Ding! Dong! The bitch is dead!

[BrokenQuill92]

Is it ever okay to celebrate the death of someone else?

[SteelCurtain]

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I just watched it tonight. Reading that scene in the books was rough because I love Tyrion's character. I was so excited that Joffrey died. The show did a fantastic job.

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[bennyboy]

Not philosophy.

[Cato]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBrLHMCTDAA

Quill, I posted the Ewok celebrations scene from The Return of the Jedi. .

I want people to use the occasion of my death to celebrate my life. This may not be what you're after.

I was indifferent at the passing of Kim Jong-il, mostly because I knew he would be replaced and it would be business as usual in North Korea. I might have felt different if his death signaled the end of tyranny and oppression for North Koreans.

A slightly different consideration...
I would euphorically shit myself if Kanye West and Kim Kardashian made a sincere promise to never be heard or seen from again, but I certainly wouldn't celebrate their deaths if something tragic were to happen to them. This isn't just a Kim and Kanye thing; this would apply to any number of overexposed celebrity dimwits in the realm of entertainment, politics, religion, sport or general idiocy.

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Not philosophy.

I can sympathize with your sentiment; however, I can easily see this as a legitimate ethical discussion.

[Kayenneh]

Death is part of life, and I see no problem with celebrating when horrible people die. Good riddance!

[Silver]

Is it ever okay to celebrate the death of someone else?

Sure.

In fact, it is the entire grieving part I never honestly understood. If most people genuinely believe that their departed loved ones are in a better place, then it would stand to reason to celebrate the transition rather than the earthly loss.

[Coffee Jesus]

Utilitarian:
Celebrating the deaths of people who knowlingly did horrible things could discourage behaviors like theirs. Good.

Virtue ethics:
Celebrating a death for its own sake reflects the attitude that some people should die just because they were bad. Ambiguous, further inquiry
This attitude that you should die if you do these things may discourage (good), but some people may act upon this attitude (ambiguous). Would that action be okay?
From a utilitarian standpoint, it would be bad to take the criminal's life if his life is still enjoyable (bad), but it would be good to discourage his crimes (good). Whether punishing the criminal would be good depends on the extent of the crimes and the effectiveness of the warning. still ambiguous after inquiry

Temporary Conclusion: It is generally good to celebrate the deaths of people who do horrible things.

[Clueless Morgan]

The amount of celebration that is appropriate for a death exists on a sliding scale for me.

The death of a Kim Jong-il, an Osama Bin Laden, a Stalin, a Hitler, a Pol Pot are worth celebrating in the sense that that death might signal the end of a terrible governmental reign or political ideology that oppressed its citizens, or cause the unnecessary suffering and death of innocent people. The celebration could be both a celebration that the person can no longer inflict pain and suffering on others as well as hope that their successor be less atrocious, but that can often be a hope that is never achieved. I, personally, didn't celebrate Bin Laden's death because I knew that it wasn't going to end the war in Iraq, it wasn't going to end the war on terror, nothing was going to change and the next guy in line would step up to take his spot, who while the figure head is gone, that doesn't mean anything in terms of how the organization of Al Qaeda is run or it's future effectiveness.

The death of a business tycoon who took advantage of their employees probably warrants less celebration than a Kim Jung-il, but to the people oppressed by that business tycoon that death is probably worth celebrating with the hopes that the tycoon to replace them is more fair-minded.

The death of an annoying celebrity who is not hurting anyone but themselves and their reputations is probably not worth getting that celebratory over.

In terms of GOT,

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celebrating Joffery's death wasn't a problem for me. He's was an asshole sadist who enjoyed humiliating people for fun and taking the credit for other people's successes. I'm glad he's gone. I was also cheering when Arya killed the guy who had her sword, Needle, not because I was glad she was killing someone but because the guy was an asshole who unjustly killed people. Arya isn't the type to go around killing people willy nilly, whereas that guy was. Having one less of his type in the world (even in a fictional world) is no skin off my nose.

Also, it's fiction. Get over it.

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Whether a person would celebrate someone else's death is entirely a personal matter and entirely up to how that death would impact the life of the person celebrating. Feel however you want.

[bennyboy]

Is it ever okay to celebrate the death of someone else?

Sure.

In fact, it is the entire grieving part I never honestly understood. If most people genuinely believe that their departed loved ones are in a better place, then it would stand to reason to celebrate the transition rather than the earthly loss.

You don't grieve for the people. You grieve for the broken world view you have in which some temporary things feel permanent, and you now must reorganize that whole view. Cognitive dissonance + love = tears.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Ok,you lot realize that no one has died, right?

Boru