The Curse of the Downtrodden

One of the most tragic aspects of a person’s death surfaces when his/her worth comes down to being measured in terms of money. The curse of the downtrodden. When in the aftermath of a death, be it accidental, or natural, the family, while grieving for their loss, has to face this stark reality: that there is a material side to the death. There are others out there to whom this person was probably nothing more than another body that: needed medical treatment/needs to be disposed off. And, there are businesses and whole industries out there profiting from offering these services and they aren’t cheap.

To a wealthy family, this cost is typically a pittance, leaving them with nothing but the emotional costs of the death to deal with. But to the downtrodden, this could be exorbitant.

Having to reach out to friends, etc., for money to pay for hospital bills or funeral services is like bartering. The family gets paid based on what the others believe the person was worth. No amount of “I express my sincerest condolences” will change the fact that that $50/$100 contribution is what someone thinks this person was worth. The family has to trade the impact this person had made on others, for hard cash, almost like an IPO- a valuation. A pain that only the downtrodden have to feel.

The longer it takes to cover the financial costs, the longer the emotional wound is held wide open with no opportunity to begin the healing, while wealthy families could jump right into it.

While some diseases come with treatments costing exorbitant amounts, a lot of families cannot afford basic healthcare and funeral services.