Life is a precious thing. We lose sight of that frequently and we figure that it is our due. We only realize that it is in fact a gift when we see others lose the gift of their lives suddenly. Today Eric Boehlert died at the age of 57.
This thread will give you a glimpse of who he was. I first became aware of him a few years ago when Twitter wanted to shut down a piece he wrote on the Ku Klux Klan because of the picture he used and he had to do battle with them saying that he could hardly file a news story on the group without some sort of visual identifier. So he fought some of the hard fights.
Twitter, at that time, was trying to keep a lid on derogatory speech. They got on my case for publishing a photo of a MAGA with a swastika on his rather prominent belly. I responded that the photo was not photoshopped, it had been verified. Same thing, it’s hard to do a story on MAGA, or anything, if you can’t use a representative photo.
2/Eric was an amazing friend. He fought to rescue journalism and democracy, which need saving. Worked at Rolling Stone, Billboard, founded Media Matters and Salon, Pressrun on Substack. Brutal to bad media on twitter, sweetest guy in real life
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) April 6, 2022
4/We all hurt inside for Tracy, Ben, Jane and anyone who loves democracy and journalism. Pressrun is not dead. Eric’s friends will make sure this important part of his legacy Carrie’s on. Quoting Eric: “Stay healthy. Be Kind”
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) April 6, 2022
This puts me in mind of a similar situation a few years back. Do any of the people here who also read Daily Kos remember Keith Pickering? He was a prolific community writer there back in the day. He and his wife were both killed one night in a car crash.
Same thing, I read a lot of Keith’s work. He was here one day, gone the next.
Enjoy the fact that you are alive today. You have the gift of life. Use it well and never take it for granted. You don’t know how long your journey in this life is. It can be over in the blink of an eye.
