Saturday 16th February
Occasionally a story emerges in the news for which the only possible reaction is ‘Oh, what a tragedy.’ And the death of Reeva Steenkamp at the hands of Oscar Pistorious is one of those. The fact that he was one of the first Paralympic heroes, had overcome his own disability, had just had yet another successful Olympics, was famous and presumably wealthy were of course the elements that make it newsworthy. And Reeva, though unknown to us in Britain, was also a rising celebrity, incredibly attractive and clever too; a law graduate. Two young people who had everything to live for. But no more. What ever the eventual verdict on Oscar it is an awful tragedy. We all in our vicariously greedy way want to know exactly what happened that night, though as Reeva is dead we will never know for sure. In a way it almost doesn’t matter; a row that got out of hand, deliberate murder, sexual jealousy, or an actual accident (though four shots does stretch the imagination) – nothing can make it any better.
And why should we be so surprised when Celebrities crack. Although they have mostly craved success and all that money and fame brings them there is no doubting the added pressure it must all bring. As a young man I wanted to be famous like the Beatles, though I couldn’t sing a note, and my efforts at learning guitar were pitiful. And for years I still harboured dreams of success, even as a writer…hahaha. But thank God it never happened. I can walk down any street and be totally anonymous. No-one knows how much money I have, what sort of house I live in, whether I am famous or not. And so I can be anything I want to be. And thank God I have never killed anyone – and hope never to do so. I cannot imagine a worse feeling than having been responsible for someone else’s death. So, whatever the reason, whatever the actual sequence of events, whatever happens to Oscar, in many ways his life is over now – just like that of his girlfriend. Two young people cut down in a moment of madness. A tragedy.
