a token lefty making the blogosphere safe for right-wing domination a weblog by ben glasson atl@benglasson.com

a token lefty HOME Wednesday, 25 February 2004 I’m so sad there’s nothing to be sad about Mourning for people you don’t know is selfish showboating, says a new report. Ostentatious displays of public mourning such as the outpouring of grief in Britain after the 1997 death of Princess Diana have become a "cheap emotional fix" replacing real emotion, according to a new report. The report by leading political think-tank Civitas says people are kidding themselves in the way they display their sorrow. It says the British have shed their traditional emotional reserve to indulge in "recreational grief" for dead celebrities and crime victims, so as to feel better about themselves. This sort of "grief lite" was "undertaken as an enjoyable event, much like going to a football match", the Civitas group charged in an 80-page report. The report’s author, Patrick West says people who indulge in this sort of schmaltziness want nothing more than to prove “what nice people they all are.” Someone should do a similar investigation into the post 9-11 performances.