I’ve lost three grandparents, and here, our approach to death is different from the West. We don’t prepare the bodies extensively, just keep them cool. For the funeral, they’re wrapped in a white cloth, laid on a bed at home where ‘guests’ pay their respects. Then we carry them to the grave, where we place them directly into the earth, without a casket. Just the white cloth. I’ve been 6 feet deep in my grandparents grave putting down their bodies, was the last person to see their eyes.

Seeing the dead isn’t disrespectful; it acknowledges mortality without layers of abstraction. Cultures vary widely in their views on death, and that’s okay. But I find value in an approach that doesn’t hide death behind closed doors, whether in slaughterhouses, funeral homes, or distant graveyards.

There’s nothing to hide. Being able to see the dead doesn’t make it less respectful. Don’t see death with a strict sense of morality. Every culture has very different views on death. And even the same cultures over time vary in beliefs.

I have far too many opinions on this lol and I’ll spare you any more of my rambling.