Last night was cold. The thermostat in this place is broken. I need to talk to my friend about my living arrangements ASAP so I know if I'm moving out this week or the next. but there was something I wanted to say while I could remember it. A couple things actually.
A friend of a friend reached out to me a while ago. I've been revisiting old posts from a friend (may as well say it that friend was Liz. I won't name the other friend for now, IDK if she would want me dropping her name...), and so I looked into her profile and noticed that there was something she had posted on Rememberance Day. It was made in honor of those who had been marginalized by the drug war, much like Liz was. IDK where I was at the time but I feel awful that I didn't make a contribution. Maybe I can this year? IDK if this is a yearly thing or not but if I get the chance to, I will. I should, for her sake, and the sake of her friends who are doing what they can to honor her memory.
Not long ago I watched an episode of the Simpsons called "Round Springfield", and that was pretty much the premise of the episode was keeping the memory of a loved one alive. To give a short synopsis, Bart gets hosptialized after swalling a jagged metal Krusty-O, during the Simpsons' trip to the hospital Lisa meets her hero, Bleeding Gums Murphy who is staying at the hospital. Well, after giving his life story and a heartfelt rendition of Carol King's "Jazzman", Lisa goes on to save a school performance from her music class. She goes back to see Bleeding Gums Murphy but he had already passed on quietly. Nobody really knew him that well but he had this album, Sax on the Beach. Lisa had tried to obtain a copy to give to a small radio station so that the residents of Springfield would know the legacy he left behind. During the B-Plot Bart gets a hefty sum of money and gives up something he wants from the Android's Dungeon for a copy of the album and gives it to Lisa so that she can donate it to the radio station. It's small and you wouldn't think it would reach very far but then by some miracle lighting strikes the station and all the residents of Springfield hears his music. Well, Murphy appears in the clouds one last time, and they play "Jazzman" from the top one more time before he says goodbye. It's one of the most heartfelt and beautiful farewells to an established character.
I can't stop thinking about that, and out of all the loved ones I had lost, Liz's passing hit me the hardest. I actually went off on people and may have alienated a few people I cared about... It was ugly. I've calmed down a lot since then but the wounds are still there. But I want to do my part to keep her memory alive, but some of her closest friends have been doing a better job than I have. It's given me pause to think that I should stop feeling sorry for myself and do something to honor her, maybe try finding ways to get involved in activism like she did. That was one of the biggest things I admired about her, she got involved with stuff like Food Not Bombs, and I even discovered Alternet.org thanks to her. I had heard of Adbusters in college and that's something I've talked about with her too, but maybe it's time to stop with the "what ifs" and actually do something. Let it be peaceful protests though, the insurrection led by Donald Trump was completely misguided. Like Hell he's not involved... But this is a tangent off the one talking points I wanted to get off my chest.
Well my earlier post I mentioned there's good and bad in all groups. I mean I could include users, activists, and a bunch of other groups in that category. I wanted to get involved with Occupy Wall Street back when that was a thing (funny I should mention this with the whole Wallstreet Bets thing going on now, these Hedge Fund billionaires are a bunch of asshats honestly), but I should make it a point to say that to marginalize a group of people by making them criminals is far worse.
I want to take a moment to bring up a situation that happened with a friend of my father's. I guess my dad shunned a friend of his for a while because he was using, IDR who it was but I think I remember him being a good man. Well gven what I know now I think he was an asshole for doing that. It's hard enough when these people may not have a support group, so I want people to think, REALLY think on this question... When someone who needs help is treated like a criminal, who do they have to turn to?
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