# Dead People Aren't Magical, And There Aren't Any Signs! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 5, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905 "2012-02-05T22:29:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/41 "2012-02-06T17:54:30Z")
They should’ve ended **Signs** immediately after this scene: Mel Gibson: I never told you the last words that Colleen said before they let her die. She said “see” and her eyes glazed a bit. And then she said “swing away”. You know why she said that? Because the nerve endings in her brain were firing as she died, and some random memory of us at one of your baseball games just popped into her head. There is no one watching out for us, Merrill. We are all on our own. ROLL CREDITS. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/42 "2012-02-06T18:00:49Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > On my way to work, I saw [this](http://www.hooksigns.com/i/PRODUCT%20IMAGES/Merge-Left.jpg). I took it as a sign. Stop. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/43 "2012-02-06T18:00:50Z")
And that chick wasn’t even dead yet. How could she have known that invading aliens were vulnerable to Joaquin Phoenix’ Signed Baseball Bat of Watery Death +6? ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/44 "2012-02-06T19:39:11Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > …Just 'cuz ya’ll don’t got friends in supernatural places, that doesn’t give ya’ll permission to hate. I might pay the fucking fee to be a member again. That’s how much I want this for a sig. And I never did a sig line in my life. And as usual, I agree with MsWhatsit: to hear Agent tell it, we can’t vent in the Pit unless it goes against the grain of the board. Or some such nonsense. Of course mad shit on this board is going to about things that other people agree with. That is kind of why a message board exists. So that people that share ideas can build and learn and rant and rave and debate and sing to the goddamn choir. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/45 "2012-02-06T19:50:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > On my way to work, I saw [this](http://www.hooksigns.com/i/PRODUCT%20IMAGES/Merge-Left.jpg). I took it as a sign. That’s a sure sign that this board is liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/46 "2012-02-06T19:55:47Z")
> [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > Honestly, if the spirits of dead relatives and rainbows bit brings comfort to someone and isn’t harming anyone, MYOFB. I feel the same way. Many years ago my Dad was visiting his parents and the lamp started flickering. My Grandma was all “It’s a sign from (her deceased daugher)!” My Dad walked over and tightened the light bulb. He later said that he felt bad about that, because maybe the perceived “sign” brought her comfort, but it also could have caused a fire or something. I agree with previous posters who said that it’s a problem when it becomes dangerous, like in the case of multiple or life-threatening pregnancies or diseases. I figure God made people who are smart enough to design modern medicine for a reason too. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/47 "2012-02-06T20:29:03Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > That’s a sure sign that this board is liberal. As an official board sign, I prefer [this one](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Slower_traffic_keep_right.svg/480px-Slower_traffic_keep_right.svg.png). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/48 "2012-02-06T20:45:59Z")
I liked _Signs_. _The Village_ was stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/49 "2012-02-06T21:11:29Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Nicely put, **Alice**. Can I commission you to do a piece about chirpractors who rack up huge bills to treat “nonallopathic lesions” caused by low force car colisions? Damn chiropractors blame low metachlorian counts for all kinds of bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/50 "2012-02-06T21:19:49Z")
There’s a billboard in town here for (I think) diamond engagement rings. It says, “If you were waiting for a sign, here it is.” I though it was kind of clever. 🙂 My opinions on the OP - eh. I’ll take my mystical bullshit on a case-by-case basis. ---
**Author:** ![Mom-of-Andrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@Mom-of-Andrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mom-of-Andrew)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/51 "2012-02-06T21:40:46Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > I figure God made people who are smart enough to design modern medicine for a reason too. I am SO stealing this! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/52 "2012-02-07T09:14:51Z")
I saw this [sign](http://www.groovy-t.com/prodimages/small/bear-left-sign.jpg) while I was taking a walk in the woods. I took it as a sign to give up hunting. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/53 "2012-02-07T11:11:17Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I saw this [sign](http://www.groovy-t.com/prodimages/small/bear-left-sign.jpg) while I was taking a walk in the woods. I took it as a sign to give up hunting. I’d take it as a sign to open fire to my left… eta: of course, you might get attacked from behind if it was put there my someone smarter than the average bear. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/54 "2012-02-07T13:10:41Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > It’s obviously people’s way of dealing with grief, just as “guardian angels” are people’s way of dealing with their fear. I know perfectly rational people who swear that their magnetic bracelets ward off arthritis. > > And you know what? If it works for you, then I’m good with it. Life is too short for me to worry about what non-scientifically proven method of coping you’re using to deal with your pain. > > So, if a magnetized angel of your dead child is are sending you rainbows as signs, and that is giving you strength to get through another day, then more power to you. You’ll certainly have my sympathy, if not my intellectual respect. Frankly, I’ve got nothing better to offer up, so the last thing I’d want to do is to take away, or begrudge, your panacea. Eh. The instant you say it out loud, looking for confirmation, a nod, and assurance from the people around you, is the instant that it becomes my business. I hate being asked (indirectly) to become complicit in encouraging mythological thinking, just so someone else can feel good. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/55 "2012-02-07T13:59:13Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Eh. The instant you say it out loud, looking for confirmation, a nod, and assurance from the people around you, is the instant that it becomes my business. > > I hate being asked (indirectly) to become complicit in encouraging mythological thinking, just so someone else can feel good. A few years back I had a girlfriend that got a great deal of comfort from the idea that her mother was in heaven and looking down on her. I felt no need to buy into that myth, but telling her that she was wrong and all that was left of her mother was being eaten by worms would have been a serious dick move on my part. Sometimes it’s better to offer support than to debunk stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/56 "2012-02-07T17:45:07Z")
It is, of course, possible to debunk things tactfully. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/57 "2012-02-08T02:44:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > A few years back I had a girlfriend that got a great deal of comfort from the idea that her mother was in heaven and looking down on her… Feel free to tell her what my minister says: that if mom IS in heaven, she’s got much better things to do than spy on her. THAT’S what I’d find comfort in: that I finally don’t have rampant maternal kibitzing in my life. Don’t these people find it creepy to have Ethereal Peeping Toms? How would you ever have sex again after saintly Great Aunt Mildred died? ---
**Author:** ![CateAyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CateAyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CateAyo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/58 "2012-02-08T04:01:00Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Why are you preaching to the choir here? Hardly anyone on this forum is going to disagree with you. Shitting all over other peoples’ spiritual beliefs is so common here, there’s absolutely nothing unique about it. Why don’t you go over to the nearest Indian reservation and gather the whole tribe together and give them a good speech about how the beliefs that they’ve held for thousands of years, and that give their lives meaning, are a bunch of bullshit? she doesn’t have to go to the rez. An NDN came to her. First we are converted by the Christians and now the rationalists. Bless our little ignorant, superstitious hearts. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/59 "2012-02-08T04:12:03Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Feel free to tell her what my minister says: that if mom IS in heaven, she’s got much better things to do than spy on her. That is a great point. “Um, so Heaven is so boring they have nothing better to do than watch us?” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905/60 "2012-02-08T15:22:53Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Feel free to tell her what my minister says: that if mom IS in heaven, she’s got much better things to do than spy on her. I think you’re missing the point. She wasn’t creeped out that her mother was spying on her, she was comforted by the idea that her mother was still watching out for her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-people-arent-magical-and-there-arent-any-signs/611905.md?page=4)