When can you speak ill of the dead?

[Guitarmasterx7]

I take priority to speak ill of the dead whenever the fuck I want. Granted I don't usually want to, but they're dead. What are they going to do to me? Rigor motris themselves until I stop? People look at death way too hard now. You shouldn't respect some asshole just because they're dead now. Michael Jackson is a prime example of this. Yes, he was a great performer but he was just as much if not more of a total freak. I don't know why the media is so hypocritical that they do nothing but talk shit about him and then start saying nothing but wonderful things about him when he dies. Not once did I see a news reporter give a "Mikey is dead" story and bring up anything they had been talking about in the last 3 years.

Side note: the text I got about MJ was "The plastic man is dead and the children emerge with cautious optimism"

 

[Motti]

When can you speak ill of the dead?

Only while they're still alive, it seems.

 

[Onlythestrong]

I suppose if I was standing next to a member of the deceaseds family I would not say anthing too harsh...just for the sake of that persons comfort...and my feelings of akwardness...but outside that....fuck em ALL

 

[Markness]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1tKm8rnLnQ

Someone may have already linked this, but here is a song that is exactly what you are talking about.

 

[Aedrial]

Depends on how much you like them I 'spose? All comes down to opinion and morality... right?

 

[Agema]

You should be okay speaking ill of the dead after from the minute they've snuffed it.

However, it's contemptible to do so if you didn't dare when they were alive, pretty much the non plus ultra of badmouthing someone behind their back. I suppose if they don't really deserve it, it makes you an arsehole, but that goes for people still alive too.

 

[AfterAscon]

In the UK you can speak ill of the dead as soon as they drop. Slander only applies to the living!

 

[Brennen]

apparently it's ok if they are zombies

 

[Lord Thodin]

Its ok to do so as soon as their out of ear shot, or encased in concrete, "as per mayor wests orders"

 

[TheBurningFist]

a generation?

 

[justnotcricket]

I could say that it depends on how superstitious you are...
...
But on a more serious note I really think it's unnecessary to worry about this kind of thing - I mean really, if you're going to say something awful about someone, pretending like you care how long they've been dead before you do it seems more than a little disingenuous.
My philosophy is that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all - and that goes for both the living and the dead.

If you wait until someone dies before you lay into them, you're a coward and a jerk. If you lay into someone while they're still alive, then in nine cases out of ten you wind up looking immature and petty. OK, there's no reason to respect people like Hitler, alive or dead, but in general, in the course of everyday life, I find it's easier to just move on.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Theres no point in pretending to like someone you didnt just because there dead.

 

[DoW Lowen]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this song, it pretty much sums up how most of us feel about the dead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLVsIpejFgM

Can anybody tell me how to post it as a video? It would be much appreciated, thanks.

 

[Xanadu84]

I say that I hope you have meaning in life and I'm a Nazi? Wow. And mentioning Godwins Law doesn't make your BS of using the Nazi analogy ant less specious. And you realized that you shouldn't have let things affect your mood? That sounds like something you find important. If you didn't value your life, then you wouldn't care if it affected your mood. Your ability to pursue your nihlism in pursuit of happiness is important, as is everyone else's pursuit of happiness.

Why do i need a meaning? Mentioning godwin's law wasnt supposed to do anything other than prevent idiots from typing "LOL GODWINS LAW!1" Its not something thats important. In order for it to be important i'd actually have to think about it. The moment I stopped giving a shit it became completely effortless. Saying that I avoid excess emotion so avoiding it must be important to me is like saying that life is important to me, thus why i constantly contract and relax my heart. No sense made. When did i ever say that i pursued in for happiness? If I "pursue" it for anything, its for a constant neutral emotional state.

Mentioning Godwins law to prevent people from saying Godwins law doesn't make trying to compare me to a Nazi any less specious.

Also, it sounds like this Nihlist philosophy is something very important and meaningful to you in your pursuit of happiness as you see it.

 

[Xanadu84]

In the UK you can speak ill of the dead as soon as they drop. Slander only applies to the living!

Certainly, in a free society, you are legally allowed to say whatever you want about the dead. I could rant about the evils of black people, or about how Muslims are sub-human, but just because I legally can doesn't mean that I wouldn't be an asshole if I did. So after establishing that it is and should be legal to slander the dead, when is it acceptable to, and not being a douchbag?

 

[Razman]

Unlike with the living, any time you feel like. They're dead anyway, its not like you'd be bothering them or potentially compromosing your position with it (e.g. speaking ill of your boss isn't always a good idea). Granted some decency and respect when in company of the departed's family would likely be appreciated.

Other than that all thats left is an empty shell and some memories anyway(I don't believe in an afterlife or reincarnation, and if they'd exist, I'll happily pass thank you. Life's value would dramatically drop if either case'd exist, and I wouldn't mind for the lights to go off permanently when I go)