Should we stop exhibiting dead bodies?

[The Original Happy Goat]

There's a group in the UK House of Commons right now arguing for the repatriation of human remains to countries they were taken from. The idea is that it's offensive and insensitive to put up as museum exhibits the remains of actual human beings.

This isn't an entirely new concept for us Americans, who already have laws about respecting native American remains. But I wonder how people actually feel about it, on a base level. Look at this guy:

That's Ramesses the Great. Not some statue of him. That's his actual corpse. A real human being. He lived more than three millennia ago, and his remains are currently on display in a museum in Cairo (so this question is not simply about colonialism). How much time must pass before desecration of a corpse becomes scientific inquiry? Is it okay that we have these bodies just sitting around in fancy buildings, for people to pay a nominal fee to gawk at?

Or should we shut the whole enterprise down, and rebury these unfortunate souls?

Curious what people think about this.

 

[BradStevens]

There's a group in the UK House of Commons right now arguing for the repatriation of human remains to countries they were taken from. The idea is that it's offensive and insensitive to put up as museum exhibits the remains of actual human beings.

This isn't an entirely new concept for us Americans, who already have laws about respecting native American remains. But I wonder how people actually feel about it, on a base level. Look at this guy:

That's Ramesses the Great. Not some statue of him. That's his actual corpse. A real human being. He lived more than three millennia ago, and his remains are currently on display in a museum in Cairo (so this question is not simply about colonialism). How much time must pass before desecration of a corpse becomes scientific inquiry? Is it okay that we have these bodies just sitting around in fancy buildings, for people to pay a nominal fee to gawk at?

Or should we shut the whole enterprise down, and rebury these unfortunate souls?

Curious what people think about this.

The remains aren't souls. It's inanimate matter.

Display away. Unless actual living people who knew them are still alive and don't want that. But that is a consideration for the living, not the dead.

 

[The Original Happy Goat]

The remains aren't souls. It's inanimate matter.

Display away. Unless actual living people who knew them are still alive and don't want that. But that is a consideration for the living, not the dead.

So once a few generations pass and there's no chance anyone alive knew them, it's fine? We could dig up the remains of Lincoln and put them on display, and you'd have no problem with that?

You might be right, I'm just playing devil's advocate.

 

[BradStevens]

So once a few generations pass and there's no chance anyone alive knew them, it's fine? We could dig up the remains of Lincoln and put them on display, and you'd have no problem with that?

You might be right, I'm just playing devil's advocate.

I'd have no problem with that but wouldn't really be interested in seeing it.

I don't think there is a right or wrong here. Merely preference or culturally relative mores.

 

[The Original Happy Goat]

I'd have no problem with that but wouldn't really be interested in seeing it.

I don't think there is a right or wrong here. Merely preference or culturally relative mores.

I think you're take is probably the most logical. But I think if we juxtapose mummies in museums against digging up dead presidents, we'll find that other takes are more prevalent.