jack k.

to say that jack was simply a champion in the struggle for
individual autonomy &
one of the most important fighters in the battle
for freedom
in the latter half of the 20th century,
would
still
be
an
understatement.

jack was a man who saw human suffering for what it was,
something that could be dealt with
humanely
without pain
&
in complete preservation of an individual’s right
to determine on their own
without any outside voice deciding for them
when was the right time to
check out of this life.

while many of us understand these realities
jack felt it his life’s duty
to help those that may not even be able to help
themselves
in attaining
peace---
he was more merciful than any court on any
continent & of course,
they had no problem in
condemning him &
placing him in prison for a good
portion of his own life---
stifling his ability to help others
& doing their best to try and
silence
him.

many are aware of jack’s name when it is
associated with the wide concepts that we have of
death
many have heard of the suicide machine, as well
as the number of individuals that he helped
alleviate their suffering,
as opposed to how the fear mongering mainstream media
will portray such a
topic
but how many consider jack a doctor of
life?
how many understand that this man “saw this coming”---
in that famous interview with andy on
60 Minutes
he told the world that the suit he wore to the interview was
$15
and that he had saved money ahead of time
knowing that he would be
hung by those in america who still function as if this was the
dark ages
where “religious fanaticism and dogma
outshine
common sense”---
he believed that he would die in prison for what he was doing &
he poignantly pointed out several times that
heart transplants were once seen as
immoral
“because they were contrary to god’s will”
&
in the same breath he would state that
“five to six thousand people die every year waiting for organs,
but nobody cares.”

do you know what led him to such a
humanitarian
revelation as physician assisted suicide?
he stated in an interview with barbara walters in
92’
that it was through “working with inmates on death row
who wanted to donate their organs after they were
executed, but couldn’t---because it isn’t allowed”
noting that with the organs of one
executed inmate
“6 people could be saved.”

jack loved life
contrary to quick assumptions that were made about him
during his life
and as idiocy dictates, no doubt many of these same
assumptions
will last far beyond his death.
one wonders if these assumptions will roll around in
minds
as they are listening to
jack’s fingers sprinkle spontaneously
all over the organ keys
or
the free melodic styling of his
flute whistling throughout
The Kevorkian Suite: A Very Still Life,
the 1997 jazz album recorded by jack &
The Morphius Quintet
or if while they
stroll through an art gallery
gazing up at his
prolific & vastly colorful artwork
& understand that this was a man who understood what
living was,
enough to listen to people who no longer believed that they were
happily doing so
anymore?

when jack was diagnosed terminally ill
the good ol’ state pardoned him
and let him out of prison
on the grounds that
he would shut up and not speak about
what had been the reason
for his imprisonment in the first place.

and on friday, june 3rd, 2011, at age 83,
after spending 8 years & 2 ½ months in
prison,
the man who helped so many to end their
suffering
was forbidden to help himself
and instead died quietly,
silenced by the state
(still the most powerful nation in the world)
who still refuses to give its own people
universal health care.