A good honest dialogue about death is something that is desperately needed in our culture. Our idea of a good dialogue may not be a statement limited to 140 characters, but a conversation about death, dying and funerals is taking place on twitter
- When me and my mom were driving
home we had to wait for this long
ass funeral procession.
I hate funerals =/ my prayers go out to the family
- A friend's husband died. Too young
to be so ill. Funeral home, then
back to my husband. I'm a very,
very lucky woman.
- You know what "song" I want to hear at my funeral? The sound of tires squealing out of the funeral home parking lot.
Perhaps the personal distance provided by the tweet makes the expression seem emotionally safer somehow. Perhaps the required brevity reduces the risk of baring our own emotions and fears too much, or exposing ourselves to the uncomfortable emotions of others too much.
- Isn't the risk of death 100%?
RT @: People with large waist sizes,
are at increased risk of dying.
- At a funeral I just heard a preacher compare
the deceased woman to a pen... or "a fine writing
utensil" rather. Hmmm..
- Viewing a cremation isn't as freaky
as you would think.
- How you gon come to a wake in a
funeral parlor and wear short??
- Just thought being in a coffin and wasting
money on it all, rather have cheap cremation
and be scattered in interesting places
- If you play "Time to say goodbye"
at my funeral, I will leave the grave and strangle you.
- Off to the cemetery to see my brother
on his birthday today! x
- thank you, it's not unexpected, but it still sucks. She lived in St. Louis and knowing I'll miss the funeral is tough
- I'm sending love, my thoughts & deepest sympathy to a family close to me who are grieving the loss of their infant. There are no words.
- Since I've to go to the cremation ground and I may not return, please grant me half day casual leave".
- I have to go shopping today. Normally that would be fun, but it's for something to wear to the funeral so... its just depressing.
- We still at the hospice, waiting for the funeral home to come get my grandpa body
Whatever the reason, it seems that the casual and spontaneous nature of the tweet, makes it a method of communication that is used to unselfconsciously broadcast our intimate moments and thoughts to the world. Seeing the thoughts of friends and strangers on this little discussed topic can lead to us sharing our thoughts as well. Even if this never gets past the 140 character level, at least it is a topic of discussion,and that is good for all of us.
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1 comment:
Interesting and some touching comments Patrick; no disrespect to Twitterers (?Tweeters?) but you're right - we need conversations about death, and a string of necessarily brief comments only looks like a kind of conversation, it isn't really an exchange of ideas. Perhaps it's a short-change of ideas, even? The Tweets might help, but we've further to go, I feel.
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