Bodies

So, I was just now perusing the Ala Moana Shopping Center's website to see if they have an American Apparel store (they don't) and as I scanned the 'New Stores and Restaurants' section for a Body Shop where I could get some yummy mango Body Butter, I saw "BODIES THE EXHIBITION - a must see...striking exhibition" that "showcases real human bodies..." and offers "the opportunity to see themselves in a fascinating way like never before." I missed it while it was in San Diego, but the posters I saw were definitely striking enough to get my attention.

And the fact that they are actual human bodies got my attention as well. I couldn't put aside the idea that they belonged to people, people who had families, friends, lovers. They are the bodies of people who most likely had wondered how they would be buried one day, who would mourn them, and who would put flowers by their grave. They are the bodies of people whose last dying wish was most likely not to have their cells injected with plastic by a "revolutionary" procedure, and then to have their bodies paraded around in a "striking exhibition".

BODIES promises visitors an "opportunity to see themselves in a fascinating way like never before." Indeed it does; it shows us how far we have come in our disrespect of the human body and, by extension, the human soul. We pay our respects to the deceased not because of the body buried beneath a headstone, but because we believe their souls to be worthy of respect, and we hope the same for our our own. By visiting the bodies of people who have become nameless, faceless bits of plastic dissected and modeled to dunk basketballs and entertain us, we do our fellow humans a grave disrespect.

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Trey found the following (less than reassuring) info from the Bodies Exhibit:
Disclaimer:
-This exhibit displays human remains of Chinese citizens or residents which were originally received by the Chinese Bureau of Police. The Chinese Bureau of Police may receive bodies from Chinese prisons. Premier cannot independently verify that the human remains you are viewing are not those of persons who were incarcerated in Chinese prisons.

-This exhibit displays full body cadavers as well as human body parts, organs, fetuses and embryos that come from cadavers of Chinese citizens or residents. With respect to the human parts, organs, fetuses and embryos you are viewing, Premier relies solely on the representations of its Chinese partners and cannot independently verify that they do not belong to persons executed while incarcerated in Chinese prisons.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid the Chinese Bureau of Police is not renowned for it's spotless human rights practices or concern for what we in America would consider basic human rights...