As for dancing on graves...

[NinetySix]

...the only one I ever truly danced on (figuratively speaking) was that of the mercifully late Lee Atwater. I realize that he repudiated his formerly evil ways from his deathbed while dying of a malignancy in his malignant brain, but that was a day late and a dollar short of doing any fucking good. So while I'm typically a forgiving person, I broke with my natural inclination in order to rejoice in the demise of a cynical, underhanded ne'er-do-well. Same goes for the highly-anticipated passing of Atwater protege Karl Rove.

In another, somewhat similar case, despite my strong disapproval of the death penalty in any form, I took the opportunity to be uncharacteristically inconsistent by looking the other way the day that Timothy McVeigh was executed. I simply haven't time to protest when someone so violently and dangerously opposed to democracy and democratic means of conflict resolution finds his life precariously positioned beneath the sword of Damocles. Sorry--next.

As for Reagan, well, people grow old and infirm, then die. Many both better and worse than he have gone before, and you and I shall surely follow without regard to our merits or works, and without recourse. I do not dance on that particular grave, but neither do I mourn.

As for the next possible suspension of my otherwise natural empathy for human suffering and respect for the dignity of the recently deceased, I'm thinkin': Byron De La Beckwith.

On the stone that remains
Carved Next to his name
His epitaph claims
Only a pawn in their game

[mark11727]

1. Thank you for one of the more intelligent posts on this subject

[NinetySix]

2. No need to dance on them all.

But really, it is a very visceral thing. How can you help but feel emotionally gratified to see a despised enemy's passing at least ONCE in a while? Such is the human condition, and many odious people cultivate that reaction in others themselves. Unfortunately, some people are incontinent about this emotion, dancing often and on numerous graves. These people are known as "right-wing hate mongers" or "sociopaths." I'd just as soon disassociate myself with their ilk as much as I possibly can; nevertheless, we all share the same human weaknesses to some degree.

[LTR]

3. The epitaph needs something

On the stone that remains
Carved Next to his name
His epitaph claims
Only a pawn in their game
...BURMA SHAVE!!!

Sorry... Getting late.