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I'm a grumpy queer dragon lady and this is my quiet cave for me and some friends.

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Azakir

Dragoneer, Death, Healthcare, Musing

I was not able to share these thoughts elsewhere, so I'm putting them here, because unlike some I think it's important that things are said at times like this.

I did not know Dragoneer, never spoke to them, rarely saw them anywhere online. I have never been as reliant on FurAffinity as many people and didn't really meet any of my friends there, but the fact remains that it is a pillar of our community and that it has been run, by and large, not for profit and instead for the benefit of its users. Many sites do not run in that way for as long as FurAffinity has and although it was started by someone else, it was still under Dragoneer's stewardship for a very long time. That, in today's world, is worthy of note, if nothing else.

I know there has been controversy in the past, some of their decisions have caused harm and hurt. That point should not be hidden away and nobody should ask for it to be. But, equally, so many are hurting right now, why would you seek to rub salt into the fresh wound of so many people? You do not have to join the chorus of mourners, but your dissent does nothing to revenge against a soul no longer with this world and instead harms so many others in their place. Is that really what you want to be to the world?

I have said this before and I will always say it. I will never celebrate the death of anyone, no matter how evil. Sometimes, regrettably, the death of one person could free many others from harm or suffering and that can be a positive outcome. But I do not celebrate it, because death is freedom from experiencing the consequences of actions and I am so very old fashioned and idealist in my wish for all evil to be brought to justice. I honestly believe that a part of what makes us who we are dies when we celebrate the death of someone in that way.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that Dragoneer was evil in any way, but I think that sentiment is always worth keeping in our hearts and remembering that, even at extremes, death should be acknowledged and regretted, whether it be for the loss of an amazing person or the failure of an evil soul to face the justice or consequences that they deserved to.

Instead, your time is much better spent celebrating the lives of the good and helping the victims of the bad.

A footnote, I am forever aghast at the moral bankruptcy of the American healthcare system that appears, according to reports, to have left Dragoneer at death's door with barely a care except for the invoices they could raise against him. Every time it is suggested that we should scrap the NHS in favour of a system more like the American one, I am honestly baffled how anyone could come to that conclusion. There's a number of reasons that it is the most expensive location in the world to get travel insurance for and this is definitely one of them. I hope for fundamental reform for them soon (and a solution for our own NHS in the meantime).

Go with kindness and peace, friends, and be mindful of the footprints you leave behind you.

Thank you for listening, I realise there are a lot of these messages going around on social media right now. It means a lot to me that you'd take the time to read mine.