Inconsiderate mockery of death

With the death of Michael Jackson still fresh in our minds, it’s probably natural that some people would try finding something worth joking about in his death.

Of late, the following message has been making the rounds in cyber space and mobile phones: ‘Don’t miss a welcoming show for late Michael Jackson near the heaven gate tonight at 00H00. Local artists like YT De Wet, Mr Broker, Lucky Dube, Mbulukutu Ya Shikuma, Tate Kwela, Bob Marley, Brenda Fassie, Sadam Hussein and many artists. Tickets available at Avbob and Sions funeral undertakers, please don’t miss this show. If money is a problem, Lazarus Kandara is there. For more information contact Pastor Laban Gaoab at Windhoek cemetery. Don’t miss it tonight.’My question is, when did death become a joke, let alone an event to mock? Of course whoever is behind the message did so with the intention of it being a joke, since Michael Jackson doesn’t die everyday. To the person behind it, it’s just another joke, just another person who died, it doesn’t affect them so why should they care?But have they ever paused and considered how those related to these people feel when they read something like this? Ever thought of the emotions evoked in relatives of these dead people or the pain when coming across messages making fun of their deceased loved one? Experiencing the death of a loved one is painful in itself, but seeing that loved one mocked is like adding salt to a festering wound. As human beings we hold the things that are near and dear to us in high regard – our relatives, friends, possessions, pets. For anyone to make a mockery of them would be looking for trouble.The joke may be funny because it does not affect you or involve your relatives, but what if it was your father, mother, brother or sister being mocked like this in death. Imagine what the family of Lazarus Kandara goes through when they come across an SMS mocking their father, son and husband. Sure what he engaged in before he died does not qualify as exemplary behaviour, but such is life and it goes on. Are you trying to say you’ve never done any wrong in your life?Would you as the insigator of this message forever want to be reminded of your wrongs and have your family subjected to the same years after your death or would you rather those you wronged forgave you and forgot about your offence? And dragging a pastor into your sick joke shows you have no reverence? I’m not against jokes or humour and I am by all means not trying to excuse the type of life these people lived or the activities they engaged in when they lived. Sure they had their fair share of the good and the bad, but as I’ve said before, such is life and it goes on. My question is, is there really any reason to mock people years after their deaths? If it was hard for you to respect them while they lived, don’t you think they qualify for a bit of respect now that they are six feet under. I believe there is a time and place for everything. As much as there is a time to laugh, there is also a time to mourn. Don’t let someone else’s time of mourning be a joke to you because with the same enthusiasm and force you use to mock others, the same might come back to you in multiples.And next time you get the urge to mock another deceased, ask yourself what purpose that will serve.Your joke really fails to crack me up, in fact, I feel sorry for your lack of consideration of others. Perhaps you are not cut out for a career in comedy.I can’t help but wonder what sick joke you are going to cook up if and when one of our respected ex combatant Comrades pass on. Oh, and for the record, I am not related to any of the people included in the SMS, I’m simply saying ….