Christmas in the Bahamas

An article on MSNBC entitled "Smith's death has been boon for Bahamas," highlights how this small island chain has dealt with the media attention surrounding her burial. Barricades were established, tattoo parlors offered "Anna Nicole" tattoos, and people were offered a tour of the hospital, mansion and church where many events in this saga took place. This article and the whole circus around Anna Nicole Smith's death has been overblown. Circus mentality is proven in a statement by a Nassau resident comparing Anna Nicole's memorial and burial to Christmas. The fact that a big majority of Nassau's residents extorted and manipulated the media is a statement relating to the goodness of people these days. It should make everyone feel a little queasy to know that others can and relish the opportunity to find anyway to turn a buck. Interestingly enough, the concern of the island residents forms a strange dichotomy. Are people these days really good or evil? There is no direct and clear answer, but there is no doubt about the revenue huge media events can bring to the Bahamas. The article also goes into some of the other lengths local residents went to for “Anna Nicole” viewing. One shop resident set up scaffolding and charged $500 for any media outfit to have a view. Other places like the mall which was adjacent to the cemetery was going to charge $5000 for access until the large majority of people spoke out. All of these actions seem to perpetuate both a fascination and sickness we have these days with death. Curiosity is sometimes effective to help us grow as people, but sometimes, it borders on invasion.