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Memorials / Plaques 8-Nov-2006 At 10:37:45 PM tmarsh

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On 8/11/2006 Climboholic wrote:
>Isn't a plaque on a cliff comparable to all those cross's and flowers you
>see on the side of the road where a fatal accident has occurred?

I think it's exactly the same, Climberholic. There seems to have been a shift in the last decade or so to commemorate the location of death as opposed to where the body has been laid to rest. I've pondered this a lot over the last few years - as roadside memorials are increasing in number - wondering if it means that people's attitude to death is shifting to a more secular and less religious view. Meaning that people are more interested in commemorating where actual death occurred rather than where religion tells us the shift from mortal to immortal occurs ie the graveyard.

It's a weird shift. And one that turns public space into private space. I'm not sure that there are any answers to it, but it's an interesting phenomenon.