Reposted from Facebook with permission from the author
I was a fan of Juice Wrld, Lil Peep and XXXTentatacion and never once did listening to their music ever encourage me to do drugs or any of the other things they talked about.
I just recently turned 27 years old, making me years older than all three of them at the time of their deaths, but I still respected and idolized these three artists; not because of their fame, money or success. I respected and idolized them for their ability to be vulnerable and to be real in their music, especially at such a young age where the opinions of others can weigh on you heavily.
These three had all accomplished major success in their short lives and they all did it while making a genuine connection with their fans through their art. The reason so many young people looked up to these three kids is because in them they saw themselves.
They didn’t deserve to die
I see a lot of people saying they deserve to die because of their lifestyle or because of their lyrics, saying they weren’t legends and we need to stop idolizing ‘junkies’. It blows my mind to see people be this full of hate, especially towards children. These kids were so young and lost and we failed them and instead of taking responsibility as a society, we rather shame and blame the victims.
What if that was your brother? Your dad, your uncle, cousins, or bestfriend? Would you still make the same remarks? Would you say that the decisions he made makes it impossible to feel some sort of compassion?
They weren’t perfect, but no one is, and no one is near perfect at the age of 20, but laughing at their deaths or saying they deserved it makes you a disgusting human being and makes you a much worse of a person than any of them ever were.
I don’t care if you weren’t a fan. I don’t care what your opinion is when it comes to their lifestyles. They were kids and they deserve respect and they deserve to rest in peace, so please, if you have anything negative to say about these three, remove yourself from my life as I have no room for people like you.
Dustin Nelson, hip-hop artist