Chris Christie Criticized for Half-Mast Decision on Whitney Houston

Well, we thought we’d amble over to NJ.com to see what New Jersey citizens think of their governor’s decision to order the flag be flown at half-mast to honor Whitney Houston, and a lot of posters don’t seem to be too enthralled with the idea.

“Whitney Houston was an important part of the cultural fabric of this state,” Christie said during a press briefing on 2/14/2012: “She was a cultural icon in this state and her accomplishments in her life were a source of great pride for many people in this state and for this state as a whole. On that basis, I think she’s entitled to have that recognition made for her.”

We just couldn’t believe it.

Chris Christie has made no bones about what he thinks of the cast of the Jersey Shore, and the negative image they project of New Jersey. But he is more than willing to overlook Whitney Houston’s years of drug abuse, even her own admission on Oprah Winfrey that a great deal of the money she made through her God-given talent went to enrich drug dealers.

Houston, of course, is far from the only singer to have abused drugs and/or alcohol and die prematurely as a result. Others like Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, all cultural icons, all have been showered with honors and mass adulation for their talents.

But when did they start flying the flag at half-mast for cultural icons?

One poster who works at a State building wrote:

“…don’t worry, I work at a State building & trust me, it’ll be at the discretion of the management. If you think there’ll be full compliance with the Order, think again, because there won’t.”

UPDATE: Chris Christie defended his decision to honor Whitney Houston by flying the flag at half mast on Wednesday, February 15th. The governor said he was not saying that Houston is a role model. The clueless governor said he felt that Houston deserves the honor because of her huge cultural impact and as “a daughter of New Jersey.”

“I am disturbed by people who believe that because her ultimate demise — and we don’t know what is the cause of her death yet — but because of her history of substance abuse that somehow she’s forfeited the good things that she did in her life,” Christie said during a briefing in northern New Jersey. “I just reject that on a human level.”

Well, that’s not the point, guv. She was well paid for cultural impact. The question is what exactly did she do beyond collecting her dough to earn the honor of flying the flag at half mast?

USA Today reports that “In Newark, residents were irritated to hear of criticism of the governor’s decision to honor Houston, who acknowledged her drug abuse in interviews.” We doubt that many were irritated, but they did get a statement from one Newarker, Anna Simpson, at the New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston’s funeral will be held: “if it were Bruce Springsteen or Jon Bon Jovi, nobody would bat an eye.”

Probably not, but not because they are white. You can look up any celebrity on Look to the Stars: Celebrity Giving, and get a handle on what they gave back. On that basis, probably no one would bat on eye if it was Jerry Lewis or Queen Latifah either.