Not so long ago, someone I didn’t (personally) know died. This happens a lot in this world of ours, and usually I’m pretty unaffected by this. Now, I know this is a horrible thing to say, but most of the times I don’t really care. However, this time I do. This particular issue is almost unique for our generation (and the generations that will follow), being that I’m only affected by this death, because it so heavily influenced people that I follow – online. Not only have I never met the departed, but I have never even met the people that I feel this grief through.
The departed that I’m grieving for is Monty Oum. The people that I’m grieving through are the employees of Rooster Teeth, a company that I’ve followed diligently the last 9 years. For these last 9 years, Rooster Teeth has supplied me with nothing but laughs, and done so with a smile on their face and a joy in their voice. And to then see that smile and that joy being stripped away by sorrow, is difficult to process. I might not have known Monty, but I know what he meant to the people around him – the people that I care about. He was an amazing creative driving force, and an inspiration to everyone who met him. To them, he was family.