In contemporary society, pride occupies a strange place betwixt vice and virtue. More often we talk of being ‘proud of who we are’ or ‘proud of our achievements’ in virtuous terms rather than admonishing others for their prideful behaviour.
Jade Goody came to prominence through her appearance on Big Brother, primarily through her profound ignorance. Yet she was clever enough to build a ‘career’ as a ‘celebrity’ and return to our screens in ‘Celebrity Big Brother in 2007. Her shocking racist bullying of her housemate Shilpa Shetty horrified the nation, and saw her rapidly fall from glory – a case where her pride was quite rightly perceived as a sin.
I found her subsequent return tabloid glory, by dint of her illness even more disillusioning than her original rise to fame.