Poll: "Show a little sympathy; all death is tragic !"

[Clive Howlitzer]

While I don't think all death could be considered "tragic". I do think you should be saddened by the death of another human being, even if you didn't know them. I also don't think you should call for and be super excited for the death of any human beings.

 

[AmaterasuGrim]

Death is unavoidable and happens so much personally i don't give a f about anyone's death it's bound to happen some day & even if it's someone i know I'm not going to be that down, just remember the fun time's.

 

[esliang]

I guess the reason one shouldn't hit "yes" is because of people like the late bin Laden. I'm sure not a lot of people thought his death was a tragedy. For individuals like Amy Winehouse, however, a bit of sympathy probably doesn't hurt. I mean, you can laugh and make "Rehab" jokes later, but hey, she was a pretty good singer.

 

[The Mighty Thesaurus]

I believe that every death is a tragedy, but I don't feel sympathy.

 

[Valkaris]

"Tragedy is when i cut my finger, comedy is when you fall down an open manhole cover and die."

no

I see that you brilliantly managed to completely miss the point of that quote.

Aye, the quote is using the injury and death analogy in a completely different way than I meant it, but I was adapting the quote and using it literally.

 

[justnotcricket]

Put it this way: while I am sad at death, and will offer sympathy to someone who has lost someone, if I have no connection whatsoever to the person who dies, then it is difficult for me to show sympathy without feeling a little false. I might feel that it is a shame that a good/entertaining/kind/etc person died, but I won't sink into a depression over a celebrity.

There are some people, however, who should not be lamented. In fact, the only appropriate response is probably relief that they are gone. I'm talking about the Hitler types here. The really evil ones. I'm not saying you can't think it was a shame that no-one managed to help them turn things around before it all got ugly, but once the ugliness starts...

 

[Kryzantine]

You know, it's actually kind of funny. This incident in Norway got me worked up for probably the first time.

I didn't give a shit when 9/11 happened, even though I live in Brooklyn - I didn't know anyone in the towers, I was in maybe 2nd or 3rd grade. I didn't know what was going on. There wasn't any connection. I mean, that changed when I went to HS about a quarter mile away, then I could blatantly see and live with the aftermath, what that neighbourhood went through. But not beforehand. And I didn't get worked up over it either.

I gave a damn when my mentor died from meningitis about 2 years ago. It was already a very tough time for me, and I when I found out, I pretty much just lied down. Yeah, it sucked what happened to 'er. That was fairly tragic. Her mom never really recovered, and in a way, I still didn't recover from it. Her death was part of a series of rapid events that shook my life upside down, fostered my current personality, and if it didn't give me them, opened up my migraines. But that's because I was pretty close to her. It was unexpected and personal.

A recent death of someone I didn't know was a tragic accident. Girl gets swiped by a car going at 30, she dies, people at my school are crying the next few days, they flare up for a week. I helped some of them out, and even though I didn't cry, I didn't know the girl, I dealt with people who knew her. I know what they went through. I'd be willing to consider it tragic regardless.

And then comes Oslo.

I couldn't give a shit about the bomb. Seems like there's a car bombing every day. 7 people died from that, and it sucks, but such is the price of chaos in the world we live in today. But that youth camp shooting, that's a whole 'nother fucking story. Those are teenagers who were targeted for fuck knows what. If that incident doesn't constitute a tragedy for you, I don't know what does. I don't know any of the people who died there, I don't even know anyone in Norway right now, but I feel for them regardless.

I'm not going to write out my own point here. Pretty much the best way to make it is this one clip from The Wire, which just sums up my response to the OP perfectly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wmgghlEagA

 

[Treefingers]

I don't expect everyone to be having a cry about Amy Winehouse/whoever, but people making jokes and taking the piss are out of line in my opinion.

 

[Belated]

Yes I do agree. And the 400+ people who voted "No" have never watched a piece of film where the main character was some kind of criminal who passed away. Films like that have the mysterious ability of making you feel bad for those people, even though they're criminals. Why? Because the viewer can still find redeeming qualities in them, because the film presents their side of things, and shows you how we're not so different, criminal and cop. Terrorist and soldier. Ex-con and civilian. I strongly recommend those 400 to watch "Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino" all the way through. That anime is the production that indeed taught me how all death is tragic. It characterized both warring sides so well, making you sympathize with everybody at once. And when somebody does get killed, you hate to see it happen, regardless of their affiliations.

Sometimes you're happy to see someone die. Most of us Americans were overcome with joy at the news of Osama's demise. I was too. I was singing "Ha Ha You're Dead" to commemorate the moment. But Osama didn't have to be what he was. He was born a normal person with a functional brain. He could have grown up to contribute to society and preach the word of peace to his people. Or he could have worked as a double agent for our government. He could have been a great person, but instead he went the way of terrorism and died for it. And yes, that is tragic.

 

[RanD00M]

Thousands upon thousands die every day. And you are more likely to find me telling a joke about raping dead babies than giving a shit about people that I don't know. Hell even my own great grandmother died 2 weeks ago and 0 fucks were given that day.

 

[Kolby Jack]

If I may get philosophical up in this bee-yotch...

All life is sacred, and all death is tragic, but those who live for the pursuit of evil and wrong-doing need not be mourned when due justice is served, for they died because of their own actions.

 

[otakon17]

Okay, I know almost universally that at the time I finish this post, at least one human will be dead. It is a sad fact, but one that cannot be ignored. But not all death is tragic. On the personal level it can be devastating, but remembering the good times with a loved one and the changes they brought with them in their interaction with you can be happy too. My mother, who is still with us and still not that old, has stated numerous times she wants her funeral to be more like a party than anything else. Although, I hope she's kidding when saying she wants to be dressed as a clown to shock anyone paying last respects out of sadness into laughter ...

 

[Vohn_exel]

I think all death is tragic but it doesn't have to personally ruin your day. "A little sympathy" is different from it being a world changing thing.

 

[The_Graff]

no, if i did not know - or even know of - the person then why should i be bothered? there is enough to get sad about in this world without going out out of your way to look for more. also to anyne who agrees with the quote then, have you read the Darwin Awards? surely s shows that some deaths are not only 'not tragic' but actual comedic gold.

Schadenfreude, you know you love it.

 

[Thaius]

Someone, somewhere, has lost their life. Someone, somewhere, is suffering and mourning because of it. It is tragic. I apologize for being mean in how I say this, but there's no way around it; to define everything, especially something like this, based on your own personal gain or loss is selfish and douchebaggish. It's indicative of seeing absolutely no value in human life and having no interest in the good of anyone but yourself. And dude, that paints you as a real dick.

EDIT: Admittedly though, this doesn't belong everywhere. When Bin Laden had been killed, for instance, that was a good thing. He had done many terrible things, was probably planning to do more, and deserved a heck of a lot more than death by bullet. His death was not tragic, it was good. But outside of the death of people who really, really deserved it, I stand by my statement.

 

[Ipsen]

I've read this many times on forums. What do you think of it? Do you agree? Disagree?
I have to say, no.
If someone who I don't know dies, why does it have to be tragic to ME? If some celebrities death occurs, why should I have to have be personally affected? The fact is I don't know 99% of the Earth population, and death happens every day. Hundreds of thousands of people die every day. I don't enter into a day by day depression over it. Something being horrible is one person's opinion.

It has to, it MUST be tragic to you, because you have an imagination. Imagination creates sympathy; Whether you imagine you yourself died, or someone you actually KNEW died, imagination can portray and better prepare you for these situations for you without you actually experiencing them.

Of course, you can just shut off this important aspect of the mind and move on with your life. But I'll be of the opinion that you are a lesser being for it.

 

[TheRobotandtheBeast]

I ran out of sympathy when i realized it was taking up more time then i spent eating, drinking and gaming.

Death is NORMAL. Death is frequent. and death is unavoidable. this also makes it boring.

 

[ChocoFace]

George Carlin says it like it is.

Oh and if you didn't watch it, he thought of it this way: "You know where the sanctity of life came from? We made it up. You know why? Cause we're alive. Self interest."

 

[Twilight_guy]

If you honestly don't care unless it affect you personally then you're very selfish. A very selfish person won't understand the fact that death often makes someone somewhere sad and thus is tragic for the people affect by the death.

No, not caring about another person dying who you have no connection it isn't selfish. It's actually the healthy way to respond to death. Between the time that I started writing this post and finished someone somewhere will have died. Odds are neither of us have any connection to this person, so we shouldn't care.

Now if you knew that this person was your great aunt's, sister's best friend's child who wanted to be a football player when he grew up, but ended up becoming an accountant after hurting his knee in a high school game where he was a decent, but not all that good, line backer. Then you might care a little because knowing that creates a connection to the death.

But caring about a single person dying that you have no connection to whatsoever? That's not healthy. Someone most likely cares, but that someone doesn't have to be you. Likewise people who know that someone might care that this person cares. However as you keep stretching away from the main event it seems unlikely that anyone would much care that someone cared that someone else cared that someone died.

Now it is true that a lot of her fans feel a connection to her because of her music. So they have a reason to care, and those around them have a reason to care that they care. This doesn't mean that everyone should always care about EVERY death. In the end in order to care, you need to be personally affected on some level. That isn't being selfish, that's what it means to be sane.

selfish:
1. devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others.
2. characterized by or manifesting concern or care only for oneself: selfish motives.

If you only care about something if and only if it affects then then you are only concerned primarily with yourself in that an event must have a direct effect on you for you to care. Therefore not caring when someone else dies or having empathy is selfish. I don't pretend to be a psychologist and know what is or isn't mentally healthy but I do know not caring when people die is selfish since I can make a good argument for it. Take what you will from it, being selfish not inherently good or bad.