I saw the report of this the day it happened, but had no Internet access then or since.  I rarely cry these days (too much that’s bad has happened, and if I start, I won’t stop) but I cried for Steve.  And for Jen, and for his family, and for all of us - for the loss of a good man.  [And if you feel the need to give something tangible, a fund’s been set up here to help his family with funeral expenses.]

Unlike a lot of liberal bloggers, I never met Steve in person.  But I’ve been reading him since long before he launched The News Blog, when he was Markos’s only co-blogger at the then-still-mostly-unknown Daily Kos.  (I mean mostly unknown to the country as a whole, not to the blogosphere.)  In 2003, I was privileged to work with Steve at Open Source Politics, the now-defunct group blog launched by one of my favorite progressive bloggers, Kevin Hayden.

Steve had an incredible knowledge base, a singular writing style, a commitment to progressive politics, empathy for the underdog, and instincts of an old-fashioned street fighter - and I loved him for it.  I didn’t always agree with him - God knows there were times when he pissed me off thoroughly.  But even then, I could always respect his views, because they always stemmed from thoughtful and principled differences.  But probably 90% of the time, I found myself saying "Yes!" out loud in response to his posts.  He was a true believer, and he wasn’t afraid to fight for it - and we’re all poorer for his loss.

That’s why this sent me into a frothing rage.  (Sorry; not linking to the original.  You can grasp the gist of it from Gav’s very apt response.  Suffice to say that if ever there were someone to whom the phrase "House Negro and all[-]around bigot" does not apply, it’s Steve.)  In Gav’s words, who the fuck do these right-wing assholes think they are?  They’re not worthy to use Steve’s name in a post.  This is the mentality of these "people," folks - straight up and down the line.  They’re racists, misogynists, bigots of every stripe; they’re anti-intellectual, irrational, authoritarian; they’re paranoid, insecure, psychopathic shitheels who deserve no quarter - NO QUARTER - from us.  And you know as well as I do that Steve would’ve given them none.  And so, in his memory, it’s up to us to do the same.

I don’t know what - if any - Steve’s spiritual beliefs were.  Steve’s loved ones will undoubtedly celebrate his life according to those beliefs.  But I feel the need to make some gesture - recognizing who Steve was and what he gave to the world.  To do that, I’m going to have to fall back on my own spiritual traditions.

Shinob death ceremonies vary among regions and bands, but generally speaking, they last four days.  In describing death, we tend to say that someone has "walked on" (as is common among many tribes), or, more specifically, that someone is "walking the western road" on that four-day journey.  In part, it comes from the Shinob symbolism associated with the four sacred directions.  These are represented on our medicine wheels, in white, yellow, red, and black.  We begin at the top of the wheel, or North, which is white (the color of birth); grow into youth to the East (or right), represented by yellow; progress to adulthood to the South (at the bottom of the wheel, which is red); and finally, move into the end of life, to the west (or left), signified by black.   At this point, we’ve come full circle, and returned to that point we occupied at the moment of birth, when we were one with that which is universal and divine.

We also sing the person on his or her journey.  In fact, one of the blessings, or prayers, says: 

We are born into this world with song, and we leave it with song. 

It’s a beautiful envisioning of our entrance to and exit from this life. 

The singing begins even before the end comes - in some regions, the person’s loved ones may sing:

You are a spirit
I am making you a spirit
In the place where I sit
I am making you a spirit. 

[Ed note:  Apologies for rendering these songs in English, but my Anishinaabemowin is abysmal - one of the hazards of trying to learn your grandparents’ language in middle age.]

In addition to songs, we offer other items our loved one will need for the journey - particularly asemaa, or tobacco.  In some bands, those in mourning cut their hair; typically, the survivors give away their loved one’s most personal possessions to those who most need them or can best use them.  And to encourage their loved one to persevere on the journey, to make it all the way to that divine point, they may sing:

Let not the things of the earth that delighted you cause you to linger.
Do not allow the things of the earth that troubled you to hinder you now.
Now we release you, for it is true that it is no longer possible
For us to walk about together on the earth.
In Beauty’s Way, it is done.

[Translation by Gabriel Horn.]

Obviously, by our reckoning, Steve finished walking the western road a few days ago.  I couldn’t sing him on his journey then.  So instead, this site’s background will be black for the next four days:  not because black is the color of the usual American methods of mourning, but as a symbol of the direction where Steve’s spirit has gone to rest.

And, Steve, now that you’re there:  We miss you.  Every now and then, send us some of your wit, your wisdom, your strength to carry on the fight.  Someday we’ll see you there.