Letters to the Editor

This letter is associated with the following article:
Read other letters about this article
The new American way of death
Morbid curiosity and ridicule have replaced respect for the deceased at MyDeathSpace, where your life is an open book -- even when you're 6 feet under.
By Jamie Pietras [2007-07-31]

  • Get some damn perspective.

    "It truly disturbs me how sick young people like those who post of MyDeathSpace always hide behind the First Amendment, which somehow corrupts and cheapens what is our greatest freedom."

    I'm hoping this comment was meant as ironic, especially as it appears in an online forum full of psuedonyms and impulsive comments.

    Every scold in these letters needs some perspective

    MyDeathSpace has an estimated 8,000 members, less .01 percent of the millions of people online. Of those, few post regularly and fewer still post disrespectful things. There are obscure fetish discussion boards which get as much traffic.

    There is NO unique crisis of sickness hiding behind the 1st amendment here. It's a discussion board about information which, again, is readily available to the public. Detached gossip about the deaths of strangers is longstanding, if unappealing, human trait.

    What really "corrupts and cheapens" here is an overwrought story which tries to stir up moral panic about an obscure website and implies legal steps may be necessary.

    -- softdog
    [Read softdog's other letters]
    Tuesday, July 31, 2007 03:01 PM
Read other letters about this article

Letters Help