myrmepropagandistManufacturing weapons for sale should be a taboo profession like undertaker or executioner. You should have to paint your door black or something and your daughters can't get married IDK. SOMETHING
quangobaudUndertaker? Taboo? 🤔
My uncle was an undertaker and there are a whole host of things that come with that job. In some ways it's very respected, but he also had to stay in on New Year's day since so many people thought having him come to your house on the first was "bad luck" ... my mom would let him come over and he told me about all of the other things that come with the job.
Though, now it's all nationalized funeral home franchises. Not like you'll know your undertaker. Kind of sad, really.
Because he worked with the dead there was a distance. Is that fair? Mean? IDK.
But it's odd to me that it's supposed to be perfectly normal to go to work and design and build and sell weapons of war. (I don't even mean guns, I'm talking about the big stuff) and it's "just another job"
I don't think that adds up.
I am sure that people in the funeral business also have their own wild parties (for people in the trade). Parties that we civilians do not know about and are not invited to ... 🤔
I think there's a complete difference between "things that we would rather not talk about" and "industries" like Weapons manufacturing & selling and the Fossil Fuel industry.
There's necessary things which have to be done and then there's the suspiciously voluntary nature of warfare (which usually had a financial, accumulative and perverted desire for the display of domination of land & people as a motive behind it, hardly ever for actual defence).
It's more like a white-collar person mugging people.
In warfare, there is "excitement" that people can recount their experiences of, while others fantasise and support new wars (or "attacks" as I call them). The wars make for great movies. And, so, people talk about the Thing that creates the Market for Weapons all the bleedin' time.
Funerarls & funerary rites are a downer. Almost no one looks forward to death or their own death. Rites and rituals change over time in all societies (look at those crazy Kemetians!).
Many societies have rituals that familiarise or celebrate the existence of Death and its closeness to us. 🎃
Modern practices have roles in the industrialised nature of living in large towns and cities, the need for determining the cause of death, cleanliness, adequate "disposal" of remains, necropopoli, urns on the shelf above a fireplace. Pedestrianising cemetries. The commercialisation of mortality and death.
There are quite a few people who look forward to causing injury and death. They talk about it all the time though it may be someone on television being jingoistic & nationalist or some guy down the pub talking about some bloke/"forinna" that they don't like the look of due to them hearing and repeating stories that excite them and that they build their personalities around.
Attitudes to Death come from our societies more often than from ourselves. In societies where Death is commonplace (like it was in the UK even right upto and past the Second World War) there is not (was not) the avoidance of talking about Death as we are now used to.
💀 Not me, though. 👻
(I missed your reply due to "normal" bedtime and being asleep for a long long time. I had/have a gooey flu.)
suzanne@futurebird @miguelpergamon
One of my parents' good friends was, too. I remember him from my childhood as a really fun man. His family went to our church.
One of my parents' good friends was, too. I remember him from my childhood as a really fun man. His family went to our church.
Did ya'll have the new year's day thing? Or is that a Blackfolks from Pittsburgh thing?
I mean I kind of get it. Dude dressed the part and always had on a dark somber suit and a dark somber air (but in reality he was very fun, and liked pranks... but he said "you need to be what people expect in my line of work")
@futurebird @miguelpergamon
We didn't that I know of. Or maybe my parents didn't care. I expect plenty of people did feel uncomfortable around him.
We didn't that I know of. Or maybe my parents didn't care. I expect plenty of people did feel uncomfortable around him.
@futurebird
I know my mom was superstitious about food at the new year. She's southern and grew up poor. We always had blackeyed peas on new years. She's less so now but used to be superstitious about a lot of things. But I don't think that was one.
I know my mom was superstitious about food at the new year. She's southern and grew up poor. We always had blackeyed peas on new years. She's less so now but used to be superstitious about a lot of things. But I don't think that was one.
Queen of AnxietyI have a cousin who is a mortician. It's something of a family business, though he moved and is working for a different place now. I think less nationalized, but I could be wrong. It was nice having him take care of my dad's funeral, as messy as my dad was when alive.
Maybe because of it being kind of in the family, I never thought it too weird.
@futurebird @miguelpergamon We didn't have any New Years superstitions. I always feel mildly jealous reading about other people who did things differently on New Years. Now all we do is follow the Swedish tradition of watching Ivanhoe and eating pizza. Sam Neill loses every time, but maybe 2027 will be the year Brian Gilbert beats Ivanhoe. :)