I am not overly familiar with the Mexican holiday that is the Day of the Dead. Like most Americans, I think, I’ve long recognized the colorful painted skulls and paper banners that are associated with the holiday, but I didn’t learn much about their significance until Pixar released the movie Coco.
Now I know this much at least: it’s a day for remembering those who have died, with the conviction that remembrance itself keeps our loved ones alive in the world that much longer.
So here’s a day for remembering some of the lives that were suddenly, brutally snuffed out in the last few weeks. There are many more who have been victims of shootings here in America, or violence and poverty in Central America, or starvation halfway across the world in Yemen, or regime brutality in Saudi Arabia or North Korea. These are just a few of the names I know.
Jamal Khashoggi
Maurice E. Stallard
Vickie Lee Jones
Joyce Fienberg
Richard Gottfried
Rose Mallinger
Jerry Rabinowitz
Cecil Rosenthal
David Rosenthal
Bernice Simon
Sylvan Simon
Daniel Stein
Melvin Wax
Irving Younger