Speaking ill of The Dead
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Yesterday I learned that a former cohort from the state technical college where I taught for 20 years passed away last Monday the 27th from lung cancer.
I encountered this gigantic flowery obituary OBVIOIUSLY written by him over the final five years he gleaned from treatment regimens ... and I am sorry for his children because no child should lose a parent before the usual and customary timeframe.
While I may be dealing with a personal conflict in feelings at the moment I am leaning towards doing something which may cause me personal trouble ... in light of this typical educator self aggrandizement sprinkled with all the bullshit which goes with it.
This guy really comes off as a steller example of humanity and though he might lead you to believe alabaster walls atop ivory towers contained his earthly life; the stark nature of truth simply doesn't ring true for me personally.
Though I certainly was never "all that" either; I did try to do my best at work despite the innumerable intrusions into my premium off time. Of course his story fails to mention all those last minute intrusions into the schedules of others to cover his teaching load so he could leave and pursue high paying consulting work during the paid work day. It doesn't go into the manipulation, the partial truths, the false accusations, the lies — all part and parcel of "the system" by which unreasonable demands were made and under which we operated.
As I have said before a partial truth remains a whole lie and his unfortunate end may well be what little truth was left in his existence. Needless to say, he is gone and I remain ... and NO I shall not be attending the services.
I have researched the social aspects of speaking ill of the dead and found nothing compelling enough to flower up this guy's life as much as his magnum opus obituary did ad nauseum.
MORE than enough said ... Burn in hell.