Speaking ill of the dead and their grieving relatives is something that those of us with any social graces tend to avoid. We take the higher road out of respect for those who have passed, no matter how much we may have disliked them or how vile they may have been, primarily because they no longer are able to defend themselves, at least in public. Of course, it is doubtful that little good was said following the passing of the likes of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin or others of their ilk.