chapotraphouse

Westerners look down on the Romans throwing clothing and jewellery into funeral pyres, decrying how hysterical they were.

I'll be real. I've never heard anyone even utter one murmur of such acts to the point I didn't even know they did such a thing.

Generally, what few depictions of the romans that make it into the collective unconsciousness tend to be positive in wider Yankee society. Even the most common negative depictions of them are usually played off humorously, such as their aqueducts being lined with lead therefore they all suffered lead poisoning just like us! (A common 'fun' fact you'd have most likely learned - either directly or cultural osmosis - if you were among the late boomer, gen X and early millenial.)

If you're a common Yankee prole you're more likely to learn about the "barbarity" of some regional Indian funeral rites as a form of "subtle" justification for British colonization and imperial conquest of the Indian subcontinent, than you are of learning of the wanton acts of cruelty the Roman slavers inflict upon their captives.

Of course with the era of multi-media, voyeurs of Roman extravagance have an ever-overflowing troth of slop to feast from, so there's a chance that some chunk of the West is actually aware of that Roman funeral act. But being honest they're probably in some form of perverted pleasure over that knowledge and posses a twisted reactionary desire to bring it back.