[Original Post By: FuneralAlone.com]
If I had a nickel for every time someone assumed something hilariously awful about the funeral profession, I’d be swimming in a pool of money with a top shelf margarita in my hand.
Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But, it’s no secret that a career in the funeral profession is very different from most others. But does it mean that the people who follow their path into the funeral profession are blood sucking, evil, creepy vampires who only come out at night? Not at all! In fact, funeral directors are some of the most loving, caring people in this world.
After surfing Twitter and Instagram for a little while, I came across some posts that were SO bad, they were good. And to shine light on a situation that is actually getting better everyday, here are the 11 most hilarious misconceptions about funeral profession I found while surfing the web:
1. And making a living off of typing on a computer all day isn’t weird?
Funeral homes are so weird. People making a living off of people dying¿
— alexa giammarino (@alexakathrynn) February 18, 2016
2. Who knew, funeral directors have brains AND hearts, strange isn’t it?
really not sure how to take a funeral home director remembering me and asking how I'm doing… I don't know seems weird but that's just me
— zoツ (@zweaver24_) February 5, 2016
3. If we did, that would be pretty funny though. Thanks for our new office joke.
Do you think funeral directors say "Good mourning" at the start of each day?
— Garland Owensby (@gowensby) February 5, 2016
4. One of our own is going to go out on Twitter and make us look creepy like that!?
I'm starting to think I'm a rarity…a female funeral director who is NOT a crazy cat lady…
— alexandracarrin (@alexandracarrin) May 4, 2013
5. Did someone not tell her that all pens that come from funeral homes are made of actual dead bodies?
6. And you are Tweeting with the grammar of a 5-year-old, “bro.”
If she works at a funeral home at 19 she's to weird for you bro
— bryce (@bryce_glover) February 1, 2016
7. OH MY GOSH, he works at a funeral…. home? Is he like the grim reaper or something?
So this guy came in and just gave me some weird vibes. I Googled the business on his ticket… Funeral home.
— whit (@mewwhit) November 18, 2015
8. Hmmm, what could we possibly be burning? Probably cute puppies and babies, because we’re evil like that.
True Story: I just drove by a funeral home that was BILLOWING smoke from a weird looking chimney. What would they be burning???
— Jimmy Weber (@JimmyTheGhost) September 22, 2015
9. You just scored MAJOR points with your funeral director. All we can say is thank you.
is it weird that I have a playlist for my funeral?
— hoodphd + (@kotfuckingfall) February 8, 2016
10. Oh yea, we forgot. We’re supposed to be depressed all the time because it’s not like we’re normal human beings or anything. Our bad.
This guy seems a little too happy to be a funeral director. pic.twitter.com/Eo1CbIbG2S
— Loud & Obnoxious (@loud_obnoxious_) February 8, 2016
Extra
Y'all don't understand how funny it is hearing my granny plan her own funeral like who does that ?
— PartyGetsMeWetter (@half_baked) February 1, 2016
11. Is there a rulebook anywhere that says funeral professionals don’t dance? Because as you can see, we can get down.
But what does that look like? There’s so much stigma surrounding our profession that it might feel like an uphill battle even getting people interested in knowing their local funeral directors. But it’s an important, productive idea that might change a lot about the way we look at and handle death. So what kinds of steps should we be taking? Here are a few ideas:
1. Join the death cafe movement. Get people talking about death and surrounding topics with a laid-back Q&A style (with food and drinks, of course).
2. Start a blog (or vlog). Take notes from Caleb Wilde or Caitlin Doughty who have made a name for themselves (and for the funeral profession) through witty humor and sometimes painfully authentic truths about the funeral industry.
3. Let your personality shine through social media. Sure, your funeral home might have a Yelp! page or a Facebook business page, but does it have a fan page? Setting up a place where your community can connect with your funeral home, and where you can let your quirky, authentic self shine through, can build a lot of trust and communication between you and your families.
4. Get involved with your community outside of the funeral profession. There are plenty of funeral homes who are doing awesome things for the community that have nothing to do with death and dying. Get your name out there as an organization with plenty of heart behind it and you’ll win the hearts and minds of people throughout your community.
