Is it normal to celebrate somebody's death?

[jenipat]

Fred Phelps of the Westboro church in USA has just died. He didn't seem a nice man at all-picketing at funerals of people who were gay.

Like I said, not a nice man at all.

However, like Thatcher-and I didn't like her, either-, I am really surprised to see people saying things like they are going to celebrate his death.

Now, it's possible I'm in the wrong and have misjudged human nature, but who the blazes actively celebrates a death?

I mean, yes, I get that a person can be relieved and think good riddance at the death of a disliked/hated person, but I wouldn't have thought that people celebrate it in the way they do winning a medal or having a baby or getting a promotion.



Maybe people do feel like partying after a hated person has died and iabu?

[bragmatic]

I'll admit to a fist pump.

[jenipat]

Really interested to hear of people's personal experiences of this. Not Fred Phelps, obviously, but of people who they didn't like.

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

I don't know....I have never been in the situation where one person has had a really negative bad effect on my life but I can imagine if you are in that situation and then they die, yes, they probably would feel jubilant to say the least.

[BreconBeBuggered]

He was a twisted old fuck. But I wouldn't give those Westboro weirdos the satisfaction of thinking I might emulate their behaviour.

[bragmatic]

Oh, OK. Well, there is someone who is no longer part of my life, but when he was, he caused a great deal of misery for me and my family. I hope he dies a slow painful death and I will open a bottle of champagne if he does. I will be absofuckinglutely ecstatic.

[Goldmandra]

I don't think it's particularly normal. I think it's generally reserved for people who are perceived to have caused a great deal of harm to others.

People who couldn't challenge him, Thatcher, Saddam, etc perhaps feel they are redressing the balance with the celebrations and insults. Futile, I know, but maybe cathartic. I will never forget watching the man take of his shoe to hit the statue in Baghdad.

[Onesleeptillwembley]

I can't say I'm celebrating, but the world is certainly a better place without that shit on its shoe.

[VenusDeWillendorf]

I'm sure many people feel the same way about him. And others.

I love the Theroux series on weird America. I might watch them tonight to remind myself how odd people can be.

[Biccietin]

Anything that gives him and his group any more publicity should be avoided.
The Daily Mash , which is a pisstake but excellent, was bang right this morning in their article

As usual the last line sums it up "You should never have heard of him"

That evil man had far too much publicity during his life.

[Charlesroi]

The man was a bitter, twisted, oxygen thief. Good riddance.

[MaidOfStars]

No tears shed round here but strongly disagree with the premise of picketing his funeral or whatever. There is no need for people to lower themselves, and every need to maintain moral high ground.

[Onesleeptillwembley]

Picketing the funeral will just validate what these bastards do.

[WallyBantersJunkBox]

I'm not sure about celebrating, I agree.

I think you can be happy someone is dead though, but act with dignity about it.

No need for party poppers, if someone has been that damaging and evil then it should be a time for reflection.

I didn't get the Maggie thing. She changed roles and became a pensioner. There was plenty of time to write an irritated letter to her expressing your frustrations on her role when she was alive. Cheering at her death was just childish IMHO.

[shakinstevenslovechild]

Well I will admit to being actively happy and celebrating when someone died.

This person made my whole life a fucking misery, and ruined my childhood.

Then one day I got the news that this person was in hospital, suffering in a way they had always feared, they suffered for months and then died.

I went for a meal out and toasted this person death and then had a fabulous night out the day they died.

It doesn't make me a very nice person, I know this, but I did.

In the case of Fred Phelps I don't think his funeral should be picketed, all the people who want to do that should go and silently hold hands with each other rather than sink to his level and picket and be horrible.

[Inertia]

The most unfortunate thing is that his deranged beliefs did not die with him. He's dead , but the other members of his church remain to continue preaching hatred.

And the lunacy is not just limited to those self-identified Christians who picket the funerals of soldiers; this religious group prefers to see neglected children starve rather than consider the legal implications of LGBT legislation on charities.

And in many countries, rejection of Islam results in the death penalty, so it's not even limited to Christianity (and in these cases it's state endorsed rather than extremist outsiders).

I don't celebrate his death- millions of people across the world suffer discrimination because of their religious beliefs, or lack thereof. Nothing improves for them following his death.

[MairyHoles]

I won't celebrate his death as such but he did more than picket funerals of gay people. He blamed homosexuality for tragedy in general and he picketed many funerals, particularly high profile ones, funerals of children etc, to spread the word that this had happened due to homosexuality being condoned by society, not because the deceased was gay. No, I won't celebrate, but his death is no loss to the world.

[LtEveDallas]

I will hold a fucking party the day the man that murdered my brother dies. Hold a party and invite all his family and friends.

..and play "Perfect Day" on a loop.

[squoosh]

I think it's perfectly natural to celebrate the death of someone who has personally harmed you.

I think the siblings who wrote this obituary sound as though they were fully justified in their 'celebration'.

[Onesleeptillwembley]

Shakin and Lt when it's a personal issue that is not the same as someone like Phelps. Party away. Totally understandable.

[AskBasil]

Gosh. That obituary is rather dreadful Squoosh.

I know, she was probably unutterably awful. But she was once a little girl, where did she learn to be so horrible that her kids were motivated enough to publish an obituary like that?

I don't believe all that crap about you needing to forgive someone, but the obvious hatred in that obit is very sad. What's the point, she's dead, that obit can't hurt her in any way.

I remember once reading somewhere that hatred dies with death but love doesn't. It's obviously not true.

[DesperatelySeekingSedatives]

I don't usually celebrate anyone's death (never ever occurred to me to be nasty about Thatcher dying) but I admit I did gleefully tell my DP about it and used the words "good riddance! one less evil person in the world!" which is to my mind, true.

[LaGuardia]

Aren't there any Christians on MN at all

[jenipat]

I'm not a christian, in fact, I am an atheist, but I don't really see what Christianity has to do with it, though, LaGuardia, I just put forward the question aibu to find it odd to actively celebrate somebody's death, rather than perhaps relief because I think it is.

In my experience, people say they will celebrate (and I don't blame them for saying this, given the horrors the person has inflicted upon them), however, when the time comes, they don't.

They tend just to feel the need to reflect and perhaps a bit of relief.

[EverythingsDozy]

I'm from the North west of England, near to Liverpool and wasn't alive during Margaret thatcher being PM, nor were most of my friends.
Because of what happened at hillsborough and the cover up etc, I came across many people who were going to a 'Margaret thatcher is dead' party. I was horrified, couldn't believe that people actually celebrated when somebody died! Regardless of who she was to us, she was somebody to her family. I said as much and was opened up to a barrage of abuse from all sorts of people.
Some people are just shit, but I for one would not celebrate when they die. I haven't shed a tear for these people either.

[Hatteras]

Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptists did more than just picket funerals of people who were gay (although that was bad enough). They are vile human beings.

The teenage daughter of a close friend of mine (in the US) was killed in very tragic and public circumstances. Fred Phelps and co. turned up to picket at her funeral simply because they knew the media would be there and they would get attention. They would also purposefully get into altercations at funerals when people tried to stop them protesting so they could sue people (to raise money for their organisation and fund them travelling across the country to picket at funerals).

That said, my friend and others personally affected by the Westboro Baptists are incredibly dignified and say that they will not lower themselves to the level of Fred Phelps and celebrate his death, rather they wish to let it pass quietly as though he is of no consequence.