Are Funerals Pointless?

[Snow Frostflame 3,568]

If you find honoring the life of a loved one pointless, then yes, they are.

[gamecubeguy214 2,513]

I think funerals are nice because, based on the one that I've gone to for my grandfather, they serve a good conclusion for the person's life. Members of my grandfather's family went up to the microphone to talk about what he meant to them, and I learned new things about him too. Funerals to me are "This was their life, and let's collectively say goodbye," which doesn't seem very pointless to me at all.

[Lord Valtasar 12,708]

i think they're pointless for the dead ones,but their friend's and family get to gather and talk about them a bit,
that said when i die i'd prefer to be given for research to some medical university or something,since its the only way i see my corpse could actually be usefull
(let them play with my corpse i'll be dead i won't care)

[Jedishy 3,549]

Funerals are a way to grieve those we lost. They are for the living not the dead. Its a time to process the fact that you wont see them again ( at least not in this life if you believe in that sort of thing ). 

So no funerals are far from pointless. 

[Olly 1,015]

My grandma loves making cookies for funerals she goes to. They seem to do something positive for her so I would say no they are not pointless  

[Twilight Luna 31,492]

My parents want to be cremated. No point spending tons of money on a casket that you're only going to see for a little bit.

[Midnight Solace 5,134]

Only for those who are loved, unlike me.

[碇 シンジン 27,439]

I'm not really a fan of gathering around because of people's deaths I mean they are good for some people and on some occasions but  i dont really like going to them in general and even less if it's someone who I don't even know that well 

And it doesn't really seem like they serve much of a purpose other than gathering lot of relatives etc together to remember the person in question. Which could be done without the event also.

Another thing is that they tend to be pretty expensive considering what you are getting out of them which really isn't that much to begin with other than the gathering of relatives and stuff which I personally don't find that attractive of a situation.

 

[Lucky Bolt 35,217]

No? At least, not in my eyes they aren't? 

[Partialgeek514 5,015]

I think funerals are very meaningful. I haven't lost anyone very close to me yet, but I know I will eventually. I feel like a funeral helps give closure to the people who miss the deceased and helps them make it through their mourning. I suppose someone who's actually lost a loved one might understand it better though.

[TBD 17,271]

I don't think so, since it's a day to have a memorial for the dead and for the living to reflect. I personality do not like to attend one since ..well. it's complicated. 

[Nsxile 28,848]

I think not, as they're used to celebrate the memories of the deceased and brings closure to some.

[Stardust* 3,302]

I don't think that funerals are pointless, now the word funeral is kind of a negative word to put on someone's life. I think that if we just got rid of that, and replaced it with life celebration, people might have a different outlook on it all. 

Yes, if you have people that genuinely care about you, when you pass away, they will be sad, they will mourn you. But that goes hand in hand with humans being a species that thrives on being part of groups and having close personal relationships. Is this really a bad thing? 

I think that as long as you can process the loss, and remember them how they were, rather than realize what they are now, it will help. I think that the whole view point on funerals is just a negative one, no one wants to think of their own mortality, but it's a fact of life, you live, you die. But you can make darn sure that while you are living you can make the most of it and impact those who care for you, and those around you.

[Here No Longer 5,286]

It depends on the person I guess, but personally I find them a bit pointless. Can't you just bury me without all the religious Pomp and Circumstance?  I get having a little commemoration, but I think that there's a difference between that and a funeral. It doesn't really help my standpoint that I'm an agnostic atheist, I suppose.

Edited May 25, 2019 by DusksuD

[RDDash 19,243]

Well, kind of.  We put people in metal caskets, very expressive metal caskets, pump them full of chemicals and let them rot in the ground.

[SparklingSwirls 21,524]

Well everyone deals with grief in their own way. Some people like having them so they can remember the person's life together and share stories. But they aren't for everyone; some people prefer to deal with the loss on their own, through quiet reflection. I would go to the funeral for a close friend or close family member, but if I didn't know the person as well, I'd find it a bit uncomfortable to go to the funeral and be surrounded by people I didn't know. Instead I would probably send a card/in memory donation to a favorite charity to the living relatives.

For both my mother and father, we called their funerals a "memorial service" since "funeral" has more connotations of sadness and grieving (plus connotations of having a casket, burial, etc. whereas my parents were both cremated) and we wanted to celebrate their lives and remember the positive memories of them. 

That said, I kinda like the idea of a "living funeral", where everyone celebrates your life with you before you die. So you get to have everyone you love in one place once more and hear everyone's funny stories of you . Seems like a nice way to go, if poking fun a bit.

[Clawdeen 20,034]

I don’t think they’re pointless but I agree with preferring people have a party vs standing around my grave crying.

[Raskolnikov 1,703]

On 2018-06-02 at 3:20 AM, Stone Cold Steve Jobs said:

I think funerals are more for the bereaved. They help provide a sense of closure and can help bring people who once drifted apart together again. If only for a time. I believe funerals are very much helpful. It may be easy to say "have a party for me" but it's not so easy for the ones you leave behind.

This post pretty much sums it up - I don't think attending my grandparents' funerals would have fixed much, but it's devastating to just lose someone and you just have to carry on as if it was some mundane fact you saw on the news and then just moved on with your day. It's easy for someone to say "celebrate for me" when they're not the person left behind in pieces. They're not a magical cure-all, but they absolutely serve a purpose.

And now I will depart from this thread before I have an episode. 

[ExplosionMare 21,175]

I think the only situation where it would be is if there was no one around to mourn someone who died.

[Snoopy Fan 7,715]

No, they can be sad, but they can be a good way to remember a loved one.

[Treeglow Flicker 14,215]

I came in here to pretty much say what has already been mentioned. They're more for the living than the dead. As depressing as it may sound, there actually wouldn't be anyone offline to attend mine. Or at least, if I was to kick the bucket tomorrow or something. So wouldn't be any point in me having one. But for those that do have someone to mourn them, I've always believed that it should be a bittersweet and positive affair. A chance to fondly remember and say one last farewell.

[Night Sky 848]

I answered the poll that I have a mixed opinion. 

I'm certainly not saying that anyone should relate to death and funerals the way I do. 

But as for myself, if people wanted to gather to celebrate my life, that would be fine. 

But I'd want it to be a fun party with plenty of booze. 

I don't want an assembly of people who I care about to be sad about the fact that I couldn't last forever. 

Sure, I want them to get whatever support they need and to not be alone.

But I don't think traditional funerals help anything.

It's just how I feel. 

If you're gonna do it that way, then I want a pyramid too. 

But I won't be actually buried in there, it'll just have my name on it.

I was going to be cremated. But if you're going to insist on putting me into a $15,000 dollar box, you might as well place it on top of a pile of TNT, and send a burning skeleton on a radio controlled wheelchair straight into me. Give those fireworks the light.

All y'all really wanna stand back and plug your ears folks. 

When death arrives, nothing we say, do, think, pay for, or feel is gonna stop it. 

Boom. 

Make sure the burning skeleton is wearing a tuxedo and a top hat.

Edited July 10 by Night Sky

[Fluttershutter 2,856]

Don't worry, you won't be at your funeral. you'll be dead.

Funerals are for people to work out their feelings of loss. Trying to force them to be happy defeats the point. So no, I don't think the funeral itself is pointless.

Now all the money that's spent on a corpse, THAT I feel is ridiculous and pointless. Thousands of dollars for a big metal, pillow lined box to put a stuffed dead body in is ridiculous.