Minutes silences for particular events....
 

Shouldn't be enforced imo. Do you agree?

What are "minutes silences"?

Are you talking about a moment of silence.
If so do you not think it would be particularly disrespectful toward anyone whom such silences might hold some meaning? Is it not too much to ask to shut up for 10 seconds out of respect for someone else?

When you are forced to sit in silence for a minute to honor a particular event i.e. on september 11th alot of workplaces and schools will make everyone sit in silence for at least a minute to commemorate the lives lost.

If these events are meaningful to them then they can deal with that that their own way in the comfort of their own homes, i don't wish to have to sit in silence and supposedly honor something that i may not have strong feelings about.

I've never heard of any workplace doing that but I understand the concept. So you're complaining about not speaking for one minute? How old are you?

It's about respect, noone's asking you to support anything you don't want to.

Yes because its all about you being inconvenienced and not about publicly honoring someones life or death through respectful silence. Get a life.

What if their life or death means nothing to me? What if i support the reason that they died? I'm not saying i don't want minutes silences because it inconviniences me, i just don't want to be forced into acknolding respect for something i do not respect.

Oh man you know what I hate? Waiting at a green light for a funeral to pass by. I mean, like, I probably didn't know the person or anything, why should I have to sit at a light for like a whole minute?

Respect for the dead is respect for the dead. It doesn't matter if your personal politics or beliefs don't align with those of the bereaved. You honor their feelings and sense of loss regardless and know they would do the same for you. There's no means of justifying showing a lack of respect toward someone that has suffered a loss through tragedy, no matter how "right" you are in your beliefs.

Not remotely the same thing. A moments silence is forced upon you rather than something passing by that you have to briefly endure and it tangles you with a particular cause or event and assumes your regret that said event took place.

Nah i don't agree with that. I don't want to be instructed on how i should honor a particular event and if i supported the cause then i supported the deaths, not having a moments silence doesn't mean that i have been disrespectful either. And frankly i don't agree with respect for the dead in all circumstances. Theres many people that i would be pretty happy to see meet a swift death.

You're right, briefly enduring a pause in your day out of respect for the dead is completely different from briefly enduring a pause in your day out of respect for the dead.

Is their a purpose to you being here other than aggravating other people and wasting their time?

I think a lot of you are overlooking something very important here...

Aren't "moments of silence"...kind of ****ing stupid to begin with? What's the magic in not saying anything for a minute? I lay still, relatively quietly, for eight or so hours a night. There's an abundance of silent moments to commemorate all the lives of your dead relatives that I don't care about right there. It's just some idiotic tradition that doesn't mean anything, y'know, like taking off your hat when the national anthem is played. What's the point? Go on with the weird voodooed silence bullshit on your own time.

Its the reason that your enduring a pause in your day though, thats the key difference.

It is a ritual and a showing of respect. a moment of silence is a call to personal reflection.

What the ****? In what way am i attempting to aggravate people? I asked a simple question on a particular issue and wante dto know others views, i haven't said anything remotely offensive.

The reason in both cases is that someone died. Pretty simple.

'sigh'. I'm not sure you quite follow my reasoning here.

Right, but why should I have to do it? What if, the night before, I was eating my girlfriend out following an evening of Chinese food and accidentally threw up egg foo yong all over her vagina and she freaked out and started batting me over the head with an illuminated lamp and set my hair on fire and caused me to spend the next several hours at the hospital and so I really wasn't in the mood for personal reflection? I think one of the most respectful things we can do for the dead is do away with rather than perpetuate as many cretinous and unsought traditions/rituals that they unfortunately had to endure throughout their miserable existences as possible, don't you?

I follow it, I just don't agree with it.

Also, I'd like to just throw out there that no one is actually asking you to do anything in particular during a moment of silence. You can do whatever you want during that time. Take a one minute nap if you want. Fantasize about fucking your neighbor's dog if you so desire. Think about whatever the hell you want to think about. The world is your oyster.

You don't have to reflect personally. You only have to STFU long enough to be respectful toward those who do wish to use the moment as a time of personal reflection.

They have a million moments they can do that in. And i think the fact we pick particular events is wrong in itsefl, who gets to decided that one tragic event is more tragic than another?

What if I don't respect the person who wishes to use the moment as a time of personal reflection? Would you STFU if Hitler wanted to use a particular moment as a time of personal reflection? What if, the night before, you were eating your girlfriend out following an evening of Chinese food and accidentally threw up egg foo yong all over her vagina and she freaked out and started batting you over the head with an illuminated lamp and set your hair on fire and caused you to spend the next several hours at the hospital and so you really weren't in the mood for a moment of reflection and Hitler told you he wanted one? Would you do it, or would you tell him to STFU and to stop trying to impose his will on all those surrounding himself and to stop killing Jews and to go be silent in reverence of his own cadaverous relatives on his own bloody time and wonder why he thought it mattered whether or not you were silent in the first place when it was in fact he and only he who was commemorating the lives of his dead relatives?

You, obviously.

???????????

And you have a million moments (i'm sure) to speak freely and not care about anyone elses feelings or opinions, but your own. I don't think a moment of silence is a nomination of a particular event being more tragic than another. It is the observation of an event being tragic period, and just because you may not view that event as being tragic or less tragic than another more tragic event does not justify showing a lack of respect toward someone who was profoundly affected by that tragedy

Why doesn't it? How can having a dead relative justify coercing me into not speaking for a minute? No, it wouldn't be a lot to ask, but we're not talking about asking here, are we?

Of course it does! Your ignoring other tragic events and elevating others purely by giving them a minutes silence as your implying that they mean more.

Because it's not only out of respect of the deceased, it' also out of respect for those effected by that loss of someone.

But I suppose if you want to be dick, that's your choice.

What if I not only disrespected the deceased when he/she was alive, but disrespect the ones affected by the loss? What if I don't care about either? You can't ****ing legislate compassion.

That's where the second sentence comes in.

And that's why, during a moment of silence you are free to think about or not think about whatever the hell you want. Also, who said anything about any kind of legislation anyway?

I know where you're going with this and if we were discussing the details of said event I would probably agree with the way you feel about it, bu that is not the issue. The event that gets "observed" with the moment of silence is usually the one that has the greater affect on the lives of the people in the immediate group in question. My point is in a situation such as that its not about who suffered a greater loss or which loss was the most tragic or the least justified. Its about being respectful of the feelings and the losses of those who are immediately around you, because you would want them to do the same if the situation were reversed even if they haven't or wouldn't in reality, and that transcends politics, nationality, religion, or anything else.

The second sentence doesn't come in because we're talking about it being enforced.

But I can't speak? Why not? Why should I be forced into a ritual that has nothing to do with me and I want no part in?

And I thought legislation was implied with the first post in the thread. Maybe not legislation in the traditional sense, but prohibiting certain behaviour. Should've used a different word, sry.

No one is forcing you to do it, It's just incredibly disrespectful not to.

OMG, no speaking for a whole minute!

I don't agree with this, but I thought this article was fitting. FOXNews.com - Illinois Moment of Silence in Schools Ruled Unconstitutional - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Not true in all cases and the cases in which it is true are not the cases the original post of this thread was referring to.

Let me reiterate: no, it's not a lot to ask, but we're not talking about asking, are we? We're talking about forcing somebody into doing something they may not wish to do because it's widely seen as "respectful". It's also widely seen as respectful to stand up for the playing of the national anthem, should I have to do that too? Should that be something we not only encourage but enforce?

You are speaking as if there are laws that force people go along with a moment of silence. I'm not aware of any such laws and I don't think the OP suggested that there were any such laws either.