The letter sent by residents who live near the memorial. Source: Reddit“It has been five years, get on with your life. We are tired of sharing your pain.”
A group of anonymous residents have sent a grieving family a letter shaming them for burdening the neighbourhood “with your makeshift memorial in our backyard”.
“It is downright despicable to remember your loved one this way,” the letter, which has been shared on Reddit, said.
“If you can’t afford a proper memorial in a proper place then go on the internet and set up a ‘go-fund-me’ page and ask for donations.
“It has been five years, get on with your life. We are tired of sharing your pain.”
"How could anyone have a problem with that?"
What makes the terrible letter even more dumbfounding is the fact that the memorial is nothing more than a simple cross.
“His cross is way back in the woods where the tree line is.. it’s not even in the way of anything,” a relative of the child said.
“Man, how could anyone have a problem with that?” a man said.
“Some people are wretchedly heartless.
“If it is the body of the child propped up by stakes with voodoo dolls around it, then that would change the situation,” another added.
"I've seen so many of these memorials"
There were others who thought the letter was out of line, regardless of what the memorial looked like.
“I've seen so many of these memorials everywhere I drive and even on my street," one woman said.
"Never once did I think 'I don't want to see that’.
“I stop for a moment and think briefly 'how sad someone lost a life here' and move on.
"I can't imagine lacking so much empathy that you get to this point of nastiness.”
“I think it's a cold reminder of safe driving be it speed, distraction, or impairment,” another user added.
“I'm not religious, but I don’t mind them.”
“That’s what cemeteries are for"
However, some people felt the memorial was out of place in a residential area.
“If everyone put up memorials for their loved ones where they died every year we'd be tripping over this s**t constantly,” one man said.
“Leaving trash in my neighbourhood that the rest of us have to clean up is not an appropriate memorial for your child,” another added.
“Roadside memorials should be illegal,” one man said.
“I don't understand the need people have for these things at the actual site of the tragedy. That’s what cemeteries are for.”
“Most people don’t like to live surrounded by death or reminders of death, but do like to remember the dead, it’s why we have cemeteries and picture frames,” one said.
