with Youtube music tributes , memories and condolences. While many are grieving on social media sites , her death has also brought up the question of “Why do celebs get more attention when they die instead of our troops?” on military pages and online communities.
Am I surprised? No! When Michael Jackson died the same thing happened he was blasted, harsh things were said and there was a whose death deserves more credit sentiment happening.
My Thoughts
The truth is I loved Whitney and I love the troops. To compare the two is totally different for me and I personally have a hard time understanding why some of the military community feels the need to question those who mourn the loss of a favorite singer . actor etc. The reality is the military is only 1% of the population. While the majority of the country I truly believes loves and supports our troops, many folks are just not as familiar with the military as we are. Naturally those related to the military directly are going to understand the pain and grief that goes into loosing one of our brave heroes who sacrificed their lives.
People don’t know the troop that lost his life that the news only scrolls across the bottom of the screen. If we are going to place blame then let’s start with the media who barely gives a five minute story to a service member who has lost their life. Those who are not familiar with the military and the pride and the true sacrifice will never know if the mass news outlets don’t do a better job of making people aware.
I do wonder do some people think military dependents come off as being contradictory when we scream “My hero fights for your right to be free” yet when people display those acts of freedom, somehow they don’t care about the loss of a hero or about the military at all?
That being said any death is tragic. When people make comments about Whitney being the cause of her own demise and people shouldn’t mourn for her …I simply say that music brings joy to people. Music is the soundtrack to life. Music has gotten soldiers through deployments. It was Whitney’s music along with Mariah and Three Doors down who got me threw several deployments. I can’t tell you how many times I sung ” I Will Always Love You” or “All The Man” I need to my soldier via Skype and phone when he was deployed. I can relate a song of hers to every stage of my life from childhood and up. It was music that got my husband through several boring nights in his room while lonely in Iraq.
At the end of the day everyone including our troops leaves behind a legacy and so be the same with Whitney. While you may not hear it on the news a service member’s death leaves behind a legacy of freedom and sacrifice to protect family and country. Whitney left the legacy of a beautiful voice that many will remember as part of special moments in their lives.
There is no need to disrespect the death of one over the other because no matter whose death is projected on the news more each one is still and will always be a painful loss to those they loved.
Rest In Love and Paradise to the 6300+ brave heroes who gave all and to Whitney Houston for the awesome soundtrack to life you provided so many.
What are your thoughts? Should people compare the two deaths…share your thoughts below in the comments section.
See what other wives are saying about this post.
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Army Wife 101
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market.
She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries. 21 Comments on The Death Of Whitney Houston Vs. The Death Of Our Troops
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I think the respect given to those that have sacrificed all is far and above the level of respect given Whitney Houston after her death. All the headlines afforded her have been about her talent but then quickly turns to her demise. Even when a service member had less than a stellar life, the fact that she or he died in service of our country is the only information we hear. We honor our fallen with dignity and respect. We do not splash their personal life all over the media. We treat our fallen with the utmost affection, as is deserved.
well said Krystle. Everyone deserves to be mourned, no matter who they are and what bad choices they may make in their life. They are human beings. She left a huge mark on the music industry and those of us who grew up listening to her. It’s unfair that people take away from what she’s contributed, including the wonderful charity work she’s done, INCLUDING FOR OUR MILITARY. I understand the “troops not being recognized” but who can put a price or value on anyone’s life saying someone is more important than the next… to her family and friends, she was very important just like to us, our troops are. Thanks for posting.
Krystal, you’re absolutely correct when you say one person’s death is no less than another. Whitney’s passing is tragic and upsetting. Aside from the fact that she’s a celebrity she was a relatively young woman and a mother. My heart goes out to her family.
With that said, I’m disgusted at the spectacle unfolding in the media since Saturday night. As I get ready for my work day I watch the “Today Show” every morning. I get caught up on the news that happened over night. The past two days have provided me with nothing more than what color the hearse carrying Whitney’s body was and a clip of the White House Press Secretary passing along words of condolence from Mr. and Mrs. Obama to the Houston family. I’m sure the Secretary had more than just a few words on Whitney in his time in front of the cameras yesterday…maybe some more information regarding the situations in Iran and Syria…but I have no idea because it’s not being covered. Just like the deaths of service members, topics of importance and consequence are being pushed aside for more “viewer friendly” or “ratings friendly” stories.
If we want a change, we need to hold our media up to a higher standard. We need to make our voice heard. I’ve been tweeting the Today Show since yesterday to show my displeasure about the quantity of coverage being spent on Whitney. I’ve told them what I’d rather see instead of images of the funeral home handling Whitney’s funeral. We as a society need to become less celebrity-centric and focus more on actual reality.
No one is comparing them. What people including myself are upset about it is the deaths of crack heads, drunkards, & criminals are splashed around the news and hailed as heroes. Celebs are not heroes or anything worthy of praise. Most of them are horrible human beings who are famous for having money and who they sleep with. Our military members pay the ultimate price every day and live most of the time very humble lives. Yet when they die they are just numbers on a screen. It’s sickening.
You sound really ridiculous. I never see anything in the news about celebrities being heroes. What I see is a celebrities being drug through the mud & sometimes it’s not even warranted. A lot of true celebrities are famous because they worked hard & have true talent. Whitney Houston had talent. She’s also a human being with friends & family who are left behind to mourn. They have to mourn with all the crap being written about her. There are already articles written about how the coroner said it was drug related, that has since been retracted because the coroner said no such thing. If anything celebrities are ripped to shreds. Do you watch TV, listen to music, buy movies, purchase magazines? Then your contributing to them being “praised” for nothing.
I would never want my death, my families death, my husbands death splashed all over the news for people to rip our lives to shreds. Troops are no saints. Not everyone in the military is a good person. Ive seen my fair share of really disgusting individuals in the military so no they aren’t all worthy of praise either. A life lost is a life lost and it’s sad. The deaths of people should not be compared to anyone else nor should the dead be disrespected by saying they weren’t as important as someone else.
Get a grip & get over your “hero worship”.
I Agree with you. Soldiers KIA are just numbers on a screen to 99% of this country. The same country that’s all about the yellow “support your troops” ribbon. It infuriates me. I honestly don’t know if my husband will make it to retirement. He truely feels like people in this country could give two shits about him and what he’s doing overseas. It’s really sad.
My only comment is my thoughts and prayers go out to Bobbi Kristina Brown because she, like a lot of military children,including myself has just lost a mother. I know all too well the pain of being that young and losing your mother unexpectedly and for her to have to live this out in the public eye with people talking about her mother is 10 times worse than those of us who get to grieve our parent in private…People just need to have some respect for this child and let her mother be remembered for the talented woman she was..She is facing a pain that feels like someone has ripped your heart out while standing on your chest…There is no love on this earth like the love of your mother…RIP Whitney, may you just like our fallen troops rest in peace with our Heavenly Father.
Thank you Krystel. I’m just blown away by the cruelty and coldness of the posts I’ve come across, especially on Facebook. I would love to ask what the HELL is wrong with people today? Have these hateful posters never lost someone they loved? In this day and age can ANYONE REALLY say that you don’t know someone who has battled addiction? I have friends and family that have both won and lost that battle and one that is actively down the rabbit hole at 19, strung out on meth. It is my opinion that if you can’t show compassion for the loss of a tremendous talent, you should at MINIMUM show some empathy for the fact that this person was a fellow human being and was loved. While sacrificing your life is certainly a more noble death than drowning in your bathtub whacked out on meds, a death is a death. It’s SAD. Calling her a “crackhead” and “drunktard” is disgusting, base behavior. Would you want your worst moments boiled down to sumize you when you exit this earth? Would you want your children or parents to read these assessments of who you “were”? I know I wouldn’t, and I’ve never had a substance abuse problem. This person was somebody’s baby once (and as a mother, I can tell you when my girls are 48, they will STILL be my babies), somebody’s mother, somebody’s friend. That’s what’s missing here in our numbed-up, soulless society. I don’t believe ANYONE is glorifying the way she died or the way she lived. What killed her is obvious, without a final autopsy report. Remember the talent, but acknowledge the soul who passed with kindness. When someone passes, the very least we can do is offer them respect in death that we might not have had for them in life. No one knows their true journey but them. Stop judging.
I agree with you. I think it’s two different situations as well. I saw plenty of messages and images like the one you showed, and it just rubbed the wrong way.
I am totally in disbelief by the whole thing to be honest, First of all to me a life is a life!, Yes my husband is a soldier and many soldiers have lost their lives and I smypathize with all the families that have lost their soldiers, But I also have compassion for anyone who loses their life and I hear about it, whether its someone here in town that I read about in the paper, maybe a couple in a accident, or maybe someone killed or just simply passed away, I feel bad for them, why are so many people so upset because people are sad about the death of this Woman, she someones daughter, someones sister, she was a mother and leaves her child motherless, her life is gone, it all boils down to one thing, they are not on this earth anymore and someone is left without being able to hear their voice again, the families wont be able to hug them anymore and to me thats sad, I lost my father last month he is no longer here anymore, and now u have people bickering over whos more important to mourn over, whitney or the soldiers, why is it even and issue, a human life is gone, no longer here, either way you look at it, We need to stop worrying about it and pray for all these families that have lost loves ones!
Very well said. The images I’ve seen on FB have been very disturbing. As a soldier myself, there is no way you can compare the two. Bottom line is no matter how they died, they died! And they were still someone’s family member. So respect that. Don’t disrespect them because they were not as perfect as well claim ourselves to be.
When someone dies, it doesnt matter how. What matters is the family and friends who are left behind to mourn their loss. It is we who have to struggle with the loss and learn how to continue on. My brother was killed in Afghanistan on Aug 19, 2009. His loss has been very hard and I believe what the military family is trying to state is that these men and women willing to do this to protect our freedoms so that celebrities and many others can continiue to do what they love. Her death is no less nor any greater than any single person out there. She was loved and will always be loved. It’s the problem of the media who puts such an emphasis on any single one person. It’s nothing we can control and we will unfortunately always have to be subjected to what they think is most important.
Jessica I am truly sorry about the loss of your brother.
I absolutely agree . Death is certainly not a competition.
I did see some of these posts. Most of them I saw on non-military people’s pages. The one that hit me said “Did you hear?” and the newspaper clipping of Whitney’s passing. Then “mealwhile” a photo of 4 troop members carrying out a fallen soldier followed by “People who aren’t famous for going to rehab are dying for you. Where’s their news coverage?” This hit home to me because I agree our troops do not receive proper coverage, not just in death but all around. The 99% of non-military people don’t even know what our troops are doing or even where. OPSEC is understandable but at some point “the people” should be more informed and educated. It is sad that Whitney is gone and the truth is we are far from knowing what happened which really isn’t our business in the first place. Our media needs some serious re-direct and more, the normal people sitting at home watching the news. We as a whole need to make the choice to change the channel and maybe if enough of us do, change the news itself.
Very beautiful post. Whitney’s music helped me through some tough times too & she is my Hero/Heroine for giving us the gift of her beautiful voice. She battled her demons the way we all do, but her legacy is Forever. God Bless Her.
Her death in no way takes away from anyone’s death, those who think it does are…
People should watch what they say… by their words are they condemning themselves.
I can’t thank you enough for posting this. I have been trying in vain to find the right wording, and you found it for many of us. Thank you. :o)
Hi I am gladt to have come across your blog tonight. It has also been bothering me that everyone on facebook is comparing the coverage of Whitney Houston’s death to the lack of coverage our military gets. I had a whole debate on facebook the other day and typed about it on my blog. (I am copying and pasting from my blog) Below
I have to laugh tonight. Do you wonder how many people actually read your posts on facebook? More than you probably think. Facebook can either make a person love you or hate you LOL. This morning, I was watching a tribute to Whitney Houston on TV. My husband came in and said something. As a playful post on facebook, I typed something directed at him and it’s amazing the debate that one post caused today. In fact, I am going to post it for you (excluding names of the posters of course – For their own privacy)
My posts back will be in bold
My husband can be so rude at times LOL. I am watching the tribute to Whitney Houston on E this morning. (loved her music) and Tim says – Guess what honey? Whitney has been clean and sober for 7 days now :-( Than he says, she didn’t fight for our country so not interested in watching about her life. This was my original post and below is the debate that continued
First poster said: Sad!!! May she rest in peace.
Second Post said: I agree with your husband…..smart man !
Third Post said: Yeah I doubt she died from an overdose because they only found xanax in her system. She probably had a heart atttack caused by her drug abuse from the past.
Fourth Post said: Sorry michelle I agree with your husband.
11 hours ago · Like.
My Post: I think the people that fight for our country definately do not get enough recognition. I agree with that. But just because somebody doesn’t fight for our country doesn’t mean that their death shouldn’t be recognized. Whitney Houston had alot of beauty and talent and it is sad to see that wasted like that. I have never been in the military. I admire and respect everyone that is. In the same aspect, if I died, I wouldn’t want people not to remember me because I didn’t serve in the military. Every life is unique in it’s own way
11 hours ago · Like.
Next Post: True Michelle. I have seen many people commenting about folks in the military that die while serving. First of all this has nothing in common with the death of Whitney. Secondly, people who serve made that decision they weren’t drafted so they know what they are signing up for. ANY LIFE LOST regardless of how and why should be given the same respect.
11 hours ago · Unlike · 2.
Next Post: You are rite but it seems like when a star dies they get more recognized then our military.
11 hours ago · Like.
Next Post: Whitney chose a life of drugs and alcohol, does that make her a martor……Sorry can’t agree with all the attention this is getting, especially flying flag @ half mast…….Frank Sinatra was from Hobokin NJ and never got this much air time when he died
11 hours ago · Like · 1.
Next Post: It is absolutely pathetic, that the state of New Jersey have there flags at half staff in honor of a drug addict. The soldiers that arrive dead here, don’t even get a flag at half staff. The state of New Jersey should be ashamed of there self.
11 hours ago · Like · 1.
Next Post: Like I mentioned previously, they only found xanax in her system. It was prescribed to her. I’m telling you guys that she probably had a heart attack. Its your right to disagree with the media attention or to call her a drug addict but at the end of the day, we all have issues some more severe than others so it is cruel and unfair to disrespect someone after they pass. I’m sure many of you have addicts and alcoholics in your family that you love dearly and would defend til the death. Imagine how her family feels right now and how you would feel and stop with the hatred and low blows! Its tacky and classless!
11 hours ago · Unlike · 3.
Next Post: Plus Sinatra got plenty of headlines and media spots when he passed.
11 hours ago · Like.
I said: OK- I am not saying that our soldiers don’t deserve more recognition. In the same respect, our soldiers also don’t get the same attention as all these football players do. Sunday after Sunday, facebook is blowing up about football and the football players and I don’t see anyone on facebook bitching about the fact that football gets more attention than our soldiers. It’s society. Whitney Houston was a celebrity. Her voice was awesome. It’s sad to see that she did things to harm her body (but come on, we all do. If you smoke, if you drink, If you take any type of prescription drug than you are doing something to harm your body) Does that mean that we don’t deserve to be loved??? If people want to mourn her, that is their given right. I bet some of the same people sitting here complaining about Whitney’s death getting attention wouldn’t be doing the same thing if it was a celebrity or football player that they liked or enjoyed. If all these people are so worried about Whitney Houston’s death getting more attention than our soldiers than I would like to see those same people take their time and money that they spend watching football and donate it to the troops. The football players aren’t out there fighting for our country either. They are chasing a ball around a field but yet they still get much more attention and time than our military gets. Not trying to argue with anyone- but these are the facts.
11 hours ago · Like · 1.
Next Post: Wow Michelle you hit the nail on the head. Most comments related to her death are made out of sheer ignorance and hatred. God forbid if they should lose someone close to them.
10 hours ago · Like.
Next Post: I cant speak for everyone but I will say it is sad she is gone she had a amazing voice. On the other.hand as much as.i love football no player will ever be more important than the men and woman that give their lives for this country
10 hours ago · Like.
Next Post: I do take time and my hard working money and donate to the military people. I have spent time sending stuff to them. When I’m anywhere, if there is a military person there I will buy them lunch, dinner or so on. U struck the wrong nerve with me. Military is a big deal in my family. I guess I do more for soldiers than u can say u do, so watch what u say.
10 hours ago · Like.
I Post- Not trying to strike a nerve. I love, respect and admire our military. The whole point of my post has been lost. My father in law served over in afghanistan for 18 months. I am making a point. People are getting so much smack on facebook for saying something nice about Whitney Houston. Everyone is comparing Whitney Houston’s death coverage to the lack of coverage our military gets. I agree that every soldier (whether they are alive or dead deserves our fullest attention, they deserve everything. I am just saying that football gets more attention on facebook than our troops do. People have a right to talk about things that they enjoy. so for the people giving other people a hard time because they posted something about Whitney Houston in a positive way shouldn’t be doing that. This has nothing to do about my feelings for people that serve for our country. It has to do with people having the right to talk about stuff they are interested in. Just the same as facebook blows up every Sunday about football
10 hours ago · Like · 1.
I post: and I’m not saying that people on here don’t donate time and money to our military. I am not saying that the people posting do not care about our military. I am saying that if people want to talk about Whitney Houston, they have the right and shouldn’t be downed for it. Just the same as the football lovers on here do.
10 hours ago · Like · 1.
Next Post: Guess what….opinions are like assholes …….everyone has one. Its called the fifth amendment ….freedom of speech…..its what our soldiers fight for …everyone has demons, unfortunately she lost her life to hers….any lose of life is sad …
9 hours ago · Unlike · 4.
I said Well said (and that person’s name) :-))
9 hours ago · Like · 1.
Next Post: Swag!
8 hours ago · Like.
Next Post:Im a military brat…and I read this and understood what you meant. I saw more post about the penn state coach dieing…then I did about Whitney. I dont think she was a hero…I thought she had a beautiful voice. I loved her in the movies she was in. Her music was a big part of my childhood. Im still shocked that she is gone. I think they should fly the flag half mast in Jersey. She gave them alot of pride being from there. Yea…she had a drug problem. At least she admitted it…and got help. Its not like she saw a kid being molested and just told her bosses about it…and nothing else. I thought it was brave of you to post this Michelle…I really do. Im sorry people took it so wrong. I understood what you meant…and your apology after this post was sweet…but not necessary for some of us..I also think that more things should be done for our military…and I doubt there will ever be enough thanks giving to them…especially when they risk their life for our freedom.
8 hours ago · Unlike · 4.
Next Post True, never apologize for what you believe in.
7 hours ago · Unlike · 1
Ok so that was the first facebook debate for today. So than I thought about it and thought that I may have offended some people so I post a new post on my facebook
Here goes this one
OK- Let me apologize if I offended anyone this morning. What started as a playful post directed towards my husband turned into a big debate :-( I was in no way saying that our troops don’t deserve more coverage because they absolutely do. I was watching a tribute to Whitney Houston this morning and Tim told me to turn that crap off. She didn’t fight for our country so doesn’t deserve coverage so my response to him was that the football players don’t fight for our country either (but they still get alot of coverage) He is a football fanatic and I was just making a contradiction to his statement to me. It was in no way meant to down anyone or anyone’s love for our military :-(
(This is the apology post that the one poster was talking about)
The whole world seems to be unaware we are still at war. Although they claim to support the troops, they don’t actually do anything to support the troops. That includes not even recognizing those who die or lose limbs weekly at war defending us. But this country was the first to start sobbing over a crack head that OD’d. She hasn’t even been around in the music world for year and who really did nothing for this country. It’s just a shame. Then to add salt to the would, New Jersey lowered a flag that is SOLEY reserved for military deceased. If you can’t understand why the military community is mad, you need a huge pair of reality glasses.
Actually the flag isn’t only reserved for deceased. This is the problem people are quick to go solely opinion and not on fact in regards to the flag. Let’s do our research and it was done long before Whitney.
The military in the U.S. are recognized and respected. Very much so. Still, this article does bring you back to the question “why were these soldiers sent out to die in the first place?”
I don’t know why people have to compare the two to be honest. I grew up with Whitney and loved her music. She contributed a lot in her lifetime. I also understand the troops sacrifice, but see it as something separate. I actually wish troops wouldn’t go out to risk their lives needlessly for war. I don’t understand why Whitney had to die for drugs. Still, its two separate things and I believe both are recognized in their own ways.