Poll: Isn't crying about the deceased pointless?

[Yvgeny]

The Escapist has one of the best online communities I've seen in a while, but do you let logic get in the way of everything? Everyone above me has done a pretty good job of expressing that it's natural, and, while it might not seem important to you (nothing wrong with that) it makes some people feel better. I still cry for people years after they've died.
You can argue that it's pointless, but I still do it, like other people. Maybe I'm just weak, and can't move on.

But, there are some things in life that cannot be explained. Maybe they can, but they may not be explained in your lifetime, so we just go with the information we have, and we get by.

 

[MeatMachine]

Crying = Emotion
Emotion /=/ Logical thought
Logical thought = Sensibility

Therefore,
Crying /=/ Sensible*

(from a pragmatist's point of view)
(*which is not to imply that crying is without purpose)

 

[Scizophrenic Llama]

I don't see an issue about crying over lost loved ones every once and a while, although the first week or two depending on the person is usually the socially accepted time.

Crying is better than bottling it all up to let loose on somebody at some point later on in your life.

 

[blindthrall]

Especially relevant a decade after 9/11. This country needs to get over itself, before its irrational grief kills another 102,417 non-Americans.

 

[blindthrall]

I don't cry, because I'm a guy and guys don't cry (Obscure reference!)
If I did I would probably look ridiculous anyway

Is that Christian Bale sitting on an asbestos dildo?

 

[MaxwellEdison]

/head desk
We cry because we're sad, we're sad because we enjoyed that person and they have ceased to exist.

Why do you need this explained?

 

[SoulSalmon]

I certainly won't say that I don't cry on occasion.
But I've never really done it for the dead, congrats someone died, it sucks for them and everyone who knew them, but it's guaranteed to happen at some point.

I respect people who do (it's probably an overwhelming majority anyway), but I personally see no point in mourning for the dead...

What I WILL say is annoying and pointless is these "annivesaries" of peoples deaths, I can understand it up to about a decade, after that you're just being stupid.

 

[Cyfu]

Of course we do! we're human for fucks sake. this poll pisses me off, i lost my grand mother 8 hours ago and i cried alot. and to say that crying for her was pointless, it pisses me off. if you had said that to my face i would have punched you.

 

[Cyanin]

Had to ignore the poll because no answer properly suited "when I cried". Death reminds us of our own mortality in the best circumstances.

In the worst, it robs us of a close family member, friend or role model, and knocks you out emotionally.

If you cry because of someone's death, it's perfectly natural. If you don't, then you deal with grief in just another way. Love isn't measured in tears.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Greif isn't for the dead its for the griever. The grieving process is the way we deal with death. It's not for the dead its a way to emotional deal with the death.

 

[ZydrateDealer]

If you loved them you'll cry. I never shed a tear because of 9/11, (11/9). I cried a river when my grandfather died. It makes sense to cry when you're sad even if it's pointless, if you don't feel the need to cry that's fine but you still feel sad that they're dead on gone forever so you may as well ask if feeling sad about a person you know and love's death or a death that you witness is pointless? The answer is it helps you deal with it; grieve in what ever way you feel is right.

 

[VanTesla]

Crying is one of our emotional mechanisms that helps deal with tragedy for people. If we had no emotions and where all logic base, then yes it is pointless. Crying is a good thing for humans though in my opinion.

 

[SeriousIssues]

Yes, you must stop yourself from ever being sad when seeing someone you love die and realizing they're just out of your lives for good. Becuase that's just for the irrational.
I know you probably think you're being a cold, calculating scienctist type, but you come off as more of just not understanding how emotions work.

 

[burningdragoon]

2 things. First, you used 'begs the question' wrong. Second, replace the reason you are crying with almost anything else and you could make the same argument. So basically, you are saying crying is pointless overall.

 

[DarkRyter]

Maybe those tears don't have much of a practical purpose (though from an evolutionary biology standpoint, It could be proposed that tears are meant to force an empathic response from other group humans, thus showing vulnerability in order to gain protection), but if the tears start coming, no real point in letting them stop.

 

[Wushu Panda]

people still cry about the dead? that is SOOOO last century. the cool thing to do now is to take of the corpses head and fire it from a cannon into a raging bonfire. if the head lands successfully it means a year of good luck. I also heard the south American practice of consuming the heart to gain their courage is due for a comeback.

off topic: stupid thread is stupid

 

[DarkSoldier84]

It's all right to cry. It's better to laugh.

When somebody important to you dies, remember the good times. Remember when he did something really dumb and everyone laughed at it. Remember when he helped you move and all he asked for was lunch on you. That sort of thing.

 

[TakeyB0y2]

Crying stimulates the release of hormones, such a dopamine, which help you feel happier. As such, crying is never pointless, it biologically helps you feel better.

 

[BlueMage]

Hardly anything about humans makes sense.

Um, actually ... plenty makes sense. Crying over the death of a loved one, particularly among other loved ones, serves often to make the bonds that exist between those that remain stronger. A strong family tie means that more members are likely to survive long enough to breed and raise young in a similar manner.

So yeah, it makes perfect sense - the reason folks cry is that way back when, folks who didn't were less likely to survive long enough to breed. Probably because they were different and no-one liked them, and that's WRONG.