Why strippers & funerals are making headlines

OOH! I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DISCUSS.

Jeez! Hold your horses man.

WHY? PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS NO BAIT-AND-SWITCH.

No, it isn’t. It’s about strippers but it’s also something morbid.

I CAN SEE THAT. WHAT'S THE LINK?

Did you know that in China some people hire strippers at the funerals of their loved ones?

WHAT! YOU MUST BE KIDDING.

I’m not. It happens mostly in rural areas and now the government wants people to stop this practice

NOT SURPRISED SINCE THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT IS NOT AMONG THE MOST TOLERANT IN THE WORLD.

True that, but strippers at a funeral to attract more people would be weird anywhere. A funeral is no carnival after all.

AGREED. EVEN THEN QUITE SOME FUNERALS THEY MUST BE.

Betcha. At one such funeral, the strippers were at work while a photo of the deceased with eulogistic words was on an electronic screen behind them. Sometimes, the strippers have snakes and invite men to undress.

WHOA! I CAN’T PUT THESE IMAGES WITH THOSE OF PEOPLE GRIEVING.

Good try. Nor can I.

BY THE WAY, WHAT DO THESE PERFORMANCES COST?

About $320 each, according to a news report.

DON’T SOME COMMUNITIES IN INDIA ALSO HAVE MUSIC AND DANCING AT FUNERALS?

That is to celebrate the life the departed led.

MAYBE THERE IS A REASON BEHIND THIS

Maybe. Apparently there is a belief that a large attendance at funerals bodes well for the dead in their afterlife.

OH, BUT I WONDER IF THE DEAD GUY CAN ENJOY THE SHOW

Well, that’s a metaphysical discussion. We can have it some other time.