Missing from this report is the fact that the 4 accused are all African-American, themselves. If this had been done by white people, the peals of "hate crime" would have been enough to wake the dead...
At one time, Burr Oak Cemetery was the only place black Chicagoans were sure they could bury their dead.
But on Wednesday, the historic African-American cemetery became the site of a horror story.
As many as 100 human bodies — someone’s grandfather, grandmother, father, son, daughter, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew cousin or friend — were removed from their graves and the plots resold.
The manager of Burr Oak Cemetery and three gravediggers were charged this morning, accused of scheming to dig up gravesites and resell them.
Disgraceful as this is -- and make no mistake, this is a despicable thing -- I'm always astounded when people characterize these things as a "crime against the dead". They're dead. They are beyond feeling or caring what happens to their bodies. Otherwise, I'm sure that whole embalming thing, along with bloating and various carnivorous, many-legged critters would cause just a wee bit of discomfort, no?
This is a crime against their surviving families and simple human decency. Let's just keep a grip on that.
It is my understanding that it was customary in certain third world countries, that if you did not pay your annual fee to the cemetery, your dearly beloved was disinterred and stacked in the corner like cordwood.
Chicagoland, from whence our current CinC hails, fits that description...
Posted by: proof | July 10, 2009 at 09:26 AM
How apropos that this happened in the Chicago area, where the dead are frequently awakened to vote in elections to ensure that Democrats always win....
Posted by: Monnie | July 10, 2009 at 06:13 PM