Savages.
I can't imagine the gut punch Susan from 29 must've felt as Republican audience assholes cheered the death of her brother as the GOP candidates stood mute on stage. It was one of those moments that revealed just how putrid the conservative movement had become, how sick and corrupt to its very core.
Susan did her best to describe her feelings in this powerful diary.
That was my brother's death you were cheering, you a$$holes
[...] I was holding his hand as he drew his last breath. Have you ever seen a man die, you bastards? His fingertips turn grey, his breathing becomes shallow. His grip weakens. And he simply stops breathing.
And all of the laughter and love goes away with that last breath. The intelligence, the creative beauty, the caring compassion. They all disappear. But that probably wouldn’t matter to you since I doubt you would recognize any of it.
Love, compassion, beauty. Laughter, intelligence. And the ability to realize a dream. A dream that never included cruelty or indifference to the suffering of others.
And I cannot, for the life of me fathom why he is only ashes today and you are walking this earth.
But then, I am not the hero my brother was. He would have forgiven you. He would have understood the source of your fear that caused those cheers. I don’t want to.
I think you are scum.
I don't remember another diary being recommended as much as this one. It received 8,000 Facebook likes, 3,000 Tweets, and 15,000 other social networking shares of various stripes. It was on the rec list for four days, which is a stunning accomplishment given an algorithm that is supposed to push off any diaries older than 24 hours.
And now, MoveOn has followed up with a video of Susan herself, talking on camera about this ordeal—her spoken words as moving as her written ones:
For all the hysteria over "death panels", it is Republican policies that kill people, and Susan's story is vividly (and painfully) educating thousands as it spreads virally around the country.