news
07-13-2015, 07:33 PM
Most people know that RIP stands for "rest in peace." But mostly, we simply use RIP as a short hand, not for rest in peace, actually, but rather a quick way to say -- aw, I'm sad this person died!
The original Latin for rest in peace is requiescat in pace -- much more elegant, wouldn't you say? But who speaks Latin these days? So we let RIP say it all. Three letters. Like LOL or HAH!
Here are four reasons to STOP IT.
It's lazy.
It's reductive.
It's unimaginative.
It's not really what we mean.
Look, nobody really knows what to say about death, the enduring mystery. But RIP is what we see on crooked cartoon tombstones from a Halloween cards or spray painted cardboard decorations inside a haunted house. I have yet to meet a person who lost someone they actually knew and loved to utter this clumsy acronym of their loved one. RIP, mom! Really? That would be your sentiment? Is that how you would sum up this loss?
Likely not. RIP is something of a scrourge on Facebook lately as our celebrities, public figures and film and television stars age and begin to pass away. This is something we are collectively grappling with, this erosion of our memories and experiences growing up.
When the stars in our modern day lives fall from the sky, it hurts in a particular, strange way. They have been the fabric of our lives in these, the brave new 20th and 21st centuries. We feel we know them. Together we feel a strange sorrow --the impermance of life.
As those that we admire and enjoy in the public realm age as we all do, and begin to pass away, one by one, RIP is hardly descriptive for the loss we feel.
So what shall we say, then?
How about "Thank you". Thank you for the movies, the books, the songs, the memories. You were part of my life because of them. Thank you for the insights, the laughter, the connection. Isn't that what we really mean?
Rest in peace? Who wants to rest in peace and moulder in a grave? I hope Omar Sharif is doing the tango right now somewhere, with a rose clenched in his teeth and a glint in his eye. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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The original Latin for rest in peace is requiescat in pace -- much more elegant, wouldn't you say? But who speaks Latin these days? So we let RIP say it all. Three letters. Like LOL or HAH!
Here are four reasons to STOP IT.
It's lazy.
It's reductive.
It's unimaginative.
It's not really what we mean.
Look, nobody really knows what to say about death, the enduring mystery. But RIP is what we see on crooked cartoon tombstones from a Halloween cards or spray painted cardboard decorations inside a haunted house. I have yet to meet a person who lost someone they actually knew and loved to utter this clumsy acronym of their loved one. RIP, mom! Really? That would be your sentiment? Is that how you would sum up this loss?
Likely not. RIP is something of a scrourge on Facebook lately as our celebrities, public figures and film and television stars age and begin to pass away. This is something we are collectively grappling with, this erosion of our memories and experiences growing up.
When the stars in our modern day lives fall from the sky, it hurts in a particular, strange way. They have been the fabric of our lives in these, the brave new 20th and 21st centuries. We feel we know them. Together we feel a strange sorrow --the impermance of life.
As those that we admire and enjoy in the public realm age as we all do, and begin to pass away, one by one, RIP is hardly descriptive for the loss we feel.
So what shall we say, then?
How about "Thank you". Thank you for the movies, the books, the songs, the memories. You were part of my life because of them. Thank you for the insights, the laughter, the connection. Isn't that what we really mean?
Rest in peace? Who wants to rest in peace and moulder in a grave? I hope Omar Sharif is doing the tango right now somewhere, with a rose clenched in his teeth and a glint in his eye. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/233194700644/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4815b05c/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/233194700644/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4815b05c/sc/15/rc/1/rc.htm)
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/233194700644/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4815b05c/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/233194700644/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4815b05c/sc/15/rc/2/rc.htm)
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More... (http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677045/s/4815b05c/sc/15/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0Cjulie0Egray0C40Ereasons0Eto0 Estop0Esaying0E0Ib0I777470A80Bhtml/story01.htm)