tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060142192259992022.post4905522097984140294..comments2010-04-30T04:56:37.044-07:00Comments on Mangos for Breakfast: Remembering our DeadSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13398108795114696918noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060142192259992022.post-20247864555669330892010-01-11T14:53:19.921-08:002010-01-11T14:53:19.921-08:00Good post Sarah. An additional thought or two.Our ...Good post Sarah. An additional thought or two.Our families have gotten spread out so much that we in America can stay far away from disease/sickness/death anything "negative" And in the youth and health culture of US in particular these 3 are considered the ultimate failures.Also since we are no longer an agrarian society we have sterilized all forms of death and birth!Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12821258340075417992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060142192259992022.post-48844145209226048632009-12-13T22:00:31.062-08:002009-12-13T22:00:31.062-08:00Well, there are ways to have small communities wit...Well, there are ways to have small communities within larger communities other than religion, right? The thing about religion is that one of its main appeals is how it explains life after death. It also already has built in (often helpful) mourning rituals.<br /><br />What might be more of an issue is that larger communities make stigmatizing death easier. But the question is, why do we stigmatize death at all?<br /><br />Were you already gone when the republicans went crazy talking about the issue of "death panels" in the health care debate. Of course, the reality was that a lawmaker wanted people to have access to end of life counseling... This is, of course, an awesome idea. We spend a huge amount of money on the last few months of life. Like, huge. More importantly, that money translates into time in the hospital. We die in hospitals now, usually drugged and/or in pain. Doctors are trained to fight death, which for most people is good, but for people who are going to die, prolonging that death is often sucky.<br /><br />Anyways, death stigma is an interesting topic. I've got some books on it for you when you get home.Sisyphus Finehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660786509297734126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060142192259992022.post-89547982667610499452009-12-13T17:47:06.412-08:002009-12-13T17:47:06.412-08:00No! The long response was much needed and anticipa...No! The long response was much needed and anticipated. I'm really glad to hear that in some cases in the United States, the bereavement process can last a long time and be community oriented. The question now is how can we make this more wide-spread? Is the only answer to become more focused on our religious practices? What about an Irish wake? I think that includes an entire community, but is not necessarily focused on the religious aspects. Ahh, of course. Small communities abound in Ireland.... you observations seem to be right. <br />I will think on this more. <br />Thanks Stephen.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13398108795114696918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060142192259992022.post-46007072239338353362009-12-13T10:10:26.045-08:002009-12-13T10:10:26.045-08:00I've been thinking a good bit about funerals t...I've been thinking a good bit about funerals too this year. Thanks for posting this. I wonder how Indonesian funeral practice differs from Muslim funeral practice elsewhere. <br /><br />For example, I don't think American Muslims believe that the soul remains in the body at all after death, and I don't think the body is usually brought inside the mosque. I wonder how much the practice differs throughout Indonesia.<br /><br />I think the answer to your question about death practices in America is that, things changed when communities became less-centered around the houses of worship. The activities within those houses became less central to our lives. Or another answer is that, in small communities in America death still can take a prominent place. Two examples: <br /><br />Rafi's funeral this year was a huge event. An entire community turned out. Why? His youth for one, but also because his family is deeply involved with specific religious establishments. And not only was there the funeral, but the community came to their house twice a day for a week for prayer, and for the next year his family will add a specific prayer called kaddish to their thrice-daily services; a prayer which can only be recited if at least 10 members of the community are present. At the end of the year another ceremony will be held to unveil the headstone on his grave. After this, the kaddish will only be recited on the anniversary of his death and on specific holy days.<br /><br />The second example was my grandfather's death. The funeral was in DeLand--a small community in Florida. It seemed that the entire city turned out. My memory isn't good enough to recall specifics, but the difference between his funeral and my dad's mom who was buried in an enormous cemetery in South Florida was striking. In smaller towns, funerals are not just family events, and bringing food for and visiting the bereaved goes on for much longer.<br /><br />(You remember I took a class at Rice on the sociology of death and dying from that professor who was actually dying during the semester and died at the end of the semester... since then I've taken a little more interest in death practices than is probably normal. Sorry about the long response.)Sisyphus Finehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660786509297734126noreply@blogger.com