On Our Way: The Final Passage through Life and Death

7. Too Many Dead: The Plague and Other Mass Deaths

S E V E N d TOO MANY DEAD The Plague and Other Mass Deaths Traditional societies often give their all when one of their members has died. The kin and, at times, the entire community devote themselves to seeing that the right things are done in the right way. The rituals can be exacting and time-consuming. Scarce resources, such as the most esteemed foods, may be expended. Other activities are put on hold as the body is carefully prepared and the remains disposed of according to custom. Large, pluralistic, and fast-changing societies such as ours are less inclined to stop everything and give everything when a life has ended. The funereal and mourning process tends to be regarded as an interruption in the flow of our busy lives for all except those few who were very close to the deceased. Nevertheless, many people do “pay their respects ” both to the deceased and to the survivors, even if this means travel, effort, expense, and inconvenience. Traditional and contemporary responses to a death usually do have one thing in common that is so obvious it is seldom remarked upon: the dead are most often escorted on their way one at a time. Our rituals are built around the expectation that the focus will be on one dead person.This expectation is challenged occasionally when several related deaths occur. But what happens when there are a great many dead? When there are too many dead? Exploring society’s response under this condition might help us to think a little differently about our usual ways of relating to the dead when they present themselves to us one at a time.The Black Death provides us with abundant examples. 2 1 8 “Too many dead.” What does that mean? Sometimes we are reacting to an unexpectedly high toll of casualties. Consider the following scenarios: • Commanding officers had calculated the approximate number of casualties that would occur in achieving an objective in a battle. Injuries and deaths were expected—but not so many. The responsible officers must now find a way to justify and compensate for the “excess casualties.” • Authorities had recognized that a famine was probable. Measures to prevent or mitigate the famine would have diverted funds from projects of higher priority. In fact, a little famine here and there has some political value. The famine and resulting diseases had exceeded estimates, however. The authorities are now uncomfortable because they are being second-guessed and criticized—so somebody will have to be found culpable and dealt with severely. • City officials had wondered where the municipal budget could be reduced with the least notice and resistance. Easy answer: curtail outpatient medical services for the low-income dwellers of the inner city. The result was a 500 percent increase in sexually transmitted diseases and fatalities when acute infections previously limited to a small area of the city became chronic and more severe infections spread throughout the sprawling urban area. Little thought was given to this prospect , so the public now feels endangered and betrayed by its elected officials. In these examples the excess loss of life is deplored because it threatens to destabilize the establishment and interfere with operational goals (e.g., military victory, cost savings). Commanders and officials anticipated fatalities (“collateral damage”) at an acceptable level. Now, however, there are too many deaths. Perhaps the number of fatalities can be concealed . If not, then a statement of regret and condolence may be issued to the public. The primary concern, though, is for the operational effect of the deaths, not for the loss of individual lives and the emotional impact on the families of the deceased. Sometimes, though, “too many dead” has a different meaning. The fatalities are not incidental to a military campaign or a political estabT O O M A N Y D E A D / 2 1 9 lishment indifferent to suffering. A catastrophe strikes in the form of fastmoving natural disasters such as an earthquake (generally the most lethal), volcanic eruption, storm, flood, or fire. A raging epidemic appears as though from nowhere and devastates the population. These deaths occur swiftly. Ordinary life comes apart. Social institutions, such as school and church, and public activities may be interrupted, even sus2 2 0 / C H A P T E R S E V E N Figure 16 Death hunts the hunters. From Geiler von...