Modern society and Mortality

[Oberon]

A bit of a psychological thinker this one.

I got a book from the library the other day, it's one chaps thoughts about the future and the direction of society, technology, and other such things. I haven't read far into it yet, but the opening paragraph talks of a lady who died alone in her flat with her television on and was there for two years before anyone discovered her remains.
Here is the original story:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...rs-474117.html

I also recently discovered an article relating to a woman who was undiscovered in her flat for five years:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...d-missing.html

I related this tale to my other half who was quite incredulous that someone can die and no-one know about it, in a society today that monitors everything that everyone does. How was someone able to die and lay unmolested for two years? With the television on too. How did the bills get paid? Surely someone would have noticed somewhere along the line and raised the alarm?
I disagreed, I mentioned a recent incident when my great-aunt and uncle had noticed an elderly lady across their road had her bathroom light on for four days and nights straight, and when the police went to check they found her dead in the bathroom.


Life, they say, has a strange ironic way to it.

Over the past week we've grown concerned for my uncle who lives in Catford, London. He normally sends a Christmas card and a birthday card for myself up, even though he's not a very rich man (quite the opposite) and we had received neither. Our concern grew when we spoke to my great-aunt and she mentioned that he hadn't cashed a cheque which she sent to him for Christmas. Now, a poor man not cashing a cheque? We asked a friend of my mothers who lives not far from Catford to check on him, so she went there and knocked on the door, no answer, and no-one in the block of flats had seen him for a while. We spoke to our next door neighbour who is a counselor and she recommended asking the police to do a Welfare check on him. The police went to his place and knocked, no answer.
So, the next step was for the police to seek entry to the place, and by now we were having a horrible feeling what they would find. Sure enough, later that day we got a visit from one of our local policemen who had received a missive from Catford police to say that they had found the body of my uncle in the bathroom of his flat.
He had been there since the beginning of December it would seem, judging by the mail by his door and his state of decay is such that it is not possible to judge the cause of death. We hope and pray that it was a swift and painless one and not suicide. However nothing can be ruled out as he was a troubled man whose life had given him its own fair share of curb kicks. The post mortem is still underway and there will likely be an inquest into his death but I can't help but feel sorry for the poor officers who went into that flat and found his body, it can't have been a nice experience for them and we have rung Catford police to ask the inspector to pass on our thanks, unfortunately we can't actually thank them by name as it's not permitted for them to give out the details.

It is a strange and sad world when a man or woman can die and lay un-noticed in their flat or house for such a period of time, if it had not been for the sending of cards and letters periodically then we would have been none the wiser and his body would most likely still be there. In this day and age of instant communication, instant messaging, forums and email, we are closer together than ever before and yet at the same time it seems, more alone than ever before.

[the_tyrant]

well at least he wasn't in debt, if he was,the debters would find out

lol, misread the post

it seems like from what i have learned in class today, these things actually happen, people dieing and only when they fail to pay back their loans did someone find out

[Growler]

Jeez, Oberon, I'm sorry about your uncle - that's gotta be difficult for you and your family... you have my condolences, friend.

I think it's tough these days - while people are, as you say, being watched more, they're watching OUT less... each to his own little world, because looking out of it into another's makes everyone suspicious. I think the aura of fear a lot of people are living under has cowed society somewhat; the concept of "neighborhoods" is a dwindling one, at least in this area of the States. Too much fear generated and perpetuated by things like having registered sex offender maps publicly available online and media over-hype of crime in cities and towns.

[Schroeder]

I'm sorry to hear that Oberon.

[HunterICX]

Sorry to hear it Oberon

I think modern communications have actually grown in some cases people apart on a personal level.

HunterICX

[Jimbuna]

Sorry for your uncles loss Jamie....I've been the one forcing the door on 'too many' occasions in the past.

Often it is something barely noticed by the majority of the neighbours that sets an inquisitive mind at work and the rest is history...sadly.

[MH]

Sorry to hear about your uncle.

People nowadays can live great distance from each other because of jobs or different expectation about life quality.
It also matter of individual person if he is loner or the opposite.
Issue may be also sort of cultural thing as Growler put it in his thread.
People tend to live in their own bubbles.
It very evident in the west and some countries more than other.

[frau kaleun]

Wow, sorry to hear about your uncle, Obie. That's a rough one.

[Skybird]

Is this progress of ours - really progress? Our 1st world civilisation uses to be very uncritical over it'S habits to celebrate itselves and define its wealth by material and technological qualities only. But it takes more. Else we just exist. Some of the most happy people I have ever learned to know, were living outside the 1st world, and were quite poor, in material terms.

Let it go, Oberon. You can't change it anymore. But you are free to let it effect the way you deal with the living and loved ones you know.

[Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Oberon

I also recently discovered an article relating to a woman who was undiscovered in her flat for five years:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...d-missing.html

Similar case here, a few months ago. But it was 9 years. The person died, the most near family filed a missing person case at the police. They went to the apartment but since never get any court order to break in, they never did, even with the family insisting.
The neigbours said that ther person didn't come out much and the person that talked more with the lady also express her concern and etc, but it remained a missing person!
Afer 9 years, the flat was sold in public auction because of tax debts. The new owner got there and didn't had the key. So filed a complain, brought the police and a locksmith and broke in. They found the the flat owner, half mummified half skeleton plus the skeleton of the her dog.
It arouse the same arguments and discussions, and a few bad jokes about the tax services and etc.


Sorry about your uncle, my condolences Oberon!

[MH]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Is this progress of ours - really progress? .

Don't know....but look 100 years back and decide if you would like to live this way.
Its all matter of state of mind.....

[magic452]

The very same thing happened to my brother but a much shorter time, about 9 days. Happened just before Thanksgiving 2008.

He did not answer the door or the phone if he was asleep and he slept all hours of the day and night so I didn't find it strange that he didn't answer the door the two times I went over. I had him on a cash basis since he'd had a stroke and wasn't fully aware. I had not given him any money for better than a week so I checked his ATM card and found it hadn't been used.

My son lives very close so I had him check and they did find him dead in the kitchen. Massive stroke, was dead before he hit the floor as when he fell he hit his head but almost no bleeding from a big cut.

I still can see him laying on the floor and it saddens me to this day.

Sorry for your loss Oberon, I can understand how you feel.

Magic

[Torplexed]

Couple of days ago I was listening to a radio interview with a guy who's business in Los Angeles was as a "cleaner". His job was to go into apartments, private homes, and hotel rooms where a death had taken place and make things all spic 'n span. It's not the duty of the police to clean things up after a death, homicide or suicide. You do it yourself or hire someone. A lot of his jobs involved bodies that laid forgotten on floors or in chairs for months or weeks. After listening to some of the squalid conditions and smells he described in some of these homes I had to switch the interview off.

Sorry for your loss Oberon. Seems strange that OBL can get a dignified burial at sea while ordinary chaps who didn't cause any mischief die isolated and alone.

[jumpy]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Life, they say, has a strange ironic way to it.

*snip*

It is a strange and sad world when a man or woman can die and lay un-noticed in their flat or house for such a period of time, if it had not been for the sending of cards and letters periodically then we would have been none the wiser and his body would most likely still be there. In this day and age of instant communication, instant messaging, forums and email, we are closer together than ever before and yet at the same time it seems, more alone than ever before.

That's truly unfortunate for you and your family, fella.

But I'll take your point about the technology though.
The last 12 months have been quite solitary for me. Apart from my mother, I'm quite certain that I could drop dead here and none of my 'friends' would ever know. I get the odd text message, but no one comes round to visit or say hello. If I leave out the effort of contacting them, I'd never see anyone I know.
'Social network', my arse. I guess some people are fickle like that.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by MH

Don't know....but look 100 years back and decide if you would like to live this way.
Its all matter of state of mind.....

Maybe I would indeed. It depends.

But I think it tells us something that after many German-Russians - offsprings of German settlers who moved to Russia centuries before, under Peter the Great, etc - returned to Germany since the early nineties,but that in the past years we have seen a wave of these Spätaussiedler having returned to Russia voluntarily - saying that they cannot live in even a wealthy country like Germany when the life here is so heartless and people interact so very cold with each other.

That is something many former GDR citizens say, too, that although there was a sub-optimal supply status in the GDR and no freedom to travel, people took more care for each other, and socially sticked closer to each other.

Material wealth alone does not make you a wealthy man. And you can be happy without being wealthy. When you are not wealthy in your heart and soul, you are not wealthy at all, no matter how many millions you earn per month. And being a humane human does not depend on your banking account, but on the state of your - well, call it "soul".

Full stop here, not derailing Oberon's thread any more.