'Death in our society derives its glamour and pathos from representing the extinction of an allegedly unique, not just solitary but singular individual, once upon a time ideal-typically a ‘genius’ or ‘hero’ and today more often a celebrity.' #Jamesonnewleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

i wonder if this is related to the impulse to be ironic or sarcastic, both of which may be intranslatable... thinking a lot today about the global South and how we communicate with folks living there... it would seem that the "decadent" impulse is irrelevant(??) or unrelatable(??)