Decorating gravestones, who's right?

Eeh. I think that they should follow whatever the priest says, whether they agree with it or not. I'm not certain I agree, and I don't think the priest should do anything until people do complain, unless he finds a complaint with it himself.

That priest is an idiot.

Cemetarys are a waste of space and resources, and we should abandon this superstitous practice, and use that land for things like low income hosuing for poor families, agriculture, or even just open space.

I think it seems kooky to feel disrespected for silly reasons like that. There's too many people in society taking offense to things that really don't matter at all. Freedom is more important than people's kooky, uptight feelings.

The priest is right it is disrespectful to do this

The priest is wrong. I'd raise the worst kind of hell if I ever encountered some self righteous idiot like this. I go out to my loved ones grave a few times a month & put on the grave artificial flowers, small plastic crosses, angels, etc. I have been for years. I personally dont give a damn what anybody thinks, & I'd dare anybody to move any of it.

I say let them do what they want. Unless an item was clearly disrespectful, like a swastika.

Every cemetary I have ever seen has rules to 'live' by. It should be stated in the rules if plastic flowers are a no-no. My dad is buried in a pretty strict cemetary. They do not allow plastic anything, plants unless they are in a pot and are kept well, and those wreaths are allowed but but only for a limited amount of time. Like a week or so. If there are no such rules, than the priest is still right but I think he could have handled that better. He should have asked the family to remove them first. If they did not comply, than he would have the right to remove them.

I think the family should be able to decorate their grave any way they like.

The family should comply with whatever the guidelines of the cemetary were at the time of the burial of their family member. If the gaudy plastic items fall within the guidelines, they should be permitted to stay, as long as they are not obscene or offensive in and of themselves.

ooh a sparkly gravestone.. theres a thought...

Were there pink flamingo's and those Japanese lanterns? Sounds like it would liven the place up.

I'm with the priest. Graves should be dreary affairs.

The family should be able to have better taste. Perhaps the priest could buy them a subscription to Martha Stewart Living.

I don't think that it's necessarily disrespectful, but most graveyards do have rules about what can and cannot be displayed. It seems reasonable that there should be such rules, as long as they are representative of the majority view of relatives visiting the graveyard and not just arbitrarily made up by the priest.

They both have a point.

However. The graveyard should have a clear policy of what's acceptable and what's not. If they don't then it's a bit late for it now. If they do, the family should have checked it out and should respect it.

They should be able to decorate it.

I'd side with the priest, but not for that reason. He's in charge, he makes the rules.

I think the family should be able to decorate the grave any way they want, as long as it's legal.

I am having my body donanted to a medical school...waste of money and time for a funeral and plot...medical schools need cadavers.