Rod Dreher

This past week, the hip hop community put one of their beloved artists to rest. Aaliyah Dana Haughton, 22 years old, was put to rest in a wonderful funeral that brought together people from all cultures to pay respects to the entertainer.

Unfortunately, on this glorious day. Some "journalist" by the name of Rod Dreher decided to post an article in the NYpost about how excessive the funeral was.

Here is the article in its entirety, we here at Gyeah.com would like to apologize in advance for this man's ignorance and overall ruthlessness on the subject at hand. Everyone, take heed:

SURE, HER DEATH'S TRAGIC - BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH

By ROD DREHER
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August 31, 2001 -- RIGHT, so we're all sad that Aaliyah is dead, and no one begrudges her a proper send-off. But a traffic-snarling, horse-drawn cortege in honor of a pop singer most people have never heard of? Give us a break!
Something like that is due a public figure of great distinction. President John F. Kennedy received this honor, as did Princess Diana and Mother Teresa of Calcutta - all deserved, by virtue of their position in society, extraordinary service to humanity, or both.

Great artists can merit such high distinction. In 1824, Lord Byron had 40 empty carriages in his funeral cortege from London to Nottingham, a sign of high respect from the British aristocracy.

Byron was, of course, one of the greatest poets of his age. One of his most famous verses could be recited by an admiring eulogist as tribute to Aaliyah: "And thou art dead, as young and fair /As aught of mortal birth; /And form so soft, and charms so rare, / Too soon return'd to Earth!"

Byron shares with the Brooklyn-born songbird an interest in the agonies of romantic loss. On her latest album, Aaliyah trills, "Hey sexy baby / Why'd your girl leave you in pain / To let a fine man like you go / She must be insane."

That quatrain, is, alas, unlikely to win Aaliyah a place alongside Byron among the immortals.

To her fans, though, the young woman who once declared, in song, "I'm-a make it hot like fire, oooh-oooh," is already a secular goddess. Declares the Aaliyahonline.com site: "She's like Princess Diana to our hip-hop community."

Well, that explains a lot. Diana's funeral, the horses drawing her coffin wading through tears up to their bridles, was the epitome of modern celebrity worship, which manifested itself in a ghoulish saturnalia of sentimentality.

But it doesn't explain everything. Diana was the future queen of England, mother of a future king, and one of the most recognized women in the world.

And Aaliyah? Most people - including, I would wager, 99 percent of those whose holiday-weekend travel will be delayed by her slow-moving equine hearse - first heard the singer's name in connection with her death.

A public funerary gesture as dramatic as a horse-drawn cortege befits the dignity of very few people in anyone's lifetime. The family of Aaliyah, a beloved daughter but undistinguished singer of forgettable pop songs, does the poor woman's memory no favors with this tasteless gesture.

Uneducated guesses, and overall ignorance appear to be the level of criteria set to become a journalist for the NYpost. I have never in my life been so upset with any article in a newspaper, until I read this.

My biggest complaint with Mr. Dreher is his appreciation for the word called tact. Does this man even know what this word means? In a time where the family & friends, fans, and the city are grieving for the loss of a loved one. He has the audacity to put an article in the paper that questions the overall worth of Aaliyah. As if her tragic death wasn't enough, we have to here someone say that because she didn't do "such and such..." she doesn't deserve to be put in such a detailed funeral. Since when did Rod become God, and decide for all in what way people are to grieve over a loved one.

Mr. Dreher also makes an ass out of himself and says that he's willing to bet "99 percent of those whose holiday-weekend travel will be delayed by her slow-moving equine hearse". It would've been much more appreciated had he bet his life, because we'd then be discussing how overblown his funeral is. Aaliyah was a very well known figure. She has had three albums, worked with many artists, and has had a film under her belt that expanded her audience as well as gained her many new fans. I mean, just look at the number of people that gathered in New York....obviously someone new of her. I think it would have been better had Dreher said, "I had never heard of her, so I have no interest in her funeral". However, he stated that many people were as ignorant as he was about her music. He then had the nerve to take segments of her music and dissect pieces of her music to prove his half-assed point. He then went back to use famous poets of yesteryear and compare his lyrics to that of Aaliyah's. That's like comparing Michael Jordan's game to Kevin Garnett. They aren't even in the same league. HOWEVER, each of them have their own group of individuals who adore and cherish everything they do. Why is not ok for them to show respect to the artists/person they cherish the way you honor the person you do? I mean personally, I think it was a horrible thing that happened to Princess Diana. But she wasn't my country's princess, she wasn't my mother, she had done nothing that effected me in anyway. So I didn't care much for her funeral. I'm not going to be an ass and say that it was "too much". It was just right for the people that cared about her. Is it such a crime for Aaliyah to have the same done for her by her fans? I don't think so.

This entire article is an opinion of an old racist man that would much rather be suited for a discussion within his home. However, he decided to put a slight smudge on the death of the R&B (not pop as the dumb ass repeated many times.) Side note: as a journalist I think its your job to get the entire facts straight before putting the information to print.) entertainer. She was loved by all who adored her, but because Mr. Dreher never heard of her...she was not worth the time to slow down traffic for a few hours in ONE day. Because he didn't know her, she was an undistinguished singer, though everyone who met her said she was one of a kind. I'm truly sorry Rod Dreher that you feel that way, but I promise that when the next prominent Caucasian poet, entertainer, or what have you pass away...we will keep your article in the back of our mind. Then, we will tell you how unimportant they are to us on the day of their burial.

My final comment on this piece. The funeral was a wonderful thing, and I believe that if the fans and family wanted it to be handled in that way. They have every right, nothing tasteless about it. The only thing that showed complete lack of taste, was the creator of this article.

-Now that you've read something, he's written. Wouldn't you like to find out more about Vigilante? Here you go.