Why is that everytime you have the unfortunate luck of "having" to attend friend/family funeral....there are always a few people that didn't even know the deceased, but yet, cry more than those that were intimately close to them???? I don't get it...when you don't know someone you pay your respects right? When you knew them well...you mourn. You mourn the person and what they represent right? You're mourning essentially what you miss of them...i guess. So why are people so readily available to jump on the mourners bandwagon...and cry and scream...when they didn't even know them? People always do that....ALWAYS!!! It almost gives them an excuse for people to feel sorry for them.
2006-12-19 22:17:03 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Psychology
It is part of a psychological disorder in which a person who is lonely, sad, depressed, attends a function wherein he can mourn the loss of another and in so doing get the loving attention, the hugs, the words of hope from the kinds of people who would otherwise ignore him. It is a sad human condition but one without any harm unless they make a spectacle of themselves at which point they need to be escorted out and thanked for their caring self.
2006-12-19 22:26:42 · answer #1 · answered by ALWAYS GOTTA KNOW 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people cry more because they are just plain nervous- sort of a reaction they can't help. I have been known to cry when I see other people crying (although I'm NOT one of those folks you mentioned above- but being at a memorial for someone I hardly knew might bring tears to my eyes just because of everyone else's grief). Otherwise, who knows? Maybe they do just like the attention. Over here (E Eur) I've been at funerals where they've hired professional mourners to wail and cry... but that's more their tradition... now that'll make you want to leave...
2006-12-19 22:27:55 · answer #2 · answered by boots&hank 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I attend a funeral of someone I don't know very well, it makes me cry because it brings back memories of my Dad's funeral. It's not jumping on the bandwagon, it's simply feeling emotional for the hurt and dispair that the close family of the deceased are feeling.
2006-12-19 22:30:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes people attend funerals out of respect for the family, if they knew a family member but not the deceased. Everyone feels a sense of loss, but some people are more emotional than others and tend to show it openly.
2006-12-19 22:20:58 · answer #4 · answered by crazydave 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Some people wallow in grief...and not for the departed whose funeral they are attending or even the family's. After avid, although circumspect, observation of these sort over the years I have finally come to the conclusion that the very emotional sort that attend the funerals of people they knew but vaguely are the ones that attend every funeral to grieve for some loss in their own past. A funeral is one place that you are allowed to show emotion in our society and it is a catharsis for the people that need this outlet.
2006-12-19 22:36:09 · answer #5 · answered by cowboy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I cried at my grandads funeral(Dads dad) I hardly knew him. I cryed more at my grandmas funeral (mums mum) as I was very close to her. The thing with funerals are they are designed to make you sad. The things that are said, the people that are upset becuase of the loss of that person. Even if you go in there determined not to cry, you will end up sheding a tear or two.
2006-12-19 22:37:21 · answer #6 · answered by Amy_Lou 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have noticed that with some cultures the mourning is traditionally very vocal, that is part of their culture i guess. Generally funerals are sad - i can cry at any ones funeral no matter if i knew them well or not.
The sadness enters my heart when i see the coffin in front of me or seeing their loved ones upset, listening to the eulogy and the reality that it will one day happen to me, you are forced to reflect on reality - that death will happen to us all and that makes you sad.
2006-12-19 22:34:06 · answer #7 · answered by Flowers 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ive been to funerals of people i don't know and have cried, its usually because i feel sorry for the people left behind and I'm sympathising with them.
I'm not looking for attention, in fact I would walk away before I was given attention, but the emotion of the situation does get to me
2006-12-19 22:21:34 · answer #8 · answered by Scottish Girl 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I agree with you to a certain extent however there are so manythings that could affect different people. Death is a powerfull truth and when you are faced with someones death, even if you dont know the person well, there could be a thousands of questions/thoughts arising in your mind and that might get you emotional.
2006-12-19 22:40:48 · answer #9 · answered by Joltbolt 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't think it's about jumping on the bandwaggon. funerals remind people of their own mortality which can be upsetting but can also bring back strong memories of people they have loved and will naturally think about other funerals they've been to.
the last funeral i went to was a distant relatives and i went to support my mum - i didn't cry but the thing about it that moved me most and most upset me was the husband of the deceased. they had been married for over fifty years and thinking about his loss and grief and the dignity with which he handled himself moved me.
you don't know what's going on in peoples heads, give them a bit of a break x
2006-12-19 22:24:13 · answer #10 · answered by aria 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋