tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20629163.post114383769413867957..comments2023-05-24T03:14:39.889-05:00Comments on "Live from the Coroner's Office": Death Notifications, notific-ographyDr. Richard Kellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307076697112567697noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20629163.post-1153033524451527052006-07-16T02:05:00.000-05:002006-07-16T02:05:00.000-05:00This is the response I posted to the Trib article:...This is the response I posted to the Trib article:<BR/><BR/>I don't think you guys give the human race enough credit. When somebody dies unexpectedly, it tears at the fabric of our society. Going back to ancient times, we all had a stake in such matters, as the death would no doubt have changes, perhaps dire, to our clan. We have evolved a powerful connection to each other. We have a primal need to participate in each other's dramatic moments. What has happened is that in the last two centuries, mass media has expanded our senses to encompass the whole human race; but it's happened so quickly that we have not evolved-away our empathy for the grieving survivor who is too distant to be of any practical importance to us. The other aspect of this is empathy for the notifier -- we all wonder how we would handle the notification if the job fell to us and would we be as brave and as compassionate as those who do it day in and day out (we fear, of course, that we would fall to pieces). I don't see any of this as "emotional pornography". It all sounds perfectly normal, natural, admirable, and healthy to me. What are we supposed to be, a bunch of calloused sociopaths who don't give a damn?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com