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In the wake of Mac Miller

In the wake of rapper and producer Mac Miller’s death on Sept. 7, condolences have been tweeted and blame has been placed. Reports of his overdose broke last week, but have not been confirmed. Additionally, a statement from Miller’s family did not report a cause of death.

The world cannot do more than speculate over the truth behind what transpired or why, yet the country is polarized on social media between those who wish to mourn the artist and those who wish to focus on the trivial and the petty.

The latter is probably what is covering your feeds, and that’s a sad and disheartening fact.

Recent coverage of Miller’s death has featured headlines that look more like a major scandal than the mourning of a lost life. Less than 24 hours after the initial reports broke, there was a drastic turn in the story being told online.

This event has evolved from being focused on mourning the loss of a beloved performer and become about speculation and blame.

At the risk of aiding in this toxic narrative, I want to say this: if you were a Mac Miller fan, then I’m sorry for your loss; if you weren’t, then send your condolences to those affected by this tragedy.

Both of the above groups should remember that no matter the connection you felt to his music, there are people in this world who knew the man behind the celebrity status, who deserve our respect during this heart-wrenching time.

It doesn’t matter how you feel about the so-called scandals he may have been involved in or the events that led up to this point, because the truth is, none of us will ever understand the full story.

Most of all, we have to remember our humanity in times like this. With only a week having passed since this loss, the wound is fresh. There’s no need to join in on the negativity, especially when there is so much already dominating our feeds. We cannot stop others from taking this tragedy and focusing on any ill will they can dig up or create to cloud the subject, but we can move forward with respect.

Before you send a tweet or post a picture referencing Mac Miller, I hope you remind yourself to do so in remembrance of the life of a human being who made mistakes and faced a multitude of challenges in his life, just as we all have.

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