It's hit me pretty hard too, and I'm just a reader who *never* met Kevin or interacted with him. But reading his blog became part of my routine, and his sanity and sense of proportion were a welcome relief from the howl of modern media. I didn't always agree with him -- and I wouldn't want to, what's the point of reading somebody you always agree with? -- but his take was always worth reading. It sometimes felt like he was keeping a lighthouse in the storm, and now it's gone out.
After thinking about it some more: Another thing that stood out about Kevin was his optimism. He was forever pointing out things that had gotten better, all the quiet incremental improvements that take place over decades without making headlines.
He often caught hell in the comments for those posts, because there is a segment of the online left that turns absolutely furious at *any* suggestion that the world is not going to hell in a handbasket. Never stopped him, though.
Oh wow, I hadn't heard about this until now. I started reading him back in 2003-2004 or thereabouts - probably from either the old Salon message boards or links from Daily Kos. I'm afraid I kind of lost touch with him a few years ago (he probably remained stubbornly centrist while I've gotten more radicalized with nonstop outrage), but this still hurts. He was one of the must-read OG bloggers during the Bush Interregnum. RIP Kevin.
I got to Kevin via Delong sometime in the 00's, or even before. I knew it was the end game in his last series of posts so it did not hit me as hard as when Tanta died.
Like Evan below, I was just a reader but the news, while not unexpected after an atypical weeklong silence, still hurt a lot more than I thought it would.
He was thoughtful, easy going while rigorous, an optimist despite his realism and he's the one who introduced me to the lead-crime hypothesis. Given that our public discourse around crime/criminal justice/prison reforms etc. is still dominated by the shadow of the 70-90s crime surge, I feel his contributions to making this knowledge public would on its own justify some form of public recognition for Kevin Drum.
Kevin and I interacted a lot back in those early days of blogging. He was always kind and thoughtful. It's sad to learn of his death, and a reminder of mortality that is more and more on my mind these days. He lived well and, I hope, died without too many regrets.
It's hit me pretty hard too, and I'm just a reader who *never* met Kevin or interacted with him. But reading his blog became part of my routine, and his sanity and sense of proportion were a welcome relief from the howl of modern media. I didn't always agree with him -- and I wouldn't want to, what's the point of reading somebody you always agree with? -- but his take was always worth reading. It sometimes felt like he was keeping a lighthouse in the storm, and now it's gone out.
Goodbye, Kevin. We'll miss you.
After thinking about it some more: Another thing that stood out about Kevin was his optimism. He was forever pointing out things that had gotten better, all the quiet incremental improvements that take place over decades without making headlines.
He often caught hell in the comments for those posts, because there is a segment of the online left that turns absolutely furious at *any* suggestion that the world is not going to hell in a handbasket. Never stopped him, though.
Yes, this is one of the things I liked most about his blogging.
Oh wow, I hadn't heard about this until now. I started reading him back in 2003-2004 or thereabouts - probably from either the old Salon message boards or links from Daily Kos. I'm afraid I kind of lost touch with him a few years ago (he probably remained stubbornly centrist while I've gotten more radicalized with nonstop outrage), but this still hurts. He was one of the must-read OG bloggers during the Bush Interregnum. RIP Kevin.
I read so many of Kevin Drum's blog posts so often that he became something like a pen pal.
I got to Kevin via Delong sometime in the 00's, or even before. I knew it was the end game in his last series of posts so it did not hit me as hard as when Tanta died.
Hail and Farewell. Fair Winds and Smooth Sailing.
Like Evan below, I was just a reader but the news, while not unexpected after an atypical weeklong silence, still hurt a lot more than I thought it would.
He was thoughtful, easy going while rigorous, an optimist despite his realism and he's the one who introduced me to the lead-crime hypothesis. Given that our public discourse around crime/criminal justice/prison reforms etc. is still dominated by the shadow of the 70-90s crime surge, I feel his contributions to making this knowledge public would on its own justify some form of public recognition for Kevin Drum.
Kevin and I interacted a lot back in those early days of blogging. He was always kind and thoughtful. It's sad to learn of his death, and a reminder of mortality that is more and more on my mind these days. He lived well and, I hope, died without too many regrets.
Hit me hard, too.
We even had an email exchange back when he was still Calpundit.