There But For The Grace of God, Go I

Just a few thoughts on what life is like for my colleague Bill here at BU. I have noticed a number of RWNJ’s on the right making fun of Bill’s condition and the fact that he tells people that he has Parkinson’s and mobility issues. Let me just say this to those who would make light of Bill’s conditions. You are in sore need of an understanding about There, but for the grace of God go I. You are much like the bullies in the sandbox in kinder care making fun of the so called “retarded kid” or the kid who stutters. You are in sore need of an education that people like Bill suffer daily with a disease or a condition which makes his life an exercise in futility. I can half imagine what it would be like to wake up and have to deal with Bill’s issues. I know that for me it would be a nightmare. I know that if I had to suffer daily and nightly with a condition that ravages the body like what Bill has to deal with, I know I would question whether life was worth living or not. You see Bill’s only hope is that they find a cure for his condition, and that they find it sooner rather than later. But that is all Bill really has, hope. And as we all know hope like that is a hard thing to live for.

I note that a number of people in this scene like Robert Stacy McCain and Ali Akbar and even Patrick Frey have had their fun with Bill and his condition. I would remind them of the saying: there, but for the grace of God go I. Yes, be careful what you make fun of because that just might befall you, and if it does, it can be much worse for you than what or who you made fun of. Think of it this way, McCain is getting on in age, and with his numerous pack a day smoking habit one would figure that sooner rather than later McCain will probably suffer from Lung Cancer, which in and of itself squeezes the breath out of you slowly. Its a very slow and painful death too. I know, I have seen it up close and personal. Of course McCain probably thinks that at his age he will go fast instead of slow. My thinking is that the more bad karma he brings to the table by bullying people with diseases the worse it will be for him. You see its that way in life for a reason. And since none of us gets out of here alive, we each have a path to death that we must go through before we get to exit it. Each of us has to go through the process of being born and living and then dying. The dying part is one of the harder things we have to endure. Some of us get lucky and get paroled out of life real easy or quick. Some have it happen in their sleep and never know it. Some of us though have to go the slow way, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason for it. In the case of Bill he has been made to suffer the tortures of the damned before he leaves. In the case of Andrew Breitbart he got lucky and went fast, but probably not the way he wanted to go. In the case of those who sit back every day and make fun of those with cancer or terrible diseases, well, all I can say is make fun while you can, but remember it could happen to you, and when it does the same treatment or worse might just befall you.

Yes, it pisses me off to see that Bill has to endure such a terrible fate, for he is a very good man indeed. The great part of Bill is that he has humor in his struggles. I know if it was me with his condition I would be a mean bastard who had nothing but hate for what befell me in life. I could hardly find humor over having to endure such an existence. I know that my life has been a tough one with various medical issues throughout it. And each time I have ended up hospitalized or with something that hit me over the head that I had to deal with medically  I hated it. I hated everything to do with it. I hated hospitals, I hated doctors, I hated incompetence in the medical field, I hated my paranoia over not getting quality or at least decent medical treatment. Matter of fact I hated the entire medical process itself. Yet, Bill deals with that every day of his life come rain sleet shine or snow. Imagine your life having to deal with something you didn’t want to deal with but were forced to? Then imagine people making fun of what you live with? What kind of person does that and has any self respect?

All I can say to those who make fun of Bill or his life or his need to tell people that he has a disease or a medical condition is this: Be careful what you make light of, for life has a very interesting way of dealing with those who are like that. When you are young and full of life it is very easy to think that nothing can happen to you, but life isn’t really like that. We are all targets for the higher power in life, and no matter what you believe in, be it the fates, God, Allah, or Buddha or whomever, know that life can be cruel, and it can turn on a dime. Young, old, newborn or near death, life can deal you a hand that at times you will be hard pressed to deal with. I guess one can only pray that it won’t happen to him or her.

To those who are having a good time making fun of Bill I say this: Be careful what you make fun of, for it just might happen to you…