tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488833.post6590669487451736922..comments2023-11-02T02:14:31.901-06:00Comments on ReadMoreWriteMoreThinkMoreBeMore: Mourning AgainDoctor Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13189506916480012553noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488833.post-84031755769436439942007-11-15T08:52:00.000-06:002007-11-15T08:52:00.000-06:00PS: Did you just call me a utilitarian?!PS: Did you just call me a utilitarian?!kgradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08019941373142661439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488833.post-80292392041960485292007-11-15T08:51:00.000-06:002007-11-15T08:51:00.000-06:00Yeah, I only called it bait-and-switch insofar as ...Yeah, I only called it bait-and-switch insofar as to be present for the other parts of the meeting you have to either make a rude exit or stay for the eulogies.<BR/><BR/>But I don't know that I agree that the slope is so slippery. I just think that attendance at memorial services is more meaningful the less compulsory it is, and that it ought to be up to the individual to decide on a case by case basis whom to memorialize and (to the extent that this is possible) how.<BR/><BR/>I guess I'm interested in hearing what you <EM>do</EM> think is the reason for the strong reason for the negative reactions, and that's what I was hoping to tease out with my comment.kgradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08019941373142661439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488833.post-49608682866851198022007-11-15T08:16:00.000-06:002007-11-15T08:16:00.000-06:00I'm not really sure that this is a "bait-and-switc...I'm not really sure that this is a "bait-and-switch" since, as long as I can remember, eulogies have beena standard part of the business meeting agenda. I get your point, though, that there might be an assumption that the business meeting is for "business" and, consequently, the inclusion of eulogies in that meeting are out of place. But inasmuch as they have always been a part of that meeting, I'm not convinced that it's "dishonest."<BR/><BR/>I also worry that the other part of your comment ("we might be uncomfortable memorializing someone we don't even knowor may not care about") is exactly the kind of utilitarian view of mourning to which I am objecting. There are very few steps from your argument to one that justifies the ban on representations of our soldiers' deaths in the media. (We don't actually KNOW those soldiers, after all...)<BR/><BR/>The bottom line is, though, that I don't actually believe that the complaints that I hear about the eulogies articulate the *real* reasons behind those people's strong reaction.Doctor Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13189506916480012553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488833.post-61637447347252043072007-11-14T09:39:00.000-06:002007-11-14T09:39:00.000-06:00I find myself in complete agreement with your poin...I find myself in complete agreement with your point, and yet I can imagine myself being one of the people complaining about a business meeting eulogy. In fact, I may have done just that in the past, though I think it had more to do with the specific content of a certain eulogy.<BR/><BR/>In any case, I think this is a really important practice, but I'm torn as to whether the SPEP business meeting is the appropriate venue. I have to say it seems a little unfair to make people who might be uncomfortable with it participate in memorializing someone they may not have known—or, to be frank, may not have cared for. I think owe it to the dead, and to ourselves, to be honest in our memories, and I'm concerned that the bait-and-switch of business meeting eulogies might be a little dishonest.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure how much I really believe that. I guess I'm just trying to understand how people could have such a strong reaction against the point you make really well.kgradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08019941373142661439noreply@blogger.com