Thou shall not speak ill of the dead, or shall you?

DILEMMA. It is grave business, dealing with the dead. And oh, how we treat it most reverently!

We seem to have a strange sense of sacredness for the dead, akin to the sense we grant to deities like god(s) and spirits (evil and otherwise). Many have argued that this is a self-proclamation of our weaknesses as mortals, a sense of respect for that one journey that we are all destined for – the damning journey of no return.

As the world got to terms with the death of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, this aspect of human life was played out in such telling fashion. On one side, were the praises of “the global leader” who “transformed politics, both at home and abroad.”

Joy and sorrow
Then there was the other, which loudly cheered with glee in her death. Certain publications bore such screaming headlines as “Rejoice,” in large upper case bold print. The publication in question was The Socialist Worker, whose website refers to it as “a revolutionary socialist newspaper produced by the Socialist Workers Party.”

Is this immoral? Is it okay to celebrate the death of anybody, however evil they were? Is it right to speak evil of dead people, however bad they were?
Well, some people, actually, think that yes, you can indeed go ahead, even must, mention bad things that people have done when they finally fall. Glenn Greenwald, a blogger with the UK’s Guardian newspaper, calls the idea of speaking only good about dead people, a case of “misapplied death etiquette.”

Idi Amin, anyone?
The fallen president, Idi Amin Dada, is an example of a man who has continued to be vilified, even in death, seen as a bloodthirsty dictator by many obituary writers.
Apart from a few, many have agreed with this continued depiction of Amin. But consider the reactions to the death of Brig Noble Mayombo in 2007, for instance, and you can see how depictions of the dead can raise the seas into such forceful high tides.

Journalist, Timothy Kalyegira’s obituary of the soldier, was in direct contravention of what a large section of the public felt toward Mayombo. He discredited assertions that the soldier was a brilliant soldier, concluding that, “everywhere that Mayombo was deployed, in government, the army, or the civil service, the result was that of increasing intrigue and questionable actions.”

That obituary caused such ire from Vision Group Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kabushenga, who responded with a hot-tempered piece in the New Vision, accusing Kalyegira of behaving like a sorcerer (omuseezi or night dancer) by dancing on the deceased’s grave.
Emilee Hines, an American author, wrote a book titled Speaking Ill of The Dead: Jerks in Washington, D.C, History, (which basically detailed the evil that past American leaders did). She decided to quote William Shakespeare’s character Mark Anthony, in the Julius Caesar, to justify her work: “The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. So be it Caesar.”

In contravention of the proverbial saying to never speak ill of the dead, she argues that it is just in human nature to speak ill of bad people; and death does not change that. “We need and appreciate good people to keep civilisation functioning, yet we enjoy speaking ill of the bad ones,” she writes, adding, “Outrageous behaviour grabs our attention, and bad news makes the headlines. Good news and competence, we take for granted.”

Misapplied death etiquette?
Greenwald pointed to the fact that people who have done evil in their life, do not necessarily turn into good individuals, worthy of praise, when they die. The record of their life should include both the good and bad that they did, more so, if these were public officials.
Such people, he highlights, exert such influence over other people’s lives; they are in a way, public property. In a polemical tirade he wrote for the paper, he stated, “the dictate that one ‘not speak ill of the dead’ is (at best) appropriate for private individuals, not influential public figures.

This scenario is especially pertinent with obituary writers for publications, especially newspapers, who are faced with the tough task of setting a public record of an individual’s life.
The contrast in emotions between those who celebrate and those who mourn a death highlights a fact that in life, we make friends and enemies. Death does not necessarily change this.

Would you say the truth about a bad dead person at the funeral?

Joseph Bbale Bwanika, electrical engineer
I wouldn’t. I mean he or she is already dead and I have no right to judge him for his wrong acts while on earth since he is in a different world where it is God alone with the right to judge him or her. So it is better to keep quiet instead of wasting time talking about a dead person who won’t even hear me or argue about what I say.

Sadat Kisiriko, graphics designer
When a person dies he or she goes with the good and bad, so saying anything bad or good just reflects somebody’s reasoning capacity (IQ) and where the person comes from. The only solution would be keeping everything to myself because people might in the long run misunderstand me.

Judith Atim, news anchor
No, I wouldn’t, I would rather say nothing because I believe in putting the past behind and looking ahead. In any case, what difference will it make? The person is already dead and neither the good or bad will bring him back to life. The best thing is to leave that person rest in peace because you never know God’s plan.

Pauline Nambooze, teacher City parents School
I would say it, but indirectly like in form of advice to the mourners, it would not be like back biting the dead, but telling the congregation not to sin so as to attain the everlasting life. People should always know what the dead did while alive so that they do not follow.

Allan Kanyesiga, manager, Alaka Auto Parts
Why not, if he or she committed it. I would not keep quiet about it, why lie yet he only did the opposite? If he was a thief, I would say he was one, because it is the truth. I would just say what is true so that people get to know who the person was instead of praising them.

jabimanyi@ug.nationmedia.com