Tuesday open thread: A few words on hatred

Yesterday, actor Kirstie Alley passed away after a struggle with cancer.

Social media reacted, as is normal. And some of the reactions reveled in her death, due to the hateful person she became later in life. One tweet said the tweeter was glad she lived long enough to see Donald Trump lose.

I am not one to say not to speak ill of the dead. That's a silly and damaging thing. To use a quote from the BBC drama To Serve Them All My Days: "The thing I find hardest to tolerate is hypocrisy, especially when it takes the form of a sentimental regard for the dead just because they *are* dead. To hear some people talk, you'd think dying was limited to the chosen few." One must speak truth about the dead, if they've done harm.

But neither will I revel in some misguided soul's passing. One can be truthful about a person's misdeeds, not papering them over due to the tradition of not speaking ill of the dead. But that doesn't mean that you have to be gleeful about their passing. They are still human beings, who had people who loved them, and who mourn their loss, even if you don't. Few are so truly, unredeemably evil that they deserve random strangers dancing on their graves. 

And yes, there are those on whose graves I will dance. Trump's, for example. He is truly evil, and his effect on the world has been evil. This world will be a better place with his expiration. But someone like Stephen Miller? I will mark his death with studied indifference. His sad life is not worth my equanimity.

And that's the thing. I don't do this for them. I do this for myself. When one is mired in hatred, one becomes that which they hate. I do this for my own spiritual health.

Anyway, that's just my two cents. Your mileage may vary.