General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTruthout.org Eulogy for William Rivers Pitt written by his co-editor
https://truthout.org/articles/william-rivers-pitt-dared-to-hope-for-our-future-lets-do-right-by-his-memory/?fbclid=IwAR0XlgqxlfnqiMpXt_rkULvlnIg0ZP-9A2m7friu0sU9LefvDnplj6W541EI dont know how to begin your eulogy, I would say.
Easy! hed reply. Lead with a trusty classic. You know the one.
And Id know what he meant the Irish blessing Will often shared with our staff in tough times. This is Wills slightly adapted version of that old prayer, whose author is unknown:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
May the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God (or Whatever) hold you in the palm of their hand.
I love the blessing because it captures something about how Will connected with his readers: He saw the act of writing as an act of care. In his columns, even as he condemned Trump and excoriated complicit Democrats, even as he spoke out against imperial war and corporate greed and racism and the destruction of the environment, he made his audience understand that they deserved the warmth of the sun and the nourishment of the rain, just by virtue of being human.
Even as he raged against evil, Will loved humanity, and the Earth itself, with an even greater fervor.
More of this eulogy at the website link above.

Aristus
(69,015 posts)I hadn't cried since I heard the news, but I'm tearing up now.
As a Celt (mixed Welsh, Irish, & Scots blood), the Irish benediction has always meant a lot to me, and they even used to sing it in church when I was a kid. So...
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, still more wonderful, and yet again: wonderful...
I'm going to go cry now...
COL Mustard
(7,166 posts)Half an hour before the Devil knows you're dead.
Slainte!
Aristus
(69,015 posts)Either way, if there's no whiskey, I'm not going; Devil or no Devil.
Celerity
(47,801 posts)
Tasting notes
Nose
An abundance of earthy aromas, leather, tobacco with layers of charred wood, dark chocolate and treacle toffee.
Taste
Full bodied spice front followed by vanilla, honey and dried apricot.
Finish
Lingering honey sweetness on toasted oak.

Aristus
(69,015 posts)
Pinback
(12,968 posts)because youre a long time dead!
COL Mustard
(7,166 posts)And the Guinness doesn't hurt, either.
Irish women used to be told to drink a pint a day while they were pregnant since it has iron in it. Gotta love the Irish!
hlthe2b
(107,722 posts)Lucinda
(31,170 posts)

FarPoint
(13,817 posts)












The Blue Flower
(5,692 posts)He always made it crystal clear that we deserve goodness, truth, and justice from our government and every other institution.
TheProle
(3,232 posts)H2O Man
(76,136 posts)Recommended.
demmiblue
(37,997 posts)
Autumn
(47,211 posts)Such a loss.
Tom Yossarian Joad
(19,275 posts)
dalton99a
(86,136 posts)nolabear
(43,425 posts)Nevilledog
(53,510 posts)senseandsensibility
(20,788 posts)and is a beautiful tribute. I guess I'm going to have to accept that it is true, then. Good-bye, Will. Thanks for turning me on to DU and giving me lots to think about, my friend. to a life well lived.
Evolve Dammit
(19,800 posts)was even sick. Used to read Truthout every day. Kept me sane during the Bush/ Cheney years and after. He will be truly missed, and I am saddened to hear.
tavalon
(27,985 posts)He had a massive heart attack.
Evolve Dammit
(19,800 posts)
UpInArms
(52,062 posts)and it has become a smaller and less bright place
mntleo2
(2,580 posts)...He was single at the time. After the wake, we went drinking at this fancy hotel across from Seattle's Town Hall. Andy's partner was there, Will, Andy's so very nice husband, Julie Blackwell who was pilloried as our voter registration secretary while trying to fight against voting machines that could be hacked. WA State eventually (mostly) fixed that problem, but not before ruining Julie's job and her hard work. Julie WAS a Repug., but is a Democrat and active in our state party.
We all had so much fun that night. I have *never* been at a wake that was so joyous, funny, fun and full of positive and loving people. As it was a fancy hotel where a lot of weddings and receptions were performed, there were a lot of beautiful brides maids going through the hotel and I kept elbowing Will and saying, "How 'bout that one?" He would just laugh and say they were, "not his type."
...Will, I will miss you. I also read your words and because we are a pretty large distance to the left, I found it comforting to read what you had to say. No judgment, no fear I might "say something wrong." Even if you disagreed you responded with kind and very helpful information that I truly heard with a desire to have open conversations. I never felt strained by that fear I might get kicked off the site without knowing what I had even said or done. I will always remember that!
May the wind be at your back indeed!
Love, Cat in Seattle
Generic Other
(29,019 posts)Here's the song another DUer sang at the memorial. I always associated it with us all.
Peace in the Valley
She spends too much time with herself every night
Fooling around with her fears.
In the morning she mourns the decline of her mind
Drowning in a bottle of beer.
It's too dangerous just to think about what she might
have been
If she'd sung for salvation, if she'd danced on her
dreams.
But there's gonna be peace in the valley tomorrow
Lord, 'cos tonight she's gonna blow it all away
She feels so twisted, she ain't ever gonna fix it,
She's just waiting for the light to shine on a brand
new day.
He don't know if he's a communist, a hedonist or a
whore
Spent too much time ridin' on a white line to find the
door
If he did and he opened it, he'd find those letters in
the hall
He's too blind to read between the lines
'Cos the writing's on the wall.
But there's gonna be peace in the valley tomorrow
Lord, 'cos tonight he's gonna blow it all away
He feels so twisted, he ain't ever gonna fix it,
He's just waiting for the light to shine on a brand new
day.
(Let that light shine awhile)
I got Ecstasy, but I need some company
You got that mystery; I need a plan
Lord, all I got is a compromise and a bag full of
alibis
as empty as the bottle of whiskey in my shaking hands.
But there's gonna be peace in the valley tomorrow
Lord, 'cos tonight we're gonna blow it all away
We feel so f*ckin' twisted, we ain't ever gonna fix it,
We're just waiting for the light to shine on a brand
new day.
Tommymac
(7,334 posts)You will be missed.
(But I thoroughly expect to see you again one day, kneeling at the feet of the BigThing and holding them sturdily over the flames.)
LoisB
(9,351 posts)mountain grammy
(27,501 posts)I read Truthout almost daily. It's like losing Eric Boehlert all over again. Truth has been silenced for a bit, but not forever. What a shitty year.
RIP Will. Even though I don't believe in it, I hope you and Eric connect somewhere.
GreenWave
(10,034 posts)I just look around and he's gone.
SaveOurDemocracy
(4,478 posts)
hlthe2b
(107,722 posts)When she returns, I hope she sees the support that I think most of us want to extend to her and all of Will's family. I'm sure a lot of our own are donating to Will's daughter's gofundme that Truthout set up.
Baltimike
(4,441 posts)hlthe2b
(107,722 posts)Even the funeral home has not published any kind of obituary or news on funeral plans.
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/keene-nh/william-pitt-10945504?fbclid=IwAR1TpEb0_mjBuWRVgjD9Z1rqkJ7DvpxPZQQf5M1CVuZnTTzTKq8cseXQUgA
Baltimike
(4,441 posts)Ms. Toad
(35,858 posts)since it increases the risk of heart attacks, post-COVID.
tavalon
(27,985 posts)He was rare in being so careful.
I had so much gratitude that he wrote so many articles about COVID since we nurses are exhausted and now, weirdly, reviled.
Ms. Toad
(35,858 posts)COVID, itself, was mild - but I got pancreatitis, chronic acalculous cholecystitis (likely a mis-diagnosis based on the clinical criteria for that disease - but slow gall bladder emptying simultaneous with the pancreatitis, both caused by COVID in the assessment of a specialist in gall bladder and pancreatic disease), and immune deficiencies as an aftermath.
So being careful is not a guarantee against getting COVID, nor is it protection against COVID-induced sequelae.
tavalon
(27,985 posts)I am aware. Will checked in on me when I got it in April 2020 due to inadequate PPE provided. He would have told me if he caught it.
Ms. Toad
(35,858 posts)LeftInTX
(32,130 posts)Obituary was published on July 17th
It also alot of work to write an obituary.
wendyb-NC
(3,985 posts)What a sad, shocking, and heart breaking loss. May he R.I.P.
TigressDem
(5,126 posts)Angel in the sense that his good ideas and kindness are an inspiration.
His truth telling was revelation upon revelation stacking up facts against crazy over and over again.
By looking at our examples of those who just kept at it day to day and made a huge difference over time....
We can find it in ourselves to keep putting one foot in front of the other and doing what needs doing.
He wasn't perfect, no one is. But perfection isn't real. Will kept at it and made so much of difference.
That is all any person can really do in the end.
I have been so sad all day about the loss of this good man from this world.
Because the media is a crap shoot, more people who SHOULD be saddened don't even know what they missed.
I hate the propaganda and lies that diminish what Will and other truth tellers do.
calimary
(85,133 posts)Thank you for all the eloquence.
Donkees
(32,604 posts)
"The rivers flow not past, but through us."
hlthe2b
(107,722 posts)gademocrat7
(11,290 posts)A good man who had a talent for life.
The Wizard
(13,045 posts)felt the pulse of our community. Universal truths were his method of communicating. RIP Will.
mahina
(19,378 posts)Wretched news. Peace to you Will. You leave an unfillable and dreadful void. We needed you more than we know.
Remember watching the Bush v Gore debate and rolling with laughter. 💧
Off to Lolas fundraiser. Remembering when you were thinking of names for her.
Pobeka
(4,999 posts)We all surely fight harder, better and stronger for a truly better world because of the passion and voice of William R. Pitt.
Sail on Will.
tavalon
(27,985 posts)Ended up hanging out on Will's FB page for the last 10 years or so.
One of the people has formed a new Facebook group called Will's Tavern and you are welcome to come over and reminisce and we are hoping we will be able to keep up the energy we had going on Will's page - it really was more like early DU, only Will was in charge.
progree
(11,542 posts)hlthe2b
(107,722 posts)I've always loved that song (and Stevie Nicks as well), but as I become older, it really hits home. I will now always think of Will-- and others I've lost-- when I hear it.