Man, I Think It's Total Bullshit ...

when people put up these silly roadside murals for dead relatives or friends. You know, I'm terribly sorry that your wife, 5 kids, mother and dog died on the side of the highway because a truck driver hauling 50,000 pounds of cattle ran out of meth, fell fell asleep and turned their minivan into Chunky Soup. But that gives you no fucking right to litter the highway with bullshit crosses, candles, balloons and teddy bears. Is it just me, or does anyone else wanna puke when they see this sort of creepy shit on the side of the road?

Someone put a memorial like this near my house and it turned out the kid who hit the lamp post at excessive speed was drunk at the time. I took 6 empty Coors Light cans and placed them among the display.

Ed wrote:Someone put a memorial like this near my house and it turned out the kid who hit the lamp post at excessive speed was drunk at the time. I took 6 empty Coors Light cans and placed them among the display.

Great work, Ed. Seriously, fuck these people and their morbid selfishness. This shit should be outlawed.

Ed wrote:Someone put a memorial like this near my house and it turned out the kid who hit the lamp post at excessive speed was drunk at the time. I took 6 empty Coors Light cans and placed them among the display.

LOL. The only thing wrong with this is you were apparently drinking Coors Light. I'd rather drink my own piss.

These roadside displays are fucking creepy as hell. Fully agreed. I've also found it very strange when people make personal tragedies incredibly public like this. It seems creepy and seems like nothing more than an attention grab. On a related note, I think it's creepy when a young child tragically dies from some kind of illness and the parents start a foundation named after the sadly deceased child and make him/her the focal point of attention. I think contributing to curing terminal diseases is an incredibly noble cause, but I think it's weird to display your personal tragedy so prominently and let it dominate the underlying cause.

There's a family like that around here, and it's really off-putting. In the first place, I couldn't begin to tell you what disease/cause they actually are supporting because the focus is always on THEM and their tragedy. In the second place, they still have 4 other kids and these people remain creepily obsessed with the tragedy. I'm not a parent yet and I hope I never can relate to losing a child, but it sure seems to me like these other 4 young kids must feel marginalized and shitty when their parents spend every waking hour obsessing over a child who tragically passed on 5 years ago. It's not even like she was kidnapped and never seen again and they are still seeking closure. At some point, it seems like it's time to move on in the public eye and let your remaining kids know how much they mean to you. You can still contribute to curing the disease without rubbing it in people's faces (not the least your own kids) every waking hour.

Ehwmatt wrote:
There's a family like that around here, and it's really off-putting. In the first place, I couldn't begin to tell you what disease/cause they actually are supporting because the focus is always on THEM and their tragedy. In the second place, they still have 4 other kids and these people remain creepily obsessed with the tragedy. I'm not a parent yet and I hope I never can relate to losing a child, but it sure seems to me like these other 4 young kids must feel marginalized and shitty when their parents spend every waking hour obsessing over a child who tragically passed on 5 years ago. It's not even like she was kidnapped and never seen again and they are still seeking closure. At some point, it seems like it's time to move on in the public eye and let your remaining kids know how much they mean to you. You can still contribute to curing the disease without rubbing it in people's faces (not the least your own kids) every waking hour.

This public perpetuation of death, especially in light of having other children, tells me that these people can't accept letting go of the attention, not that they can't accept the loss of their child. While I'm certain that the latter exists in *some* capacity, I highly doubt that the former isn't the greater motivator of the two, be it consciously or subconsciously.

I totally disagree with you guys on this. first of all... Dan, are you telling people how they can grieve?

I don't personally think they do it for attention. I think that's their way of grieving as it's the last place that the person was alive. I don't think there's anything wrong with small memorials.

I also think those memorials help people think about life, and realize "damn... maybe I should slow down in this intersection". It's a good reminder to young drivers too, and maybe seeing them will make them be a little more aware of their own driving. I know I think about it every time I see one.

GI_Jim wrote:I totally disagree with you guys on this. first of all... Dan, are you telling people how they can grieve?
I don't personally think they do it for attention. I think that's their way of grieving as it's the last place that the person was alive. I don't think there's anything wrong with small memorials.

I also think those memorials help people think about life, and realize "damn... maybe I should slow down in this intersection". It's a good reminder to young drivers too, and maybe seeing them will make them be a little more aware of their own driving. I know I think about it every time I see one.

ZING!

GI_Jim wrote: first of all... Dan, are you telling people how they can grieve?

No, but they need to do so without littering. Putting shit up on the side of the road is dangerous, against the law and fucking stupid.

GI_Jim wrote:I think that's their way of grieving as it's the last place that the person was alive.

Bullshit. My grandmother died on the 3rd floor of a hospital she used to work at, along with hundreds of others over the years, and I've never seen anyone dumb or creepy enough to go back and reminisce there.

GI_Jim wrote: I don't think there's anything wrong with small memorials.

If it's not on your property, it doesn't belong there. Case closed.

GI_Jim wrote:I also think those memorials help people think about life, and realize "damn... maybe I should slow down in this intersection". It's a good reminder to young drivers too, and maybe seeing them will make them be a little more aware of their own driving. I know I think about it every time I see one.

Nobody does anything but take a quick glance to see if they recognize a name (if it's displayed) and then they pass without a second thought. If someone can put up a memorial plaque and litter up the side of the road, then I should be allowed to post a sign right next to it that says "I'm elated that your wife and kids are dead. Please put a fucking gun in your mouth and join them, asshole."

Saint John wrote:

GI_Jim wrote: first of all... Dan, are you telling people how they can grieve?

No, but they need to do so without littering. Putting shit up on the side of the road is dangerous, against the law and fucking stupid.

GI_Jim wrote:I think that's their way of grieving as it's the last place that the person was alive.

Bullshit. My grandmother died on the 3rd floor of a hospital she used to work at, along with hundreds of others over the years, and I've never seen anyone dumb or creepy enough to go back and reminisce there.

GI_Jim wrote: I don't think there's anything wrong with small memorials.

If it's not on your property, it doesn't belong there. Case closed.

GI_Jim wrote:I also think those memorials help people think about life, and realize "damn... maybe I should slow down in this intersection". It's a good reminder to young drivers too, and maybe seeing them will make them be a little more aware of their own driving. I know I think about it every time I see one.

Nobody does anything but take a quick glance to see if they recognize a name (if it's displayed) and then they pass without a second thought. If someone can put up a memorial plaque and litter up the side of the road, then I should be allowed to post a sign right next to it that says "I'm elated that your wife and kids are dead. Please put a fucking gun in your mouth and join them, asshole."

Destroyed.

Ehwmatt wrote:

Saint John wrote:

GI_Jim wrote: first of all... Dan, are you telling people how they can grieve?

No, but they need to do so without littering. Putting shit up on the side of the road is dangerous, against the law and fucking stupid.

GI_Jim wrote:I think that's their way of grieving as it's the last place that the person was alive.

Bullshit. My grandmother died on the 3rd floor of a hospital she used to work at, along with hundreds of others over the years, and I've never seen anyone dumb or creepy enough to go back and reminisce there.

GI_Jim wrote: I don't think there's anything wrong with small memorials.

If it's not on your property, it doesn't belong there. Case closed.

GI_Jim wrote:I also think those memorials help people think about life, and realize "damn... maybe I should slow down in this intersection". It's a good reminder to young drivers too, and maybe seeing them will make them be a little more aware of their own driving. I know I think about it every time I see one.

Nobody does anything but take a quick glance to see if they recognize a name (if it's displayed) and then they pass without a second thought. If someone can put up a memorial plaque and litter up the side of the road, then I should be allowed to post a sign right next to it that says "I'm elated that your wife and kids are dead. Please put a fucking gun in your mouth and join them, asshole."

Destroyed.

Epic fail... Epic.