Poll: Are Cemetaries a Waste of Space?

[Patrick Dare]

I don't really see the point in it unless it's some religious deal where you think they can't get into heaven if their earthly body is destroyed or some thing like that.

Personally I'm an atheist and don't believe in an after life, once I'm dead I don't give a shit what happens to my body and I don't see the point in visiting graves (I never do). I can remember those who I knew and died without a body in the ground. If you really need it cremate it and put it on your mantle or something, otherwise just throw the ashes over a cliff or something.

Interesting related fact, some Tibetan Buddhists cut up their dead and feed them to vultures.

 

[Twilight_guy]

One of the things that separates us from the beasts is burying our dead. Humans want to be remembered and we want to remember them so we build cemeteries and we grieve. We wonder why, we lament and we remember. Cemeteries our part of the human process and anyone who want them removed completely is voting for non-remembrance of the dead (in a way) which is a vote for cold emotionlessness.

 

[DustyDrB]

What's wrong with having land allotted that helps some people grieve? It's hardly the worst use of space. It's not like some horrible places like...well...

Spoiler

*shudders*

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

I'm surprised that I've never heard this question asked before. It's a good one really, I think cemeteries are a huge waste of space and they cause problems with groundwater. We should just cremate everyone. I also support organ donation and the like, if I'm dead I won't know anything about what happens to my body...I won't know anything at all.

 

[Patrick Dare]

One of the things that separates us from the beasts is burying our dead. Humans want to be remembered and we want to remember them so we build cemeteries and we grieve. We wonder why, we lament and we remember. Cemeteries our part of the human process and anyone who want them removed completely is voting for non-remembrance of the dead (in a way) which is a vote for cold emotionlessness.

Our higher level of thinking is what separates us from "the beasts" (though I think I'd have to argue we are beasts, sometimes worse). Our intelligence allows (some of) us to overcome and control our emotions when it is practical. I don't think the cemetery thing really matters at this point in time (making exceptions for local cases where there is overcrowding and limited space) but someday it may become an issue.

 

[thom_cat_]

This is a really good subject to touch on, and I voted yes.
Thanks OP for the insight

 

[Mr. McFuzzers]

Cemetaries are not a waste of space. It is a place where the dead are respected and rememberd.

 

[Jewrean]

I'm shocked at the majority voting yes for this. Even if you are not religious, you need to show respect for the dead whether there is an afterlife or not. This is in a similar vein to why teenagers don't respect their elders. Never speak ill of the dead in this manner, not because you should fear it (God no) but because if you do then you are not honouring their memory nor are you respecting them. Don't throw your humanity away because you value a insignificant amount of ground over the resting places of those that have lived, worked, and died for your world you know today. I am ashamed to be an escapist today when such a simple question has shown how inhuman many of us can be.

 

[capin Rob]

Yes, they are, no doubt

 

[Deviltongue]

I want people to know exactly where my corpse is when they figure out how to revive people. Practically though, they are a waste of space but it puts people at ease knowing that no matter how much their life has just changed, their family member will always be in this spot in the ground. At least until the Zombie Uprising.

 

[Eldarion]

I think we should bury them, returning their bodies to the earth. Not put them in a box. Thats whats gonna happen to me when I go.

 

[blaze96]

I believe them to not be a waste of space because of what the living want done with their bodies. From a utilitarian perspective, they are, and I would agree from that perspective. From a personal perspective I think they are not, my own father is a soldier and wishes to be buried next to the bodies of his comrades. There are people who want to be buried next to family members, friends, heroes, etc. and I personally feel the last wishes of the living should be fulfilled. If only to honor their memory and what we felt for them during their life and know we have given them the sendoff they want. There will probably be many who disagree with me for a whole host of opinions, but this is my humble one and I shan't be dissuaded from it.

 

[Dfskelleton]

I don't know. I believe in respect for the dead though, even though they probably don't care.

 

[Darth_Dude]

What ever happened to cremation anyways?

Global Warming.

But seriously, too much pollution and stuff if burning dead bodies became popular.

 

[Patrick Dare]

Fry: "Is that anything like a cemetery? Cause I gotta take a leak."

 

[Darth_Dude]

I think we should bury them, returning their bodies to the earth. Not put them in a box. Thats whats gonna happen to me when I go.

Yes, I never agreed with the whole coffin thing, you never see the coffin after its been buried so why even bother?

 

[Diligent]

I don't think the dead really care. The ones who have passed on have passed on. The ones who are ghosts (supposedly) don't realize they are dead and wouldn't care about their body's resting place anyway.

Truthfully though, I think you would have an easier time getting rid of those stupid, useless Golf Courses than you would getting rid of the grave yards.

I think you're onto something: haunted theme golf courses that double as cemeteries.

Seriously though, it's a tough question but I had to go with waste of space. Really old cemeteries are always going to be build over or forgotten anyway... I wonder how much of the planet in area squared is taken up by cemeteries.

And as a slightly related and morbid fact, I saw a documentary where in parts of Africa where housing, poverty, and gang warfare are big problems, people dig up graves and sleep in them. I guess respect for the dead starts to mean less when your own life is on the line (or you've done too much crack...).