Your blog seemed to be about this idea that all humans are going to end up rotting no matter what so why don't we stop being selfish and give back to the earth in a "greener" way. Instead of making the decomposition process longer than it should be why don't we just get it over with and give back, even though this may be hard for some of us Americans.
One aspect of your post that I particularly valued was that you provided five alternative to a a typical burial(slow burial). This is more than I learned in my care of the dead unit book. I guess I should have just waited for you to post this amazing blog and just not have read the book. You took the time out to research and not only state but you explained each alternative which is what I greatly appreciated.
Your project matter to me because these are alternatives to our dominant social practice which as we found out in all of the units is more dominant than we would like. These alternatives all have their pro-s and cons,but it seems as though they all outweigh the dominant social practice. I'm not sure if our dominant social practice will change though it appears as though cremation is next on the list to take over which would send us more in the direction of Japan as far as care of the dead is concered. When you think about that isn't to bad since America doesn't seem to know what there doing with issues like oh I don't know food, illness and dying, birth, and care of the dead. Overall great job best work in the class( as hard as that is to admit to myself) I expect nothing more from Mr. Class of 2015 Cornell.
http://normalisweirddevinm.blogspot.com/2011/05/hw-55-culminating-project-care-of-dead.html?showComment=1305676781442#c8043783277546807863
For Abdullah,
Your blog seemed to be about, you wanting to really make a change for care of the dead thus, resulting in an activist project. Read Grave Matters inspired you with the ideas and information it presented however, you felt as though you could take the information and make it more accessible and easier to understand. I think you succeeded.
One aspect of your post that I particularly valued was that you decided to use the resources available to you ( Brooklyn College) to spread the word for your activist project. This is something I truly admire since it does take a lot of courage to go to a college and stand there in hand out fliers. This is truly an activist project, getting out there in the real world and making change.
Your project matters to me because in a way you did three activist projects. You interviewed a High School Student who lives on the other side of America and enlightened him on the death care industry. During this interview I'm sure you fixed many of his misconceptions. The second thing you did was find a Brooklyn College undergrad and interview. What a bold move, whether that person realize it or not you genuinely tried to help them with their life and make the death experience a bit easier for them. The third thing you did was you went out to Brooklyn College. Even though it wasn't necessarily out of your reach you still did it. How many people can actually say they did all of that just for a history project. Well done Abdullah I'm impressed.
http://abdullahisnotweird.blogspot.com/2011/05/hw-55-culminating-project-care-of-dead.html#comments
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From Abdullah,
Abdul,
I thought that the fact that you interviewed your mother was a very courageous move on your part. I can understand how difficult and uncomfortable it must have been to sit there and talk about what she would like to be done with her body when she dies, since the death of a parent is an agonizing experience. I think it is interesting to compare and contrast two different thoughts on taking care of the dead from two different people who come from different educational backgrounds. I think your choice of donating your organs is a noble one and you should stick to that choice.
Good post.
Abdullah
From Natalie:
Abdul,
I think it is interesting that your wants to be cremated with all of her organs, while you are so intent on giving all of yours away. It seems to be the only difference between the two of your plans. What makes you want to give yours away so badly? And what makes her want to keep hers? If she's cremated, they won't exist in their original form. I wish I had been there yesterday for the speaker because they seemed to have had an impact on a lot of people's projects. I find it intriguing that you were so happy to get these forms. It's weird to think that they're even useful at our age, something that I believe a lot of us do not realize. You mentioned that you did not expect them for a couple decades, however then come to the realization that you could die tomorrow. Perhaps we should have more experience with these documents throughout our lives as to not be so surprised when eventually confronted with them.
From Stephen(Protege):
Hey Abdul,
Your most beautiful line was," These are two sheets where I honestly hadn't expected to see for about a decade or so. I guess now was the perfect time since I would have been pretty upset if something bad had happened to me and I hadn't had this on a piece of legal paper." This is a very interesting line because although you didn't expect to see the sheets for a couple years, you soon came to the realization that you could die and day. A wise realization if I must say so myself. Although it may be hard for some people to admit myself included that I could die the next day. Nicely told story Abdul keep up the good work and I look forward to reading your blog posts.
From Bryanna:
Hey Abdul,
I think that it was cool that you could sit down and really talk to your mom about this. As well as her taking this serious because i know that we all going to die but not everyone can talk about nor go out and change the will. So think that is a good relations that you and your mother have good job
From Ms.D(Mentor): Hi Abdul
It's fascinating to me that you are still in high school but have
written up a 'death plan', since I've never considered such a thing.
In fact, I've never see the 'wishes sheet' or other forms and
pamphlets you mentioned. It made me wonder whether planning out one's
death makes a person more or less afraid of dying, and more or less
mindful of their mortality. (I'm not afraid of death, but I'm also not
very good at planning ahead).
I was interested by your mother's wish to keep her ashes in a family
home, passed down over generations. I can imagine that there would be
something comforting about having a remnant of a loved one near, even
symbolically. It reminds me of the many passages in the Bible
describing how difficult it was for people to give up idols and images
and worship a God that they could neither see, hear, nor depict in any
way. When I've seen people pray to Catholic saints, or orishas, or
Hindu goddesses, or images of the Virgin Mary, it seems more
accessible- the worshippers have something that they can see and often
touch, that they know represents something far greater. Ashes seem
similar: we know that they're not the person, not the spirit or soul
or even body of the person we loved, but somehow it can be reassuring
to feel a piece of them physically near.
I wonder how many generations your mother would like her ashes passed
on until. Someone once told me that you die twice- the second and
final time is when your name is spoken for the last time. (This idea
is seen in the quest for immortality in Greek myths, and maybe even
today with the desire for celebrity). Someone else said that you're
only truly dead when the last person who can remember you with love
dies too. If your mother is interested in the former, in being
remembered, then perhaps she'd like the ashes passed down indefinitely
along with stories about her- a kind of immortality. If the latter is
more important, then maybe her ashes would only be passed down to her
eventual grandchildren or great-grandchildren. Or maybe her plan is
less about her legacy, and more about staying near to her descendants,
primarily you; in that case the ashes would be passed down as long as
they were needed. I also noticed that you wrote about her plan in a
matter of fact way, even though thinking about parents dying is often
extremely painful.
As for your plan, I commend you for choosing to donate your organs. As
you've probably already learned, all organs and flesh are eviscerated
during cremation. What people call 'ashes' are actually just remains
from bone and maybe metal fillings in teeth. Since the organs are not
in the ashes (or more accurately cremains) it makes sense for you to
donate them to help others live healthy lives. As far as legacy goes,
donating organs is a powerful way to influence the world even after
death, since you're saving lives and sometimes enabling those whose
lives you saved to bring new life into the world. (That said, it can
be scary to think of one's organs wandering around inside strangers; I
think it's a brave and impressive choice). Have you ever read Never
Let Me Go? It connects directly to this issue (I won't elaborate so as
not to give too much away) and I highly recommend it.
Lastly, I agree with your mother that it is unwise to post private
documents online. You actually have a lot of personal information on
this blog, about your own views but also about your family members'
opinions and experiences, and I recommend deleting it all when this
course is over. Privacy is so much more precious and threatened than
we realize, and even if we're proud of our experiences and confident
in our viewpoints, it doesn't necessarily mean that we want the person
we met at a party or a potential boss to read intimate details of our
upbringing and beliefs. At least I don't. Your mother sounds like a
smart woman!
I've enjoyed reading your posts, Abdul. Sorry I haven't always
responded in a timely manner. Congratulations on wrapping up your
final semester as a high school student!
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