Yesterday, two men died and another was injured trying to defend fellow Americans against hate.
The man who killed them may or may not have been mentally ill but he had certainly been infected by hate and when told that he was superior to other humans and he believed it. Why he believed it really doesn’t matter. We see it all around us. We see it in the White House and in Congress. It is an illness in our national psyche that has once again taken root and assumed power. The Portland incident isn’t the first time it has killed this week.
But, in Portland, a few good people stood up.
They deserve to be remembered an honored as examples of the best of us.
Because they exemplified the best of us.
America is under assault but it is still great because it is filled with great people who believe in right vs wrong. People who are determined to stand up for right vs wrong.
That determination, and its evolution, is what built this nation. A nation that has stood as an aspirational example for people the world over.
There are more of us then there are of them. It has always been that way.
Let us honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for what it means to be a good human being.
Ricky John Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, we live in dark times but you showed us light. May you be remembered and emulated for your sacrifice. Rest in peace.
KATU News spoke with Myrddin's aunt Saturday morning. In tears, she released the following statement to us:
“Taliesin gave his life to protect two teenage girls who were being abused. I was on the phone when it happened and I heard the hate speech from a white supremacist. I told him to get off the phone with me and videotape what was happening so he could send it to police. I didn’t mean for him to try to be a hero and get himself killed but he was trying to protect those two teenage girls. Taliesin was huge, just look at him, his soul didn’t even fit in his body, so much love. Stop the hate, that is the message, stop the hate. He had his whole life in front of him.”