What, if Anything Can We Learn From Amy Winehouse - By Sexy Susie

The shocking and tragic death of Amy Winehouse on Saturday has left me with some very mixed feelings. During the multitude of conversations I have had with friends and family I have noticed that people’s opinions can be placed into two distinct groups; 1) it is a tragic loss for her family/friends and 2) it’s no surprise, and she was pretty much asking for it. I have got to say that I fit into the first group, but can understand the viewpoint of the second group. Let’s not beat around the bush here, she was a drug addict who had been in and out of rehab many times, but it was quiet obvious that the will to get off drugs wasn’t there. Not really. I have often read that Amy was a ‘troubled soul’ who used drugs to help her cope with the world and her fame. But what problems could a respectable, privately educated, upper middle class girl really have? People who have extremely difficult lives and come from broken homes don’t always turn to drugs, so why did she? The answer to this question will probably never be known.

Many cynical (and perhaps cruel) people have been broadcasting the opinion (on Twitter etc) that Amy’s untimely death will do wonders for her ‘career’. People like her are always more famous after they have died than they were in life. Just look at Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, both of whom were pretty darn famous when they were alive, but vastly more idolised after their deaths. It is interesting to note that Cobain, Hendrix & Winehouse were all 27 when they died…weird huh? In fact there is a group of rockers called the ‘27 Club’, a group which is populated by rock stars who died aged 27. Some of the other names on this illustrious list include Brain Jones and Jim Morrison. It is unfortunate that Amy will now be the latest name added to this list.

I think the most important message to take away from this heart-breaking event is a warning that if you do drugs and drink to excess you decrease your age at death massively. But didn’t we already know that? The fact is that Amy knew what she was doing to herself and she still did it. Yes she was addicted and was very ill, but she got herself addicted. No one did that to her, it was her choice to be stupid enough to get caught up in drugs and drink in the first place. She only had herself to blame. That sounds pretty hard line, but making excuses for her just because she has died will not do anyone any favours. It is the Winehouse family and their close friends that I feel for, not the millions of fans who have lost a (perhaps inappropriate) icon. Amy was a troubled woman, for whatever reason, but her death is no less of a tragedy because she wasn’t a clean cut, pure person who put others before herself. It is still a shocking loss no matter what her flaws were.

Agree or disagree with me? I would love to hear your opinion!

Susie xx