Thinking about Chadwick....reading through the tl.....Thinking about the nuance between glorifying/inspiration porn and intention to direct focus...this might make no sense....maybe I’ll write something to break it down.

Ok just gonna stream of consciousness. Might be taking up unnecessary space but might not be. This is gonna be off the cuff. Apologies.

Fact is, CB made like 7 movies after being diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. Many fans, including myself, were shocked to find this out...

The first reaction on the timeline was to praise. “Oh my god! He made all of those movies while he was sick? What an inspiration” or “he did all of that with cancer? I have no excuses now. King shit”

Won’t lie. I had this same initial reaction....

But as was quickly pointed out.....this is problematic. Phrases and thinking like the above contribute to what the internet has coined “inspiration porn” where we put someone so high up on a pedestal that we reduce them to their condition/illness/disability....

Here’s the thing. It is admirable. It did take strength. But we need to be careful. We don’t want to cross the line into glorification. AND because CB did not speak about it directly we don’t know his motivation to keep this from the public...

One reason- He could’ve simply wanted privacy. His health was really none of our business and we all know that the general population can be obsessive about celebrities. He was entitled to privacy just as we all are.

Another thought that came to mind was rooted in my own personal experience.

In NO WAY was my “run in” with thyroid cancer the same as his battle with CC-full disclaimer- but let me explain my frame of mind....

Quick story time. September 2014 I had a module that was growingly with great speed. Got it tested. Confirmed it was cancer. Not even stage one. Found a surgeon. November 2014 got that sucker yanked out. Went back to my life like two days later....

I didn’t tell any of my friends the full truth about the process while it was happening. It was such a blip to me. It was being handled. There was no need for worry. I was focused elsewhere.....

And once it was all over and I was (gently) telling people I was of course met with love but I was also met with frustration. Because ya know, people who care about you want to know what’s going on. They worry. We all worry....

So I was met with a lot of questions about why I didn’t yell people and that I shouldn’t have carried it alone and everything you’re probably hearing about Chadwick (although again. Mine was minor. Nowhere near his scale)....

And after I had time to think about it.....other than the fact that it really was small and under control...I realized that I didn’t want the worry. I didn’t want the pity.

The worry and pity would’ve felt in proportional and unnecessary. I didn’t need or have the space for...

The questions and the puppy dog eyes. I knew it would effect my loved ones image of me. Who I was in there head. And I felt it didn’t need to. And that was MY choice.

This blip in my timeline did not need to engulf my identity and turn me into inspiration porn.....

Although it happened anyway...which is not worth talking about here.

But circling back to my point.

CB made a choice. He made a choice not to tell us. He made a choice not to show us.

We may never, will probably never, know why he made that choice. But it was his choice to make.

Looking at the 4 years of gifts he left us, one can guess that he wanted us to focus on them. On the work....

He was obviously working his ass off. And from all of his interviews you can tell that he was doing it because it was his purpose and he loved it. He knew how important it was to little black kids to see him be a superhero.

I’m SURE it was very complicated...although he was a Sag and they tend to be straightforward so maybe he wasn’t even thinking deep but....he had no idea what was in store for him. And sometimes you just keep pushing because that is what makes sense in the moment....

This might sound like nonsense and maybe I’m not getting my point across. Maybe I’m talking in circle. Maybe no one will read this whole thread.

But it’s just what I’m thinking.
RIP to our King. He is already missed