Althouse: "Someone wrote that my wife was tweeting at a funeral. Hey. That’s not true. But I’m gonna tweet at your funeral."

June 28, 2013

"Someone wrote that my wife was tweeting at a funeral. Hey. That’s not true. But I’m gonna tweet at your funeral."

Tweets Alec Baldwin (referring to the James Gandolfini funeral).

More tweets from Baldwin's now-deleted Twitter account at the link. And I'd just like to say... in the future, we will be tweeting and texting from funerals. Won't we?

30 comments:

Original Mike said...: "... in the future, we will be tweeting and texting from funerals. Won't we?"

Probably, but only because most people are asses.; 6/28/13, 6:21 PM
Meade said...: At my funeral, feel free to tweet, toot, and tell jokes. What will I care? Live it up. I'll be dead. (But please don't masturbate. Wait, if you can, until you get home. Thanks.); 6/28/13, 6:21 PM
Michael said...: Hopefully those who voted in the minority are kidding Somehow I dont think so. I find the results of this pole among the most depressing things I have encountered.; 6/28/13, 6:26 PM
Original Mike said...: I literally couldn't care less what's done at my funeral. I do care about the feelings of others at the funerals I attend.; 6/28/13, 6:27 PM
acm said...: Meh. Tweeting at a funeral is a bad idea, but not nearly as bad an idea as marrying Alec Baldwin.; 6/28/13, 6:31 PM
Methadras said...: Meade said...

At my funeral, feel free to tweet, toot, and tell jokes. What will I care? Live it up. I'll be dead. (But please don't masturbate. Wait, if you can, until you get home. Thanks.)

I'm saving my Althouse Feel Free To Masturbate card for that day, Meade.; 6/28/13, 6:40 PM
Mark O said...: You didn't mention the homophobic rant. Are you a big 30 Rock fan?

For your grade this year, compare and contrast the media reaction to Paula Deen and Alec Baldwin.; 6/28/13, 6:54 PM
Bob_R said...: I don't go to funerals often. When I do, it's only to support other (living) people, so my behavior is focused on what would be most comforting/helpful to them.

My favorite quote about funerals was in a novel by Ross Thomas (whose novels I recommend.)

Guy 1: "I'll see you at the funeral."

Guy 2: "I don't go to funerals."

Guy 1: "You don't go to funerals"

Guy 2: "Never."

Guy 1: "Then you must miss out on a lot of quiet satisfaction."; 6/28/13, 6:55 PM
David-2 said...: Someday it might even be ok to smile and laugh while at a funeral.; 6/28/13, 6:55 PM
edutcher said...: 2 for obvious reasons.

Ann, if I'm allowed to say, nailed it.; 6/28/13, 7:00 PM
Bob_R said...: The best funeral I ever attended was my Aunt Ruth's. She survived the sinking of the Lusitania, was never (very) sick a day in her life, took a congratulatory phone call from one of my cousins a week after her 90th birthday, hung up, took two steps, and dropped dead as a stone. Way to go Aunt Ruth! We should all manage such a graceful exit. I think the most dominant emotion at the funeral was envy.; 6/28/13, 7:02 PM
Ron said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/28/13, 7:02 PM
Ron said...: If I'm not trending when people tweet at my funeral, my life was a waste.; 6/28/13, 7:03 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "You didn't mention the homophobic rant."

Couldn't find it. Heard about it, but didn't see it.

"Are you a big 30 Rock fan?"

I have never watched the show, not even part of it. I'm not interested in this person. I do know someone who got into a squabble with his now-wife in a cafe, before seeing AB and realizing she was with him. This woman made a bad impression.

Anyway, I don't give a damn about AB. I'm interested a bit in the way electronic devices have penetrated our lives and in the attitudes surrounding funerals.

But let's be clear: this was a big celebrity funeral, a place to see and be seen. It wasn't about deep religion and family mourning. Poor Gandolfini was gone, there was no offending him. It was a celeb-fest, wasn't it?

The family could have made it small and private.

Under the circumstances and considering that he had been courting the heart attack that came for him, I think the sanctimony is suspect.; 6/28/13, 7:05 PM
Meade said...: "I'm saving my Althouse Feel Free To Masturbate card for that day, Meade. "

Saving is good, Meth.; 6/28/13, 7:12 PM
Bob_R said...: Another question is what is meant by, "at the funeral?" Do you mean the graveside religious argy-bargy? (I promise to use that phrase once a week for the rest of the year.) Or do you mean back at the house with ham rolls and green bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup and Durkees onion rings (otherwise know as the Methodist Host?) Not similarly tweet worthy.; 6/28/13, 7:13 PM
rhhardin said...: Was there a funeral in Blazing Saddles? It's the one joke I remember, if so.; 6/28/13, 7:41 PM
RiverRat said...: The poll is misleading! Is it moral or respectful given the venue?. Probably not, IMHO. But, libertarian I am...who really gives a scat Ann?; 6/28/13, 8:00 PM
Beldar said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/28/13, 8:09 PM
Beldar said...: For "tweeting" substitute "farting" and then run the poll.

What? You say no one can say anything meaningful via a well-timed and well-modulated fart?

I disagree. In fact, I would argue that there's not much you can say in 140 characters via Twitter that you can't also say with a fart.

I will concede that it's harder to fart a URL than to tweet one. But the fundamental purpose and effect of Twitter is to truncate useful thought arbitrarily. It is not to be taken seriously by anyone who doesn't use it, except (as with the loathsome Alec Baldwin) in mocking those who do.

Now get off my lawn.; 6/28/13, 8:11 PM
Petunia said...: I don't tweet, but apparently there is some conflict about the time stamps on the tweets, because you can set your account automatically to retweet things posted by others, and if you re-tweet manually, the time stamp on the retweet is the time of the ORIGINAL tweet, not the re-tweet. So it's possible that she did not in fact tweet from inside the church.

And Twitter really is one of the most stupid things humans have ever invented.; 6/28/13, 8:21 PM
Darleen said...: Couldn't find it. Heard about it, but didn't see it.

Oh for criminey's sake...that's weak sauce, sister.

Took me 10 seconds to find someone who screen shot the tweets.

You trying to give cover to Alec the Mad like GLAAD?; 6/28/13, 9:51 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The correct answer is

No, never. It's callous and crude. Put the devices away for once.

Because if you don't we are going to pass a don't tweet and don't tell at funerals. And we going to get the next Clinton to sign it.; 6/28/13, 10:02 PM
Darleen said...: Interesting ...; 6/28/13, 10:04 PM
Darleen said...: Finding screen shots of Baldwins tweets is NOT HARD.

This is, if one wants to actually find them. (hint: Salon has 'em)

But hey, Baldwin is on the Right Side of History, so he gets a pass for homophobic rants.; 6/28/13, 10:11 PM
William said...: Tweeting like masturbating is permissible if done in a discreet, non obtrusive way but only at the funerals of celebrities. That's how most of them would like to be remembered..........On the 30 Rock show, Baldwin plays the part of an abrasive, loud mouthed corporate executive. Particular care is taken to point out that he's a Republican with many important Republican friends. Thus any bad publicity he now generates tends to reflect poorly on the Republican Party. Sigh.; 6/28/13, 10:21 PM
Blue@9 said...: And Twitter really is one of the most stupid things humans have ever invented.

As with most things, the stupidity emanates from the people using the tool, not the tool itself.

Twitter itself is a fantastic tool.; 6/28/13, 10:38 PM
ken in tx said...: Our dog died in her sleep Thursday night. We had her funeral Friday night. We toasted her as a Good Girl and a Good Dog. No tweets. She was a Boston Terrier.; 6/29/13, 11:59 AM
Meade said...: My condolences, Ken. Sounds like a good dog who had a good life and a good death. Being part of your family was clearly her good fortune.; 6/29/13, 3:36 PM
Dave said...: A close friend from our church died a couple of years ago at the age of 49 – liver cancer. After the memorial service I couldn’t resist grabbing a photo of people waiting in the reception line to offer their condolences to the widow. Every single one was standing head down texting. Now, this behavior may be “callous and crude”, but when I showed the photo to the widow a few weeks later, she thought it was hilarious and begged me for the picture. You see, her late husband was a senior manager at Microsoft and the guys waiting in line worked for him. His wife said, “He would have been right in line with them doing the same thing!” So I guess the correct answer is, “It’s a cultural thing.”

And in a related bit of humor, this same widow had the following encounter a few months later:

Doorbell rings.
Widow answers door to find a tree care salesman pitching her on his service.
She politely declines.
He presses on with his pitch.
She again politely declines.
He continues to pitch.
She firmly says no thank you.
He says, “Perhaps I should speak to the man of the house.”
She says, “Just a moment and I’ll find him.”
She returns holding her husband’s ashes in the urn and says, “He says you should listen to his wife.”
Salesman turns white as a sheet and beats a retreat.; 6/29/13, 4:20 PM

Will it be okay, once we get used to it, to tweet at funerals?
	Yes, funerals and tweeting are all part of life. Celebrate humanity.
	No, never. It's callous and crude. Put the devices away for once.
	Maybe, if the person who died was very old or if there's reason not to be all that morose.
	Maybe, if the tweets are about the deceased in a cool or sweet way.

pollcode.com free polls

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June 28, 2013

"Someone wrote that my wife was tweeting at a funeral. Hey. That’s not true. But I’m gonna tweet at your funeral."

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June 28, 2013

"Someone wrote that my wife was tweeting at a funeral. Hey. That’s not true. But I’m gonna tweet at your funeral."

30 comments:

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