I have thought quite a bit about this actually. They say you have to know your exit strategy. In my nid-20s I contacted the organ donor places, but got no reply (true story). I saw how students made fun of cadavers when studying medicine and I will not place my body in such a situation. It is serving me well (very well) during this lifetime and I want to respect it at the end of it's service period.
How will I do this?
One word: cremation.
I read in a science book, that the human body is actually a star, we are composed of the same matter - dust and gas. Given time, that is what the human body reduces to. Where does all that dust in your home come from? The answer is, from us - humans. By reducing my human body to dust, I feel it returns to where it came from - the universe.
Creation is earth, but it is also soooooo much more.
From dust, to dust.
Also, studying the remains of cremation allowed some life-changing findings such as tissue salts to come into being, the 12 basic building blocks of human cells. Studying our building blocks allows biologists to help Life too.
If I could naturally decompose, like animals in the wild, that would be cool too.
Just, no embalming and caskets etc....unnatural, morbid and a little bit too bizarre for me.
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14
Do you feel strongly against cremation?
Started by keywestkeely, Oct 08 2011 01:32 PM
79 replies to this topic
#42
Posted 06 November 2011 - 01:34 PM
I'm strongly for cremation. And this has nothing to do with religion or with how I would like to be treated after my death. To begin with, I shall adopt the reply Socrates gave when asked how he would like to be buried. He said they would have to catch him first. As far as the body was concerned, they could do with it as they pleased.
This is what I would say to all who've been saying they'd hate to be buried, or to be cremated. There is no "I" factor in this matter. It is entirely a piece of dead meat. The question now is, what is the best way to get rid of it.
In India, where cremation is the rule, there are families who can't afford the price of the wood required for the cremation. What they do, then, is they throw the dead meat in the jungle for wild animals to eat. This is likely the most environmentally friendly and cheap way of getting rid of the dead meat. But no one will agree to it. So we explore other options.
As someone who was born a Muslim, there are no considerations of caskets involved. Muslims are buried wrapped in a white cotton cloth. So that's environmentally friendly as well. But I'm still for cremation because I don't like the idea of religious ceremonies performed over dead meat.
Then again, the shortage of land is also a major factor. And I don't know how many people are aware of this. People pay such exorbitant rates for burial plots, and they visit it regularly to pay their respects to the dead meat. Yet, years later (long enough that no family members would be alive) these plots are recycled to allow new burials. And if you visit a cemetary, and look at the oldest graves, you'll see that there are plates which are so close together there's no way the actual dead meat could have been accomodated in that space.
This is going on too long. I'll wrap it up. For the dead meat that's left after I've gone chasing Socrates, cremation is the best solution so far, till other, better methods can be found.
Note: "Dead Meat" in this comment refers to humans who were formerly alive.
This is what I would say to all who've been saying they'd hate to be buried, or to be cremated. There is no "I" factor in this matter. It is entirely a piece of dead meat. The question now is, what is the best way to get rid of it.
In India, where cremation is the rule, there are families who can't afford the price of the wood required for the cremation. What they do, then, is they throw the dead meat in the jungle for wild animals to eat. This is likely the most environmentally friendly and cheap way of getting rid of the dead meat. But no one will agree to it. So we explore other options.
As someone who was born a Muslim, there are no considerations of caskets involved. Muslims are buried wrapped in a white cotton cloth. So that's environmentally friendly as well. But I'm still for cremation because I don't like the idea of religious ceremonies performed over dead meat.
Then again, the shortage of land is also a major factor. And I don't know how many people are aware of this. People pay such exorbitant rates for burial plots, and they visit it regularly to pay their respects to the dead meat. Yet, years later (long enough that no family members would be alive) these plots are recycled to allow new burials. And if you visit a cemetary, and look at the oldest graves, you'll see that there are plates which are so close together there's no way the actual dead meat could have been accomodated in that space.
This is going on too long. I'll wrap it up. For the dead meat that's left after I've gone chasing Socrates, cremation is the best solution so far, till other, better methods can be found.
Note: "Dead Meat" in this comment refers to humans who were formerly alive.
#43
Posted 07 November 2011 - 12:37 PM
Shortpoet, on 06 November 2011 - 04:43 AM, said:
Cremation is a high use energy source. Some states are allowing folks to be buried in a cardboard box,
but they're still using chemicals. Bah!
If cremation is the plan, I like this idea. Help the fish build new homes.
http://www.eternalreefs.com/
I'm a donor, and it would be great if they just threw the leftovers in an organic sack, sans chemicals
and stuck me in the ground to feed the worms/flowers.
but they're still using chemicals. Bah!
If cremation is the plan, I like this idea. Help the fish build new homes.
http://www.eternalreefs.com/
I'm a donor, and it would be great if they just threw the leftovers in an organic sack, sans chemicals
and stuck me in the ground to feed the worms/flowers.
This a very interesting idea. Before I read it, I thought they were placing the flesh and/or bones in the ocean to create reef. One thing is for sure, regardless of the form, the bodies could be easily broken down. There is a creature for every niche.
http://www.mbari.org/twenty/osedax.htm
#45
Posted 15 December 2011 - 07:24 AM
my first choice
grind my remains up and spray then out into the swamp where I played as a child(feed the wildlife and let them feed the plants)
second choice
plant the corpse in the back yard, and plant a tree over me
third choice
cook and eat what's digestable, and toss the rest into a ravine near by
last choice
do whatever seems to be the least work or money involved
all of which should follow an irish wake with music, whiskey, and dancing
I'll set aside enough for a dozen cases of whiskey, and a nice banquet, but everyone has to listen to my choice of pre-programed music
sibelius anyone
kettle drums and french horns
and some pipes and drums in the wee hours to wake the dead(so to speak)
with enough left over to pay the pipers
grind my remains up and spray then out into the swamp where I played as a child(feed the wildlife and let them feed the plants)
second choice
plant the corpse in the back yard, and plant a tree over me
third choice
cook and eat what's digestable, and toss the rest into a ravine near by
last choice
do whatever seems to be the least work or money involved
all of which should follow an irish wake with music, whiskey, and dancing
I'll set aside enough for a dozen cases of whiskey, and a nice banquet, but everyone has to listen to my choice of pre-programed music
sibelius anyone
kettle drums and french horns
and some pipes and drums in the wee hours to wake the dead(so to speak)
with enough left over to pay the pipers
#51
Posted 19 May 2012 - 05:26 PM
MariaAndrea, your comment about the skyscraper mausoleum being damaged in a disaster made me think of New Orleans after the flood. Coffins were floating out of the ground and ended up in multiple locations. After the waters receded, they tried to figure out who was who. I have no idea what that identification process involved.
I will be cremated. I have no use for my body after I die. I do not believe awareness stays in the body after death, so I have no use for a body.
I have to admit I feel no spiritual or emotional connection to the ashes. When our dog was cremated, we kept the ashes. I looked at them once or twice. They did not remind of her or make me feel connected to her. My Dad was cremated. His ashes are in the garage. It's been two years and we've yet to decide what to do with them. Well, he spent most of his time in the garage working on cars, so maybe that is where he would be happiest.
As a country, we really have a problem with land. Over time, people forget about these burials. Recently, they unearthed a paupers cemetery at a hospital near here. They have no records of the cemetery or who is buried there. Over time, it is all forgotten. This example shows that eventually we need that space for something else.
I am not sure what is better for the environment. Cremation seems like it would be the least harmful. If people feel the need to have a final resting place, it is easy to buy a small spot at the cemetery where an urn is placed with a plate with an inscription. My Aunt's ashes are in a small building next to many other people. They can bury so many people this way.
I will be cremated. I have no use for my body after I die. I do not believe awareness stays in the body after death, so I have no use for a body.
I have to admit I feel no spiritual or emotional connection to the ashes. When our dog was cremated, we kept the ashes. I looked at them once or twice. They did not remind of her or make me feel connected to her. My Dad was cremated. His ashes are in the garage. It's been two years and we've yet to decide what to do with them. Well, he spent most of his time in the garage working on cars, so maybe that is where he would be happiest.
As a country, we really have a problem with land. Over time, people forget about these burials. Recently, they unearthed a paupers cemetery at a hospital near here. They have no records of the cemetery or who is buried there. Over time, it is all forgotten. This example shows that eventually we need that space for something else.
I am not sure what is better for the environment. Cremation seems like it would be the least harmful. If people feel the need to have a final resting place, it is easy to buy a small spot at the cemetery where an urn is placed with a plate with an inscription. My Aunt's ashes are in a small building next to many other people. They can bury so many people this way.
#52
Posted 20 May 2012 - 02:07 AM
So many people here have have made similar comments, myself included
but then why do paragraphs (from an npr story about Haiti) give us the willies?
"And then there were the bodies — piles of bodies — stacked like cord wood beside the road, dumped at the morgue,
burned in the streets, shoveled with front-end loaders into trucks and dropped into mass graves
at an old gravel pit just outside the city."
Is it left brain fighting with right brain? As in - "yeah, it's cool, I don't care what they do to my dead body" vs "OMG."
but then why do paragraphs (from an npr story about Haiti) give us the willies?
"And then there were the bodies — piles of bodies — stacked like cord wood beside the road, dumped at the morgue,
burned in the streets, shoveled with front-end loaders into trucks and dropped into mass graves
at an old gravel pit just outside the city."
Is it left brain fighting with right brain? As in - "yeah, it's cool, I don't care what they do to my dead body" vs "OMG."
#53
Posted 21 May 2012 - 03:13 AM
I think a lot of mammal life has some gene that says "dead bodies = bad".
Much better for a species as a whole to stay away from corpses - there's very little benefit to hanging out with them!
As for Haiti, it's just one fairly extreme result of a natural disaster in a third world country.
Much better for a species as a whole to stay away from corpses - there's very little benefit to hanging out with them!
As for Haiti, it's just one fairly extreme result of a natural disaster in a third world country.
#54
Posted 21 May 2012 - 04:11 PM
I was the kind of person with traditional burial in mind, but today is not about going green or not, but cremation is actually the main solution due to lack of burial places in this city or around it.
More than a choice, an inevitable need.
More than a choice, an inevitable need.
#55
Posted 21 May 2012 - 07:57 PM
I know it isn't good to be emitting all of that CO2, but you have to wonder about how much water and energy is put into making those coffins. We are running out of space for the dead in my town. I just don't see any other way unless we bury on top of others.
#56
Posted 22 May 2012 - 07:54 AM
I guess a good graveyard isn't wasted space - nice to have some patches of green around at all. And I saw a program about WW1, they had some parts in a graveyard and it really illustrates the numbers who die in war.
But for most normal people I just don't see a burial as the most logical choice.
The price will only start going up as well, that's sadly what I think will be the main reason towards more cremations.
But for most normal people I just don't see a burial as the most logical choice.
The price will only start going up as well, that's sadly what I think will be the main reason towards more cremations.
#57
Posted 23 May 2012 - 05:51 AM
The first cremation I went to was my father's, and he died suddenly, so I was still in shock. It was back in 1968 and I was 16. In those days, you actually saw the coffin going along the conveyor belt - there was no pulling the curtains across and leaving the business until the loved ones were on their way to the wake. It really freaked me out, because it felt like my Dad was going to Hell.
Okay, it's unreasonable and illogical, but that's stayed with me all these years, and no way will I be cremated. I've even had it written into my will. It may be greener, and I know I won't know anything about it, but that's the strength of my feeling on this.
Okay, it's unreasonable and illogical, but that's stayed with me all these years, and no way will I be cremated. I've even had it written into my will. It may be greener, and I know I won't know anything about it, but that's the strength of my feeling on this.
#58
Posted 27 May 2012 - 08:12 PM
I'll go for creamation. Though many of us still prefer to be buried in cemeteries. In term of which is greener, I think it is still creamation. To start, we wanted by be buried in a casket. The casket maybe made of wood or metal. Wood came from trees and metals came from mining. Do we wonder how much energy was used just to extract metals from mining? Then came the concrete grave whom most of us wanted to lay at. How much energy was used to manufacture cement. While in creamation, one can only spent the energy in building a crematorium facility. The gas to burn the body is abundant in nature.
#60
Posted 03 June 2012 - 11:26 AM
I am all for cremation; I hate bugs and am always cold. Has anyone ever heard/read "The Ballad of Sam McGee"? I also am all for organ donation, and should I perish in an accident my family has been instructed to donate any organs possible. Cremation will allow for each of my children to keep a part of me with them (if they so desire) and the rest to be buried with my baby sister and grandparents. I love to garden and would also like for my ashes to be scattered in my garden (this will only happen if I am able to create my dream garden on property owned by us).
In the reality of it, the body is just a shell - it is the spirit that moves on when the shell ceases to live. With the requirements of vaults for traditional burial the decomposition will never give back to the earth; the cement cavities prevent that. Cremation allows for more "giving back to the Earth" than burial does, and it is far less expensive. It is, in the end, a personal choice; I do not condemn others for their choices, but I do hope my family honors my wishes.
In the reality of it, the body is just a shell - it is the spirit that moves on when the shell ceases to live. With the requirements of vaults for traditional burial the decomposition will never give back to the earth; the cement cavities prevent that. Cremation allows for more "giving back to the Earth" than burial does, and it is far less expensive. It is, in the end, a personal choice; I do not condemn others for their choices, but I do hope my family honors my wishes.
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