Thank You For Hearing Me
In Memoriam Sinéad O’Connor
Sinéad O’Connor was way ahead of us. She was way ahead of all of us.
Impatient with the rate of social change, she charged the ranks of the establishment — alone — smashing norms left and right related to just about every complex challenge that few dared to question at their own dinner tables in the “don’t ask/don’t tell” America of the 1990s, namely pedophilia and mental health, not to mention racism, women’s rights, and free speech.
She was ahead of us on pedophile priests well before Spotlight; she was ahead of us on #MeToo before it was a hashtag; she was ahead of us on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility before it was an acronym; she was ahead of us on “empathy” before it was a sales term.
ICE T paid tribute on Twitter, but he didn’t go far enough in my opinion. He tweeted, “Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something…”
She didn’t just stand for “something;” she stood for justice, she stood for equality, she stood for compassion. Above all, she stood for — and represented — action; action beyond merely tweeting one’s outrage.
Lest anyone paying respects in 2023 forget, she could sing, too. Blessed with the loveliest, most angelic set of vocal cords on Earth, she had the power to punch you right through the heart.
She possessed a voice. She was a voice.
I hope and pray she has at last the peace that eluded her — cruelly — in this life.
