1 Year After William Rivers Pitt's Death, Let's Recommit to Collective Survival

[quaint]

https://truthout.org/articles/1-year-after-william-rivers-pitts-death-lets-recommit-to-collective-survival/
As Truthout’s beloved columnist taught us before his death, collective grief can nourish long-term growth and healing.
By Maya Schenwar , TRUTHOUT Published September 26, 2023

As COVID infections rose again in the waning days of summer, I couldn’t stop thinking about William Rivers Pitt, Truthout’s lead columnist of two decades, who died tragically a year ago today [9/26].

Will would not stop writing about COVID. He wouldn’t stop writing about it even after a couple of years had passed, when pandemic fatigue was pervasive and Will’s COVID stories drew fewer readers than his pieces on any other topic. It wasn’t that Will didn’t care about how many people read his stories. It was that when it came to the pandemic, Will’s approach was, “If they don’t want to hear, they need to hear.” Will knew that writing can save lives, and told me once that if he stopped writing about COVID, he’d be violating his own authorial version of the Hippocratic oath to “do no harm.”

Will gave voice to our collective grief — both our bottomless grief over the millions of people lost to COVID, and also our grief about the rearrangement and limitations of our lives at the time, particularly for those with heightened vulnerability to the virus. He wrote:

I walk the evening streets of my little town, passing empty taverns with “Open” signs feebly lit beside the door, and recall a thousand nights inside such places, the air so warm and moist my glasses would fog as I shouldered my way to the bar. The urge to find that scene again is almost overwhelming, but I leave it be, because I wish to be, and specifically to be the difference between “is” and “was.”



Will gave voice to our collective grief — both our bottomless grief over the millions of people lost to COVID, and also our grief about the rearrangement and limitations of our lives at the time, particularly for those with heightened vulnerability to the virus. He wrote:

I walk the evening streets of my little town, passing empty taverns with “Open” signs feebly lit beside the door, and recall a thousand nights inside such places, the air so warm and moist my glasses would fog as I shouldered my way to the bar. The urge to find that scene again is almost overwhelming, but I leave it be, because I wish to be, and specifically to be the difference between “is” and “was.”

Heavy sigh. More at link.

[marble falls]

1. I've missed his voice here.

[peacefreak2.0]

2. I remember how fiery he was in the early days here.

Blessings to his mother, Raven.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. I miss his writings. I rarely go to "Truthout" these days, when I used to read it daily.

[Sky Jewels]

4. I worry about his daughter.

I think she is about 10. She lost her father at such a young age, and they were very close.

[Skittles]

15. William's mum is on DU

I hope she and her granddaughter are doing well.

[Sky Jewels]

16. I do too!

[appalachiablue]

5. Thanks for posting, he was an excellent, dedicated contributor. Big loss.

[MiHale]

6. Great writer ...first person here...

To say”Hi” to me on a post.. gave me good pointers on getting around at DU.

🥲

[AmBlue]

7. .

[DinahMoeHum]

8. His essay here in February 2002 brought me to DU. . .

. . .in the aftermath of 9/11. . .and I've been here ever since.

I looked at him as a 21st century Thomas Paine.


https://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/02/p/02_ground.html

[calimary]

9. This was a good one.

Sheesh - it’s been a year already…

[quaint]

10. Thank you.

Rec!

[Hekate]

13. My gods, that man could write. RIP, Will

[Solly Mack]

11. ...

[Skittles]

12. I still send a DU heart to William every year

been doing that for all the February fundraisers

[Hekate]

14. 💔