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[Ned Flanders]

It's odd, watching CNN I saw a segment regarding an American family who feared their son/brother missing. They were quite frank about the possibility of him being dead, but insisted on giving out his physical description because, even in the event that he was deceased, they wanted to retrieve his body before he was cremated via mass grave so they could bury him back in the states. Now I can understand wanting to ID him in the even that he's alive, but if he's dead, whats the point, really? How is his corpse in any way significant to who he was? Isn't it merely symbolic at this point? More specific to the case, aren't you setting yourself up for disappointment if he's never found? The probabilities him never being ID'ed are enormous given that assloads of people were simply washed away by the rushing water..

I mean maybe, ok, its definitely insensitive on my part, but I just don't see the purpose. If burials are a religious ceremony, then why is so much emphasis put on a corpse given that the body in most religions is inconsequential (and in many religions the flesh is demonized) in light of the soul/spirit?? Doesn't their body have very little to do with who they are? If you need their body to remember them, isn't there something sad about that? I understand that burial helps people have closure, but I don't understand why burial helps people have closure.

Anyway, I didn't want to make light of the situation, it just brought to mind something I've never fully understood about how people deal with death, particularly in the face of their own beliefs. Hope they find the guy..

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

well if my parents died in an accident itd be nice to know whatever is left of them physically is somewhere, I dunno to visit.

Its fucking creepy shit in a cemetary tho.


My mom wants cremation for what its worth.


her father was cremated and wants his ashes spread near a cottage they owned when my mom/uncles/aunt were growing up.


I view a funeral with body/etc as a formality for the living to say goodbye


much like I view a marriage as a formality for "loving" a significant other.

 

[Saturnman]

It's odd, watching CNN I saw a segment regarding an American family who feared their son/brother missing. They were quite frank about the possibility of him being dead, but insisted on giving out his physical description because, even in the event that he was deceased, they wanted to retrieve his body before he was cremated via mass grave so they could bury him back in the states. Now I can understand wanting to ID him in the even that he's alive, but if he's dead, whats the point, really? How is his corpse in any way significant to who he was? Isn't it merely symbolic at this point? More specific to the case, aren't you setting yourself up for disappointment if he's never found? The probabilities him never being ID'ed are enormous given that assloads of people were simply washed away by the rushing water..

I mean maybe, ok, its definitely insensitive on my part, but I just don't see the purpose. If burials are a religious ceremony, then why is so much emphasis put on a corpse given that the body in most religions is inconsequential (and in many religions the flesh is demonized) in light of the soul/spirit?? Doesn't their body have very little to do with who they are? If you need their body to remember them, isn't there something sad about that? I understand that burial helps people have closure, but I don't understand why burial helps people have closure.

Anyway, I didn't want to make light of the situation, it just brought to mind something I've never fully understood about how people deal with death, particularly in the face of their own beliefs. Hope they find the guy..

Are you Klingon?

 

[Drexon]

It's important because we have thousands and thousands of rotting corpses waiting to be identified over there. If they're not identified by looks and don't have dental records chances are that they're going to get burned over there. Sweden and scandinavia has launched an identification team, and claimed that it was a very important process in a catastrophe like this.

 

[Pimpwerx]

I don't get the whole burial act in the first place. I think it's a holdover from like the Egyptians who had equally morbid fascination with death. It's all religious, and serves no purpose. Over time, graves are built over anyway. At some point in time, we're gonna have to stop reserving real estate for dead people, and start catering to the living. I'm all for cremation. When I die, I don't want a fancy funeral or nothing. Donate my organs, burn my body and then spread my ashes all over the lawn of someone I really hate. :lol Bug me in life, I'll curse you in death. PEACE.

 

[Zaptruder]

I don't get the whole burial act in the first place. I think it's a holdover from like the Egyptians who had equally morbid fascination with death. It's all religious, and serves no purpose. Over time, graves are built over anyway. At some point in time, we're gonna have to stop reserving real estate for dead people, and start catering to the living. I'm all for cremation. When I die, I don't want a fancy funeral or nothing. Donate my organs, burn my body and then spread my ashes all over the lawn of someone I really hate. :lol Bug me in life, I'll curse you in death. PEACE.

Practical long term thinking. I like it!

Sign me up for the take my usable organs in event of death and burn the rest of me plan too!

 

[Phoenix]

Its a choice and people get those in the event of their death as well. If you choose to just be burned, that's your choice and people will respect that. If you choose to be buried - that that IS the point, and the only point that you need to know.

 

[mrklaw]

while it might be a nice notion for us sitting in our warm houses to get the bodies back, identified and properly buried, its not practical when the casualties are this high.

You either bury the bodies quickly, or you lose twice as many people to disease.

Even in India, Hindus are foregoing their traditional religious cremation in favour of quick mass burials.

 

[Triumph]

Yeah, I don't get it either. I've always jokingly said that I wanted to be stuffed and turned into a hat rack. Maybe I'll put that in my will.

 

[Dilbert]

It's odd, watching CNN I saw a segment regarding an American family who feared their son/brother missing. They were quite frank about the possibility of him being dead, but insisted on giving out his physical description because, even in the event that he was deceased, they wanted to retrieve his body before he was cremated via mass grave so they could bury him back in the states. Now I can understand wanting to ID him in the even that he's alive, but if he's dead, whats the point, really? How is his corpse in any way significant to who he was? Isn't it merely symbolic at this point? More specific to the case, aren't you setting yourself up for disappointment if he's never found? The probabilities him never being ID'ed are enormous given that assloads of people were simply washed away by the rushing water..

I mean maybe, ok, its definitely insensitive on my part, but I just don't see the purpose. If burials are a religious ceremony, then why is so much emphasis put on a corpse given that the body in most religions is inconsequential (and in many religions the flesh is demonized) in light of the soul/spirit?? Doesn't their body have very little to do with who they are? If you need their body to remember them, isn't there something sad about that? I understand that burial helps people have closure, but I don't understand why burial helps people have closure.

Anyway, I didn't want to make light of the situation, it just brought to mind something I've never fully understood about how people deal with death, particularly in the face of their own beliefs. Hope they find the guy..

EXCELLENT points. Yeah, it's something I've wondered about myself for a while, but the answer is pretty simple: People are irrational when it comes to death. (Also love, happiness, and other basic human conditions, but that's another rant.) It makes exactly zero sense that people should fixate on a body...but they do. If they happen to be the religious type and believe in an afterlife, then they should be HAPPY that their beloved is with God...but they instead wail about someone being "gone." Finally, funerals and burials are extraordinarily impractical things. If you want to be scandalized about how grieving families are exploited for profit, go read The American Way Of Death by Jessica Mitford.

You can bet that when I die, I'm doing something DIFFERENT.

 

[Gattsu25]

What's done is done but shucks I wouldn't want my children's body being eaten by crows...burn or bury the fuckers