Respect For The Dead

Recently there was a news item about a Detroit man found dead, encased in ice. More details about the man's death have come out since I first read the story; still, I would like to mention a few details from the original story which I read. Apparently there were some men playing ice hockey near the dead man's body. These men were the first to see him. They did nothing about the dead man's body. Even worse, they continued to play hockey. Later, somebody did call 911. According to the story which I read, this person described the man's legs sticking out of the ice as looking like "a couple of popsicle sticks."

I found this story somewhat disturbing, as I imagine you might.

In every culture of which I'm aware, some respect of some kind has always been shown to at least some of the dead. Even before recorded history, people buried their dead in a manner which they considered respectful.

Showing disrespect toward a dead body has almost always meant that the person, when living, was either an enemy or someone of so little importance that he or she deserved no respect.

When we do show respect for a dead person's remains, whether this means mummification, burial, cremation, or something else, some sort of ceremony or at least solemnity accompanies the process. This seems common to all cultures across history, and even among those who have no religious beliefs.

Now, why do we do this? Why do we show respect for the remains of a dead person?

I've already given a hint of an answer, and now I'll explain more fully.

When we show respect for a deceased person's remains, we are saying something about the person who died and something about ourselves.

What we are saying about the person who died is fairly straightforward. We are saying that this person was worthy of at least some respect while living, was liked and probably loved by at least some people, and furthermore had value as a human being. As a consequence, we show respect for what remains of that person. We honor the memory of that person.

What we say about ourselves when we show respect for the remains of someone who has died is actually quite similar. We say that we are the kind of people who value others, who love others, who show respect toward other human beings. Even if we disliked the person while alive, we often show the same respect. We are saying that we are above such minor things as dislike enough to show respect for the human being, even after death.

When we show disrespect for a person's remains, either neglectfully or deliberately, we are saying that the person in question, while alive, was either of no value or of so little value that such a person deserves no respect.

I don't think I need to explain what people who show such disrespect are saying about themselves.

Hans Bricker