Jerrod Hubbard was twenty-four years old, four years younger than me. Last Wednesday he was walking on a sidewalk across the street from my house with some friends — two guys and a girl. Then he got shot in the back by somebody who was driving by. Then he died, right before my eyes.
A 2003 graduate of Oakland Technical High School, he was involved with a football program at McClymonds and also took classes elsewhere. He had drepanocytosis (Sickle-Cell Anemia), which required him to undergo blood transfusions. He had a sister and a brother — a UC Berkeley graduate student in Journalism.
On his last day of life he was celebrating his cousin's return from prison.
He had numerous friends, he liked to party, and in late March he drove to Las Vegas, without a license. But he didn't get a speeding ticket when he got pulled over. In Vegas he went to Bellagio. He made it home safe.
He smoked weed a lot. I think this makes sense, considering his condition. He also liked video games. He went to family birthday parties, watched The First 48, and learned to cope with people he knew lose their lives. He might have been lonely.
Hundreds of people mourned his death. I join them, and I really wish I'd learned about him via happy events, not this.
His death is unjustifiable — it has no explanation. You say "I'm sorry for your loss" to the relatives of a person who dies of old age. In this case, you say "Hey, check this out, we've built ourselves a pretty fucked up world, and now we live in it". We are like children who shat in a bathtub, swimming around it, preoccupied with the yellow duckies.
P.S. Note to Mark Zuckerberg: Mark, I really hope the devils in hell aren't getting extra-ready for your arrival.
A 2003 graduate of Oakland Technical High School, he was involved with a football program at McClymonds and also took classes elsewhere. He had drepanocytosis (Sickle-Cell Anemia), which required him to undergo blood transfusions. He had a sister and a brother — a UC Berkeley graduate student in Journalism.
On his last day of life he was celebrating his cousin's return from prison.
He had numerous friends, he liked to party, and in late March he drove to Las Vegas, without a license. But he didn't get a speeding ticket when he got pulled over. In Vegas he went to Bellagio. He made it home safe.
He smoked weed a lot. I think this makes sense, considering his condition. He also liked video games. He went to family birthday parties, watched The First 48, and learned to cope with people he knew lose their lives. He might have been lonely.
Hundreds of people mourned his death. I join them, and I really wish I'd learned about him via happy events, not this.
His death is unjustifiable — it has no explanation. You say "I'm sorry for your loss" to the relatives of a person who dies of old age. In this case, you say "Hey, check this out, we've built ourselves a pretty fucked up world, and now we live in it". We are like children who shat in a bathtub, swimming around it, preoccupied with the yellow duckies.
P.S. Note to Mark Zuckerberg: Mark, I really hope the devils in hell aren't getting extra-ready for your arrival.
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I can feel the pain and emotions in this post and I understand the ways in which it impacted you. It is a tragedy!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing this. For emphasizing the person, the individual (not just another number, not another statistic). A young man who met a brutal death.
ReplyDelete"Hey, check this out, we've built ourselves a pretty fucked up world, and now we live in it"
Agreed.
Who are you? Jerrod Hubbard was my cousin and had just left my house and was on his way to bart when he was shot and killed.Did you know him?I'd love to hear from you
ReplyDeletePhoenix 79 -- send me an email: soroker@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteRIZ Jerrod
ReplyDelete