Gentrifers watching a movie on the grounds of Congressional Cemetery. Disrespectful or Hip & Urban?

[Anonymous]

I happen to believe in ghosts and letting your dog shit and watching a movie in a cemetary seems like bad juju/karma. I wouldn't do it.

[Anonymous]

While I think its weird to watch a movie, I am all for open access to cemeterys. they are horrible land use in the grand scheme of things. Huge swaths of property shut off from everything in perpituity. Creamation is the environomentally appropriate choice.

[Anonymous]

the posting caught my eye - my deceased baby is buried there & some former neighbors/friends are buried there - and i'm torn - because all of the events and community engagement (including the dog walking, which is really annoying to have dogs coming up barking at you when you are visiting) -- do pay for and provide motivation for the upkeep and maintenance of the park.

[Anonymous]

Historically, cemeteries were often used as public parks where social activities took place.

[Anonymous]

I bet this is the first visit some of those graves have had in many, many years.

[Anonymous]

My summary of this post: "I do not have any affiliation with this cemetery, but I think it's disrespectful for it to be used for anything other than burial, and my opinion is more important than the opinion of the cemetery management organization itself."

Except the person whose child is buried there, of course. And that person has mixed feelings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bet this is the first visit some of those graves have had in many, many years.

It's actually become a very well used 'dog walking' venue in the neighborhood - with a lot of daily visitors. This has grown over the past 10 years. Before that, it really was mostly a 'shooting gallery' for drug use and full of needles & decaying/crumbling.

[Anonymous]

http://cnn.it/1WyHkUo

The goats will have to share the space now.

[Anonymous]

So because laws weren't enforced and drug dealers and prostitutes were there, it is OK so show no common respect for a cemetery?

How about spending time not looking the other way at crime, not accepting it, rather than following one bad deed with another.


If somebody was watching a movie or letting their dog shit on my grandfather's grave, I would be insanely bitter. More Hipster bullshit.

[Anonymous]

Where I am from - it's common practice to pay respect to the dead by camping out at their graves and having parties. No joke - we would have buffets and people would drink alcohol.

I'm okay with this cemetery being used by people to watch movies and walk their dogs. Better to have good people there than have it be empty of frequented by criminals.

You naysayers - if you have an issue with it- take it up with the cemetery. If you are not a stake holder - then shut the hell up.

[Anonymous]

I've been to the Hollywood Forever cemetery in LA for movies, but we were NOT sitting among the fracking graves!! That's just weird. I think that setting is more appropriate and feels like a fun, light hearted event is ok.

If it's not ok with the survivors, more thought should be put into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where I am from - it's common practice to pay respect to the dead by camping out at their graves and having parties. No joke - we would have buffets and people would drink alcohol.

I'm okay with this cemetery being used by people to watch movies and walk their dogs. Better to have good people there than have it be empty of frequented by criminals.

You naysayers - if you have an issue with it- take it up with the cemetery. If you are not a stake holder - then shut the hell up.

The hipsters watching ironic movies on the graves of people they don't know aren't exactly stakeholders. And the locals letting their dogs take a dump every day on the graves of people they don't know are only marginally "stakeholders" -- and they could enjoy that same level of "stakeholding" by making a simple cash donation to the non-profit while skipping the dogs purposefully shitting on graves aspect.

And no, I won't shut the hell up. Sometimes it's better to voice objection to things that are just wrong. Like perhaps I decry bigotry and racism against Mexicans who observe pagan rituals that may be known as Dia do los Muertos -- even though I'm not Latin American and so have "hold" no "stake" in that exercise.

[Anonymous]

Visiting a loved ones grave with food and having a get together is completely different than letting dogs desecrate graves with their excrement.

[Anonymous]

I got married there, beautiful cemetery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is gross to let dogs pee and shit on people's gravestones. Bushes, trees? Fine.

I cannot wrap my mind around people being OK with dogs defecating and urinating on someone's grave as a regular course of events.

How do you know the dogs are going to the bathroom ON people's graves and not just in grassy areas surrounding them? Land is so limited in the city, I actually think this is a rather creative use.