That's absolutely your own implication as to her stopping "at nothing" though, because there's currently no difference between what's she's doing now since she found out she's ill and what she did before, i.e. living her life in the public eye. Do you have any evidence that she would stop "at nothing"? I personally find it vulgar that you would suggest she would stop at nothing.
I personally don’t see how "More money for the kids = better" is vulgar either - it's surely simple logic. I want to be able to provide for my children now and in the future, and unsurprisingly I need money to do that - am I vulgar as well? Where's the difference? Surely the issue should be more pertinent for Jade as she is not going to be around to substitute financial assistance for parental love. How is that vulgar when she's dying? If I became ill I’d want to try and make sure my kids had financial security too – is that vulgar?
Should we all be anarchists or hippies or something and material wealth should count for nothing in life? Get a grip.
Quiet at your place as well today is it Jonno?
I really don't wanna labour this to the point of boring folks to death, but...
- "More money for the kids = better" is not simple logic at all, because it takes no account of how the money is earned, or how it will be used.
£10 spent well is better than £100 spent badly IMO.
Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
- Of course it's not vulgar to want to provide for your kids... What IS vulgar (IMO) though is when terminal illness, death & the effect losing their mum has on these kids plays second fiddle to how much money Jade PLC can get in the door before she keels over... Will the coroner be using molegrips to prise a stack of cheques from out of her cold dead hands?
Better still, she might keel over in the queue at the bank! Brilliant! With the money from that picture, the kids could have Nike trainers instead of ones off the market! Make sure you've got cameras outside her local branch just in case...
The attitude of the media and every discussion I've read about this is that whatever Jade does is completely justified so long as it raises money for the kids... Like the only thing which will matter to the kids is how many zeros are on the bank statement... that even terminal illness and death really only boil down to pounds shillings and pence.
I honestly think that implication is there for all to see, it is not just "my" implication... If it was just me, there wouldn't be all this fuss, would there?
No-one is viewing terminal illness and death in purely those terms
Of course they are. Every justification of her actions over this is based on "oh but she's just trying to raise money for her kids"... viewing terminal illness and death in monetary terms...
I think you are making a huge and wholly unsubstantiated jump by suggesting that because Jade is still making money (and it's worth noting again here that she's doing nothing different to when she wasn't ill) then that somehow means nothing else matters to her. You categorically don't know that, and to start making that assumption is bizarre (vulgar even!). Yes she’s making money but she’s doing nothing different to what she was doing before she was ill - I'm certainly not going to hold it against her now she is ill (since I didn’t before).
OK couple of things there...
First off, I have absolutely no idea what matters to Jade Goody and what doesn't. I think though if I were dying of cancer, and I had 2 young children, I would be thinking about how to spend my remaining time with them to make it as meaningful as possible. "What would pay best" wouldn't even come into the decision about how to spend my time.
It's not a case of everyone becoming hippies either - I ain't shitting in a bucket for nobody. I left all that Northerner stuff behind years ago
I just think some things are beyond price, and the whole mum/kids/cancer/death scenario would definitely be one of them.
And as for the implication being unsubstantiated... you're not seriously trying to imply the photos & interviews won't go to the highest bidder, are you?
Who cares though? The upshot is more women are now having smear tests. I can't see how you could ever argue against that being a good thing (however it came about). If one single life is saved because of Jade's illness in the public eye then surely her illness in the public eye is a brilliant thing.
You're right obviously, and I'm not saying more women being tested is a bad thing (do you honestly think i would believe that?). I'm just saying it's a poor reflection on society when a story like this motivates women to get tested who otherwise wouldn't.
That's the nature and hypocrisy of the modern media though isn't it. The papers are simply publishing what they thinks the public wants to read (and therefore what will sell more papers), and people like the repulsive Max Clifford are now the mediators between celebrities and the media. Pretty much any modern celebrity has someone like Clifford doing what he’s doing now - the "pound sign mentality" is basically the entire nature of the celebrity aspect of the modern media. Why should it suddenly be different if someone is dying and therefore the need for financial gain becomes all the pertinent?
Of course the media want to sell papers, and so will sensationalise & tailor their reporting to maximise their revenues... no argument there... nothing new there either, it's been that way for 200 years or so.
What's interesting though is how despite using terms like "repulsive" in your description of this "modern media phenomenon", you seem not to see any fault with those who seek to profit by it.
I completely share your views about the media & the Cliffords of the world, the only difference is that I would want absolutely nothing to do with any of it, regardless of any financial incentives. No amount of money is worth putting loved-ones through that whole media circus, especially when they are grieving their mum, or another close family member. It just shows a total lack of respect in my opinion.
I also think supporting people who profit from that type of media circus, is actually condoning the circus itself. "The stories are being printed anyway so I might as well make a few quid out of it" doesn't cut it as a defence IMO. Wrong is wrong, regardless of the size of the paycheque.
I'll add a bit of background here for "local colour"... I promise you this is the gospel truth (stand on me Terence). I have witnessed this media circus (specifically the whole "News of the Screws" kiss and tell story-selling phenomenon) at first hand. I'm talking about my immediate family here. I've watched this whole game before, during and after, and seen the effects at first hand. I don't doubt this is partly why I have such a dim view of the gutter press, and those who court them.
The way the media works with the likes of Clifford involved is a far bigger issue than Jade and her illness.
True, of course.
It's distasteful to many many people, but it certainly shouldn’t be viewed as more distasteful because someone is dying.
Shouldn't it? You see I think it totally should
For one thing, the person who's made all these choices won't be the one living with the fallout from them. That's reason enough in my eyes.
Surely you must agree that there's a possibility this will cause problems down the line for her kids. A tiny possibility maybe, but a possibility nevertheless.
I'd rather not risk that personally, whatever the prize money. If it was only me who stood to lose out down the track then fair enough. Or it was another adult, but young kids??
It's understandable of course, money's money as you said, but it's certainly distasteful.
The bottom line is you don’t need to watch it and you don’t need to read about it.
True of course. But whether we watch it or not, we're all entitled to our opinion.