Quote:
Originally posted by RandomThug
Alright so I'll agree politically your right, but your a jerk. Rude even (Not you personally but that last person talking in my example I'd consider poor taste and well rude) |
I would agree with you in the case of Bill, who is merely a coworker and someone who everyone in the workplace has some form of personal relation to. Bill may have been a nasty person, but he was not a public figure.
In the case of Reagan, or any other public figure for that matter, I strongly disagree. I did not know Reagan personally, but I know of the consequences of his politics. When you pay respects to a public figure, you do not really consider that person in the same way you do Bill, but judge him based on his actions
as a public figure. This is true for both those that respect the man and those that don't. So basically, by saying that you mourn for Reagan and that he was a great man, you are standing by his actions and policies. This is perfectly acceptable to you, right? On the other hand, those not supporting his views are naturally quite indifferent to his passing as a person, but they are very likely to be critical of the views he represented while alive. Are they jerks for expressing those when the person is dead?
In fact, your post shows exactly the point I have tried to make all along - that for some reason, when someone dies they are exempt from criticism. As has been posted elsewhere, this is a very dangerous sentiment with dire consequences. It is also, in this case in particular, highly undemocratic.