Current Events > All he had to do was not be racist.

(+) Yeah! (+)

He's been dead since Sunday and nobody bothered to tell me until today. I guess everyone thought someone else would.

The individual in question was a skinny guy, probably about 5'3". He was probably in his 60s. About a year ago, he caught a large woman robbing the food pantry at the church. Being the guy he was, he called her a slur and she knocked him out for it. He suffered a stroke immediately following and his health continued to debilitate ever since. A few months ago, he suffered a second stroke which left him unable to speak. Finally, this past weekend, he died.

It's an awkward funeral to attend. He helped my grandmother and was a friend (or at least acquaintance) of my father. He also helped out around the church. I figure that I owe it to him to be there. But this was also a guy who would walk down a hallway dropping slurs and not caring who heard them.

For what it's worth, I'm glad that he's out of his misery. I don't wish debilitating, life-altering, or communication-hindering conditions on anyone. He had some good in him, but that also depended on who you were. I can't say, "Oh, he was racist, but..." The sentence kinda ends with, "He was racist." And it got him killed.

I do think it's a little sad that the church got him off the street and indirectly got him killed. Maybe there's a lesson in it that he was given a second chance, but was cost that opportunity because he could never tried to overcome his prejudices. Though I don't think anyone who needs that lesson will ever hear or read about it.

Okay.

The lesson is that religion is a fantasy-land for hypocrites and there is no god.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Thanks. I am actually working on a novel and, incidentally, it does feature a funeral scene. I'm not proud of myself for this, but I will be taking mental notes tomorrow.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Nothing.

I am sorry you feel bad , and it is okay to feel bad for people we don't agree with. Its called empathy. You are better person for it.

This reads like a copypasta.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


As far as I know, she disappeared and hasn't been seen since. The church is in a high crime, low income area.

cjsdowg posted...

I am sorry you feel bad , and not it is okay to feel bad for people we don't agree with. Its called empathy. You are better person for it.

Thanks.

I'm back. The showing was at the church. It really turned into a church service. I got to hug a lot of people and shake a lot of hands. Different people gave their stories on the deceased.

Everyone was honest about his personality. People would say that he had a heart of gold beneath his rough exterior. They would say that he did a lot to help -- which he did. But nobody denied the fact that he could be an obstinate individual. He was always cordial with me. I think part of it was because I was his friend's son and didn't want to act up in front of "the boy."

There were a few people who were moved to tears while talking about him. My father was one of them. This, and the death of my brother are the only times in my life I've ever seen him shed tears. One thing I will say, my mother and grandmother were in agreement that the departed did more to help my grandmother than my uncle ever did. They were also the last two people to visit him on the night that he died. My grandmother prayed for him and he shed a tear. He couldn't speak anymore, but he could still listen and comprehend.