est. 2007

Barbados Underground

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How to Die

Submitted by Charles Knighton Having recently returned to Barbados, I am unaware if the recent passing of Oliver Sacks occasioned any comment in the local press. Dr. Sacks was a writer of remarkable skill, able to deftly explain the profound […] with easily understood prose. Those unfamiliar with his work should […]take the opportunity provided…

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Submitted by Charles Knighton

GhandiHaving recently returned to Barbados, I am unaware if the recent passing of Oliver Sacks occasioned any comment in the local press. Dr. Sacks was a writer of remarkable skill, able to deftly explain the profound […]

with easily understood prose.

Those unfamiliar with his work should […]take the opportunity provided by internet connectivity to peruse his essays, particularly his last essay contemplating his impending death.

There is no shortage of advice on how to live, but precious little on how to die. It should be a topic of universal concern, but is scrupulously avoided, so fearful are we of our mortality; even the dying rarely address death directly. So it was with great admiration that I read Dr. Sacks’ essay several months ago after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer. With the attention to detail, insight and childlike wonder that marked all of his writing, Sacks confessed his sadness at leaving the party, but noted that ” my predominant feeling is one of gratitude.”

His had been a rich, deeply considered life. “Above all,” he wrote in a beautiful coda, ” I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”

I have lived long enough now to have seen a fair number of people face their deaths. There are many ways to go: with rage that this could happen to me; in silent terror and pain, clinging to life through punishing medical treatments; and with a sad but accepting equanimity. Those who enjoy life most, strangely enough, seem to let go of it with the most grace.

People like Sacks seem to intuitively understand all along that we are visitors here, passing through a great mystery. Every moment of life, including the final ones, is a gift—a chance to appreciate, grow, connect and give back. When my time comes, I fervently hope I can exit with a semblance of Sacks’ dignity and peace, and if I may be so presumptuous, I wish the same for you.

71 responses to “How to Die”

  1. ac Avatar
    ac

    Still trying to figure how the whole earth became inhabited before the flood when there is scientific and geological evidence stating that man was limited in his travel and wasostly confined to an environment to which man adapted for thousands of years
    The bible speaks of a flood that cover the earth yet there is ni scientific evidence to suggest that any form of humanan life was impacted worldwide

  2. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Hants
    You are one of the first to complain about PARENTS cutting ‘hardears’ children’s asses, and to harp about how it is not allowed in the USA….
    How long before you notice that by NOT cutting their asses at age 2, 5, 8 and 10, they wind up having to get the cops to shoot their asses at 15, 18, 20 etc?
    Wuh sweeten goat mouth…..

    @ Zoe
    Bushie, If you had any more BRAINS, you’d be a complete IDIOT!!!
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    LOL…
    According to AC and Dompey, Bushie is ALREADY a complete idiot 🙂
    …if Bushie had more brains he would be in a position to share some with Simple….
    LOL ha ha ha

  3. Zoe Avatar
    Zoe

    Once again, Facts become credible FACTS, when they are warranted to the relevant degree of certainty!

    This inverted Black Racism, is as bad as White Racism. Proof positive that SIN has NO COLOUR! It permeates the ENTIRE humane RACE; BAR NONE!!!

    The next event used by Black Hebrew Israelites is about Miriam. She also had an encounter with being turned into a leper with her skin turning white (see Numbers 12:10).

    Miriam was not a Black woman. She was not an African. She was not of the Ethiopian race or she would not have complained and objected to her younger brother marrying a Black woman. Yes, Moses married a Black woman. But this does not mean he was Black. This was a mixed marriage. The very fact Miriam made a complaint against Moses was based upon his marriage to a woman who was not his color and of his race of people. That is the whole purpose of her objections.

    Now let’s take a look at Leviticus 13:39 where leprosy among the Israelites is again addressed:

    “Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in skin; he is clean.”
    This cannot fit Black people.

    Take a look at the following verses:

    “And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.

    Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest;

    And the Priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean” (Leviticus 13:15-17).

    If the Israelites were Black people, then when his raw flesh turned again, it would be turned into Black not white. And it would be upon his skin turning back Black that the priest would declare him clean. But this is not the case here. Read the Scriptures and accept the Truth that the Israelites were not a Black people.

    It is impossible for a Black person to fit these laws of Moses concerning leprosy among the Israelites. http://www.jesus-messiah.com

  4. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Zoe
    Bushie will give you a chance to reread what you just posted…so that you can discover for yourself how stupid you sound….
    LOL
    Hopefully David will let you rub it out before it smells up the damn place…

    @ AC
    You is fambly to Simple….?

  5. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Zoe
    That childish tactic of talking about ‘leprosy’ in its present meaning, when we all know that ALL such manifestations of skin conditions were broadly referred to as ‘Leprosy’ back in biblical days may carry sway with Simple and AC … but shiite man … the rest of us can read…

    Albinism is where you need to focus your defence skippa… melanin…

    Black skin is black as a result of the mixing of all three basic colours together to produce black. All colour types can be derived from black… while white is the ABSENCE of colour due usually to a LACK of melanin, and is practically identical to albinism.

  6. Zoe Avatar
    Zoe

    @ Bush Tea,

    “…at least we know where the ‘white’ came from….. 🙂
    Unless you are saying that the bible talking shiite…. ???!!!”

    No Bushie, its YOU, the Bushiete, that talking Bovine Excrement, NUFF, NUFF of IT too; you have become the NO. 1 Bilge-Pumping hogwash dispenser here on BU re PERVERSION of Bible TRUTH!!!

    But, then again, any mortal man, that would DECLARE, as YOU DID, “…I WILL BE GOD…”

    Anything is possible from such a demented one, as YOU!!! 🙂

  7. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ Bush Tea, “You are one of the first to complain about PARENTS cutting ‘hardears’ children’s asses, and to harp about how it is not allowed in the USA…”

    Don’t lie Bushie. I never wrote that but I don’t support the “beat them into submission” that you seem to favour.

    Take a good look at the video again and tell us what you would do if it was your daughter.

  8. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Hants
    Listen Boss… Bushie NEVER said a word about beating into submission…
    It was about bringing up a child in the way that it SHOULD GROW….

    Why do you think a teacher had to call a cop for this teenage girl?
    THERE IS NO WAY ON HELL that Bushie could EVER have such a daughter…. NONE!

    But to answer your question, in the ZERO percent possibility that she was a young Bushette, then the bushman would apologise to the Cop, her class mates, the school and the damn country …. and make bad things right….

  9. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Zoe
    LOL
    We all know that when your exegeses have been found wanting…
    You are reduced to abusing a humble bushman….

  10. lawson Avatar
    lawson

    you are showing your age,I can remember knowing if I was disrespectful after the cop kicked my ass my dad was waiting for his turn for me embarrassing the family…those days are gone. Maybe some children need to be home schooled if the teachers cant reason with them and have to bring in the heavy guns. The principal at my school was a golden gloves boxer priest, nobody talked back. anyways what is the fuss about I thought midget bowling was legal in the 50 states and australia

  11. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    @Bush Tea October 27, 2015 at 9:45 AM #

    Black skin is black as a result of the mixing of all three basic colours together to produce black. All colour types can be derived from black… while white is the ABSENCE of colour due usually to a LACK of melanin, and is practically identical to albinism.
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

    Chuckle…… Bushie…..ah dat you pun melanin……wuhloss…….even hard ears can learn.

  12. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Lawson
    Skippa, midget tossing has been legal for your folks for centuries now… once the midget is black….
    Good manners and BASIC respect for authority is timeless. What has changed is that modern parents have no damn pride in themselves, their family NAME, or in any family VALUES…… so any shiite goes…
    Whether the cop is uncouth, overly aggressive or downright racist is an altogether OTHER matter. The POINT is that no teenager in a school should be so disrespectful of authority….

    Some teens tried that shiite with a bushman once and a bear came out of nowhere and ate their donkeys yuh…. Ask Zoe…. LOL 🙂

  13. Dompey Avatar
    Dompey

    Lawson

    We can agree on the fact that this teenage school girl was being defiant to the teachers, but does her defiance justify the way in which this law enforcement office has manhandled her?

    It is clear from the vedio footage that the law enforcement office displayed unwarranted force to deal with this fragile teenage student, who showed no outward signs aggression to the students, teachers, and the principal as the footage has shown.

    Now, as this case move forward the facts should shed greater light on the reason or reasons why this young female student was being defiant towards authority.

  14. lawson Avatar
    lawson

    Fragile…fragile???? that’s the problem people putting their own spin. No-one applauded more when that mother went after her daughter with a 2 by 4 when she was disrespecting her. This is the new world we live in it is easier to send your kids out in the world to cause shit and hope for a big pay day than jump in front of a car.
    BT nonsense black midgets are not used bowling because they slow the game down.

  15. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ lawson
    …touché … 🙂
    Valid point.

  16. Dompey Avatar
    Dompey

    Lawson

    I know you have heard the story of the man who wanted so badly to be the hangman, until his own son was sentenced to be hung.

    The moral of the story this is: had this been your teenage daughter being manhandled by this grown man you was have gone buckwild.

    Nevertheless, one thing is clear regarding this incident and that is, we are not fully aware of all of the details leading up to this incident, but the incident in my estimation could have been handle much more differently.

    Why didn’t the school call upon the crisis counselor who is supposed to be located at every school rather than calling upon the resource officer first?

  17. lawson Avatar
    lawson

    You are right but this reminds me when we send our toughest to war then second guess them from the comfort of home. We have neutered the teachers and we are on the road to do the same to the police. I think this was over kill why were her parents not called first…. or were they …and they may have said you handle it I working ….. quit calling cops for this crap.

  18. ac Avatar
    ac

    i think bush shite was referring to himself as the bear, his insulting annoyances are indicative of the cannibalistic values he harbors within himself

  19. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Bush Tea October 27, 2015 at 9:15 AM “…if Bushie had more brains he would be in a position to share some with Simple.”

    No, no, nooooooooooooooo

    I don’t want anything of yours.

  20. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING ?

    “THE CONDUCT of a number of female officers at Dodds Prison has come under the spotlight following the circulation of a social media photo of two of them socialising on a pleasure boat with a man on bail for one murder charge and now in police custody in relation to another”

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/73833/prison-officer-probe#sthash.ytE0omXC.dpuf

  21. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    ” a man on bail for one murder charge and now in police custody in relation to another”

    Does the public have a right to know the name of the person in custody?

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