It's just interesting and disheartening to see how long this particular question/discussion/debate/frustration is dragging on. This is such a preoccupation on the Jake-side of the Brokie fan base now (I mean just look at how many Jake-related threads on this site alone have been taken over by this issue... and even HHH was briefly dealing with this "hot topic" too). I really, truly do hope that it doesn't impact the Brokie community negatively in the long term. Clearly both Heath and Jake fans are really important components of these Brokie communities, so it would be so nice if some peace could be found over this.
But, it's the question of not knowing that I think is causing the main frustration and is the spur to the long, drawn-out nature of these discussions.
I do agree that Jake has made a blunder here and I'm more baffled by it than disappointed. And, it doesn't mean that I don't like Jake. Quite the contrary... if I didn't care about him than I wouldn't be worrying about this question at all.
Well, see this is the problem and why this is still under discussion. Jake blundered? How? For all we know -
and we don't know - Jake may have expressed his grief quite openly and clearly to Heath's family and Michelle, but
privately. No blunder and perfectly normal and perfectly acceptable.
What seems to be at issue is how he dealt with the public - the fans. Here I think we're presumptuous to judge him on what he did or didn't do. It was unusual for him not to make a public statement, but to expect a "tribute" is a bit much. The choice of his actions was entirely his and I don't consider his
not making a public gesture a "mistake" or a "blunder". What he did was quite intentional and for his own reasons which I will not deem to judge. People deal with grief in different ways and Jake has it harder than most considering he is an actor. So whatever he did was right for
him and fans need to be more accepting of this. It wasn't
their friend who died.