Public outpourings of grief

ginny they do it to draw attention to themselves, also there's a chance they may be 'on camera'. Complete idiots.
A pile of wet slowly rotting teddies and flowers does no good to anyone.
Yes, it did start with the death of Diana, and while thinking to myself at the time, poor woman , it was actually no more terrible than for any young-ish woman who died in a car accident and left children behind.I did meet her once, but didn't KNOW her and that is the difference.Yes, you can be shocked for an instant when somebody well known dies, but it's impossible to be devastated.
After that, it became commonplace to have OTT outpourings of grief, and now it seems to have become part of the national psyche , which is a bit worrying.Let it all hang out? NO, keep some of it in please!
So, to sum up, I agree with you totally janthea
My DH says the old adage [it's an ill wind, that blows nobody any good] and of course, the florists are doing nicely from all this.

Tegan Rather than giving thanks for the safety of their own children, I think the majority of them are just following the herd AND perhaps get their pictures in the paper or on television? . Cynical? Moi?

If you're goingto spend money on flowers or a teddy surely it would be better to give some money to a childcare charity of some kind? Maybe people are using things like this to offer up some sort of thanks for the fact that their child is safe. I wonder what social historians will make of it in the future [or now even]?

There are many things was could devastate someone but not the death of a stranger. As ginny said, you would feel sympathetic and sad.

I agree too. Yes, we can be shocked and saddened and feel sympathy with the families when these things happen. However, to put it bluntly we can't be devastated as it will not actually effect our lives. Why people take tiny children who never knew the other child (or adult) for that matter totally escapes me.

As the article says, the whole thing seems to have started with Diana. I remember seeing people on the news crying and sobbing as though she was a member of their own family. The children must have been very confused.

I agree, and I find it even more distasteful when mothers make their young children place flowers or teddies at the site.