Jennifer Horgan: Does our own death anxiety feed cruelty instead of kindness?
Fans gather to pay tribute to late pop singer Liam Payne, former member of the British pop band One Direction, in Treptower Park in Berlin, Germany. Picturer: AP
"Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” It’s not too often I quote the , but there has been a kettle of vultures, flying in formation, since news of Liam Payne’s death broke.
They circle still — detailing toxicology reports and the exact number of breaks in his young body. It’s grotesque, this divulging of his private medical details. With social media, the savagery has increased. Peck, peck, peck: the delicious anonymity of the online post; the private watch; the quiet voyeurism.
