The Steve Martin-Carrie Fisher imbroglio was a very appropriate way to finish off a muddled year – with a muddle.
And I submit that muddled thinking is a fair way to describe not just the calendar year we have endured but any since 2005 or 2006.
But let us first explain the Steve Martin thing for those who have been away from planet earth these past few days and missed the drama.
After Fisher, the Star Wars star, died, the comedian went on social media – where else these days – to pen these words: “When I was a young man, Carrie Fisher was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She turned out to be witty and bright as well.’’
You and I and every other reasonable person on earth would have read it, shrugged, and moved on to the next Tweet.
But Martin deleted the tweet after a storm in a teacup stirred up by the usual suspects, politically correct dunderheads who obviously don’t have a life.
This sort of thing has been part of our lives since the arrival of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the other social media sites.
Anybody who dares to publish their opinion is instantly punished with what I call electronic lynching – we don’t burn witches at the stake anymore, we humiliate them on social media sites.
Well, it’s time we remembered that there’s seven billion of us on this planet, so there’s seven billion opinions and we need to respect everyone’s views – even if we find them appalling or just different from our own.
But back to Steve Martin, and more specifically Carrie Fisher.
The Star Wars star was one of a number of celebrities who died during 2016.
And of course it’s always sad when anyone dies, whether they’re famous or not.
But some of the outpouring of grief over the passing of celebrities this year – against a backdrop of a world ravaged by war and famine – was way over the top.
Part of it was manufactured by the old media, which is desperate to survive a little longer, so it hypes up just about everything.
Let’s hope 2017 brings a little bit of common sense to the world.
Happy New Year.
