I've never quite understood the idea of being so vigilant about preserving bodies. Embalming, airtight caskets, concrete lined graves. Sure, we should be respectful in how we handle the dead out of respect for those who were close to them, but long term preservation seems a bit silly to me, as does treating graves as sacred. Once a person dies, the body is no longer that person, but more like an empty container.
I've never been to my sister's grave. What's left of her body in that casket isn't her. When I need to feel connected to her, I revisit the memories of the two of us together, sometimes using pictures, and sometimes artifacts like drawings or craft projects we made together. I suppose it's a bit easier for me to feel connected in this way because we were twins; I get to see a big part of her in myself every time I look in the mirror.
If someone were to retask the graveyard where she's buried for some other purpose, it wouldn't bother me. That thing in the ground isn't Katie; she's gone and always will be.
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I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black, it's a choice, and I support that.
~Steven Colbert
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