Prison Punishment & COVID in China | 4M #67
Welcome to the sixty-seventh edition of Morticians’ Monday Morning Mashup, 4M #67, where we’ll serve up bite-sized, easily-digestible nuggets of the deathcare news you need to crush conversations in the week ahead. Bon appetit!
Good questions
It’s been a minute since we visited the Redditverse, but you’ll be glad to know that it’s still as provocative as ever. One thread, “Am I The A**hole?” is particularly thought-provoking. Described as a “catharsis for the frustrated moral philosopher in all of us,” AITA asks its 5 million “potential a**holes” to post any “non-violent conflict you have experienced; give us both sides of the story, and find out if you’re right, or you’re the asshole.” Here are some that might be interesting to the deathcare audience:
- AITA for kicking my mom’s boyfriend and his kids from the house I inherited after my mom’s death? They went to [a] homeless shelter.
- WIBTA if I didn’t let my mother-in-law get buried on top of my wife?
- AITA for celebrating my birthday which is the 1 year anniversary of my nephew’s death?
- AITA for telling my sister that she’s definitely obese on her deathbed?
- AITA for ‘crashing’ my ex’s mother’s funeral and telling his children I’m carrying their sibling?
- AITA for not canceling my wedding after the death of my FIL?
- AITA for refusing to help my brother plan my dad’s funeral because neither of them came to visit me in prison?
(Spoiler: Only the three were voted actual a**holes. Can you guess which ones?
Curating comfort
Sullivan Funeral Home in Marshall, Texas isn’t an art gallery, but it is the place folks will see a carefully curated collection of paintings and sculpture from local artists. Owner Robert Coleman has partnered with a local curator to create a “rotating gallery of art for guests to enjoy during their visit to the funeral home.” The curator selected work from local artists “that she felt not only fit the environment, but offered a sense of peace and comfort to visitors.” The collection will be switched out every six months.
It’s baaaaccck
It was nearly three years ago that Connecting Directors published our first report on the “novel coronavirus” that was hitting China with the force of a deadly monsoon. The country only recently relaxed its COVID-19 prevention guidelines after widespread protests and plans to remove quarantine restrictions for travelers beginning in January 2023. However, reports from Shanghai and Beijing are detailing surging COVID infection rates, full hospital morgues, and lines of up to 40 hearses at crematories. They’re also reporting that some funeral homes are advertising the opportunity to skip to the front of the line for cremation (currently a four- to five-day wait) for a $3,000 fee. Authorities have recorded only two official COVID deaths. Of course, the public has questions about that number, even as scientists are predicting that more than 60% of the population of China will be infected with COVID within the next 90 days.
The secret’s out
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