Death, for whatever it’s worth, sometimes reinvigorates peoples’ careers. Dying transforms a person from a living breathing thing to something that seems to carry much more weight. A famous artist dies, and suddenly, the whole world wants to know why. Everyone wants to show their love for the artist and share their love for them with the world. People who need answers ask questions. It’s all very different for that artist’s family, who have just lost a loved one. For them, the person does not necessarily transform into a bigger idea with spiritual significance, but they transform into that feeling of grief and nostalgia that rests in the pit of a stomach, or the tear ducts behind a pair of eyes.
It is the discrepancy between the experience of a fan and a friend in the face of death that makes certain actions so egregious. Chester Bennington; the father, husband, and frontman of Linkin Park, died in late July. Nine days later, on the 29th of July, Bennington’s family held private memorial in Los Angeles. A few days after that, bits and pieces of the memorial surfaced on eBay, accruing bids for up to $50,000. EBay quickly removed the articles from its website, stating that the company forbids any “attempt to profit from tragedy.” After people tried to sell off tickets to Ariana Grande’s One Love Manchester memorial concert, eBay used the same reasoning to block the transactions.
Bennington touched many people in very deep ways during his career as a musician. He made music with a lot of heart, often singing about sadness and anger, but with the poetic essence to make it all seem so relatable—and the musical energy to create great songs. To many, those songs were more than hits, they held true and personal meaning. That is the kind of band Linkin Park is.
Sources close to Bennington’s family assume the seller was “someone who worked with Linkin Park in production,” according to TMZ. However, eBay prevented that seller from becoming rich.
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