Saying Good-Bye to Tomorrow

Abstract

Saying good-bye to tomorrow connotes the lack of continuity of the present social reality for an individual or group. This chapter examines a more recent addition to the lexicon of death and dying terminology, namely multiple loss. Thus death while premature is given meaning; a vital consideration to the maintenance of social control and the continuance of risk-taking. The chapter focuses on concepts describing death and responses to loss such as PTSD to the phenomena which result in multiple deaths. It utilizes this analysis to highlight the bereavement experiences of Gay men suffering from multiple loss. Apart from cultural contact with previously unencountered sources of transmission which for the purpose of this analysis is considered a man-made disaster, albeit unintentional, other experiences such as the hantavirus outbreak which occurred principally among the Navaho in 1993 is considered an example of a natural disaster.