ok here’s that tl;dr I wrote about death to the asker I got

[[the question was how I could view pictures of gore and death without the strong emotional reaction that most people get from it]]

Well, I never claimed to be without empathy. I do feel for these people that I see. If something ever happened to one of my loved ones I would probably react like anyone else.

It’s easier really, for everyone, to feel detachment from people they do not know. You hear about someone’s horrible death in the news? You don’t mourn that person for months on end, you hear about it, think “gosh that’s terrible” and move on.

Viewing gore and trauma causes an instinctual gut reaction. Because we are so afraid of our own demise, and the demise of our loved ones, it’s hard to view others in injured states.

But to feel emotionally involved with every single person you hear has died or see die is mentally impossible for a person.

So if someone can view gore and not have any strong emotional reaction to it doesn’t make them a bad person. Once you’ve seen enough gore and death, you become desensitized and no longer have the gut reaction to it.

I’ve simply seen so much gore and death that I’ve become desensitized. I’ve also overcome my monkey-brain’s reaction to be repulsed by it. I now think death and gore is beautiful.

I don’t think violence is beautiful, though. Of course not. But even if there was peace on earth, there would still be horrific deaths. Because death is inescapeable.

Death is a constant part of life of every living creature on earth. You cannot escape your eventual death. I don’t think it’s something to be afraid of, or something to be ashamed of.

Throughout human history Death has been celebrated in culture. It still is today in many places.

Gore, on the other hand, on living people, is a beautiful and wonderful symbol of life. Get a giant gash on your arm? It’ll heal, eventually. Because the body is wonderful. Get your leg mangled in a car accident? You’ll have it removed, but most people go on living their life. 

To be physically wounded and to recover is simply the poetry of being alive. It is a celebration of your life. It is a way of telling yourself “hey, I’m still a living, breathing creature, and I can recover.”

So basically, what I’m saying is: Gore and death are an inescapable part of life and we only fear them because of our gut, monkey-brained reaction to it. Everyone dies. I look at pictures of the dead to remind myself that I am, indeed, alive, and one day, I too will rot, like the men and woman I am viewing.

And I think that my eventual death is one of the things that makes life beautiful.