Schumacher ski accident, coma and recovery

[Rhodium]

i have a tips for have a good information.
i don't read media, i reading only what friends of schumi says about his state, because they are in direct contact with Sabine Kehm.

for example, Olivier Panis, had say "schumi don't have physical problem.
he will not be paralyzed. the only interrogation is: cerebral sequels".


http://www.rtl.fr/actu/societe-faits-di ... 7772675966

[xpensive]

...
What would cause misinformation would be lack of information and speculation by people less informed. Why hide the good or bad news?

Xactly my point, this hush is very suspicious, when Lennon, Reagan and the Pope were shot, there was nothing like this?

This is more confidential than if the Schumachers were royalty.

[Cam]

I didn’t say it’s their right to know (although jurisprudence places looser limits on celebrities’ “privacy” than on that of “normal” citizens); rather I said they DESERVE to know.

This is an interesting topic with polarising views. Whether there is a 'right' or 'expectation' that should follow a public figure. Rather than tell you what I think, I'm presenting some evidence for you to consider and to help draw your own conclusions.

Just how 'public' is Schumacher? Below is the Google Trends results for his keyword since 2004. You can see the massive spike relating to his accident and subsequent still large interest since. Certainly there is now far more interest in his name then any time since 2004. While this doesn't prove a right in one way or another, it gives us some context as to the public nature of his name.

Nobody forces the fans to see someone perform. They paid their money and attention to him and in return he gave them performances that you see rarely in a lifetime. Nobody owes anything extra to anybody in this case.

To think that he somehow owes something to his fans now is just ridiculous.. really...

This then expects that all trading has ceased? I present to you the 899.00 € Michael Schumacher Signed F1 Replica Helmets - complete with numbered COA & Letter of Authentication from MSM (Michael Schumacher's Management Company) Our Partners The Signature Company own the EXCLUSIVE UK Licensing agreement with MSM for Signed Michael Schumacher Signed items. It's available today.
Buy it now


Or how about an official MS key ring or cup?
Get yours today


That is a very small sample of the 'officially licensed' products still available for purchase. So we have a person who continues to trade and profit from their name, well after retirement. Yet there continues to be an expectation that fans and the public should continue to hand over cash to be part of the 'Michael Schumacher' experience. In the same breath, we are then told we should have no right to be involved with him? A conundrum indeed.

This info is presented to show how this is far from cut and dry and that celebrities have a relationship with the media and fans - and not just philosophical, but financial as well. So do the fans and public have a 'right' to know? Should we have an 'expectation' to know? I'll let you decide for yourself.

[bhall]

What conundrum?

"Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore," Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, said in a statement on behalf of his family on Monday.

"For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye," she said, without giving further details.

Is your desire for information more important than their desire to keep it private? In other words, are you more important than they are?

Your sensibilities are completely irrelevant here, and so are mine. His family makes the rules, and they don't have to explain themselves to anyone for any reason. So, you either respect their wishes, or you don't.

It's as simple as that.

[Cam]

I'll 'see' your BBC article and 'raise' you a BBC article.

Jeremy King, editor of industry paper Media Week, says that although celebrities are in the public eye, it does not necessarily make them "fair game".

According to media commentator Mark Borkowski, celebrities need to realise that to a certain extent they are public property.

Despite this, he continues, it can still be possible for them to have a private life.

"If you want privacy, you can obtain it by keeping a delicate balance between the needs of promoting what you have to professionally - and how you conduct your life," he explains.

"You need to have a long-term commitment to the amount of fame you have generated.

"You can't switch it on and off, so you have to have a strategy of dealing with it."

That conundrum. You can;t ask to use the media and fans to profit without certain 'expectations' - no matter how distasteful that may be to some. His family don't make the rules - the media is a law almost unto itself. All they can do is ask. But if they really wanted privacy, perhaps a well managed media strategy would have been a better solution?

personally, I respect his wishes. But it's not me celebrities have to worry about.

[bhall]

Frankly, I'd suggest a long, hard look in the mirror to anyone whose emotional connection to a veritable stranger has produced a need for fulfillment so strong that it overrides that person's wishes. It's unhealthy.

[Cam]

I'm not disagreeing with that notion bhall - there's a lot of data out there reflecting exactly that - obsessed fans. I'm not so sure this is in that league though. He's not being stalked. All that is happening is people are speculating about his condition - as a direct result of no information being supplied.

There's been progress in the US with laws passed (championed by Halle Berry) to protect family members from intrusive press, but it falls short of protecting themselves and it's not global. It never will be either. The price of fame.

After years of fighting to redefine the definition of harassment according to California State law, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Berry's paparazzi bill, Senate Bill 606, aimed at protecting the privacy of the children of public figures, in Sacramento yesterday (Sept. 24).

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2014, a paparazzo convicted of harassing a minor who has been singled out due to his or her parent's profession (famous actors, singers, reality TV stars, politicians, etc.) can spend up to a year in jail -- which is raised from six months previously.

[Tim.Wright]

Nobody forces the fans to see someone perform. They paid their money and attention to him and in return he gave them performances that you see rarely in a lifetime. Nobody owes anything extra to anybody in this case.

To think that he somehow owes something to his fans now is just ridiculous.. really...

This then expects that all trading has ceased? I present to you the 899.00 € Michael Schumacher Signed F1 Replica Helmet..

I don't get your point... You pay money - you receive stuff - end of transaction. How are you extrapolating this to "Ive earnt some sort of entitlement to know the private matters of Schuey's health"

The fans who took the time to personally write messages to him and his family (you have done this right?) have been thanked. There are no more open debts, nothing is owed to anybody no matter how much memorabillia you buy...

[xpensive]

A 7 time WDC in a coma is big news, the indignation from the ethical elite here is obviously only because it's a racing driver,
had it been an NHL- or NFL-player, nobody on this forum had seen anything wrong with paparazzis being all over the hospital.

[Cam]

Tim.Wright - we can agree to disagree. It's ok. So do you miss my point or simply disagree with it?

[Kiril Varbanov]

Whether we would like to be informed or not what's happening with MSC, that wouldn't improve his physical condition. And that's all that really matters, IMHO. Moreover, if it was me in his condition, I wouldn't want the entire world to know that I'm helpless. That's not encouraging.

I'm presenting you an opinion of a neurosurgeon, who wishes to remain anonymous. I can only share he works in Canada for a long time and is very experienced. Quote:

Hi Kiril. I do not mind speculating, based on my experience. I can say that being discharged from hospital doesn't mean anything and in no way implies that things have improved. Transfer to a chronic facility is inevitable in all non-fatal severe head injuries. My guess is that he will never recover. Sorry.

That was his unofficial response few months ago as well. So, I certainly believe that from now on we are likely to hear less and less about MSC, unless medical miracle happens.

[Cam]

Frankly, I'd suggest a long, hard look in the mirror to anyone whose emotional connection to a veritable stranger has produced a need for fulfillment so strong that it overrides that person's wishes. It's unhealthy.

Wow. 2 up votes for that? Ever stop to gawk at a traffic accident on your way home? Everyone does. It's human nature. There's nothing unhealthy about it - it's who we are. I'm sure the people in the accident don't want you looking - but you do anyway.

[xpensive]

Frankly, I'd suggest a long, hard look in the mirror to anyone whose emotional connection to a veritable stranger has produced a need for fulfillment so strong that it overrides that person's wishes. It's unhealthy.

Wow. 2 up votes for that? Ever stop to gawk at a traffic accident on your way home? Everyone does. It's human nature. There's nothing unhealthy about it - it's who we are. I'm sure the people in the accident don't want you looking - but you do anyway.

That's perhaps how you get 300+ upvotes, either that or post a ton of images.

[bhall]

The appropriate analogy in that case would be stopping to ask the victims of the accident to come closer in order to get a better look at the damage, phoning a trauma surgeon to ask his opinion of the matter, and then constantly hounding the victims' family for updates.

Remember, this is about press inquiries to the family and the uninformed public commentary of an anesthesiologist whose speculative contributions are fueled by the erroneous belief that fans "deserve" information, and whose background as a "former F1 doc" lends false credence to his views. When you realize that every detail in medicine is as important as the next, you realize this guy knows no more about Schumacher's condition than we do. But, a lot of other people don't realize that. So, his contributions tend to create false impressions that must then be dispelled by Schumacher's camp.

That's the problem.

[Phil]

Aren't we exagerating what Gary writes a bit too much here? I just glanced through his blog - from the first post when Schumacher had his accident in December, to more recent posts. I believe the post in question was posted in February, when he wrote something along the lines of

They deserve to be told something. I didn’t say it’s their right to know (although jurisprudence places looser limits on celebrities’ “privacy” than on that of “normal” citizens); rather I said they DESERVE to know. Why on earth is their pain not being considered? How is keeping the millions of fans in the dark helping ANYTHING?

I'm not sure how I feel about that argument really. Just reading this very topic here suggests that the opinion is split; Do we as fans deserve to know more than what has been told? Bear in mind, this post was made in February, during a period when speculation was rather high because we hadn't heard any official news. Indeed, I also question the logic on why not more has been said. I do think that they have a right of privacy (beyond that, I'm really undecided), but at the same time, I'm also left wondering what harm more updates would do. Sure you can say, it's not up to us to question if the family wishes us to respect their privacy in these difficult times - but I also think it's quite evident that many fans outthere are hurting due to his injury. This may be quite odd to some who don't really feel or build up an emotional connection to a celebrity or stranger... but then, who are we (who don't) to judge that? When Senna died, more than simply a nation was in utter disbelief, shock and sorrow. Why can't the same hold true in the case of Schumacher?

I don't think anyone (not even Gary) is suggesting we should be informed on a daily basis as to what has been happening. His post came at a time when speculation was rather high (with lots of rumours circulating) and there was no official word, I think for weeks.