To Black people respect in death is an honor. I dont know why people seem to forget that we regard that as a ritual: not speaking ill of the dead will not and has never been a universal construct for us.

And i wanna be clear in this as acknowledging Phillips death. Bc people seem amazed that in this moment, we have cross Diaspora contempt for him and folk are amazed we are cutting up but, again, this is a cultural pattern.

You spend your life earning the respect and dignity of your passing. And its why we make such a carfuffle of what goes unsaid/said at the final restings. Life is Sacred. Death is a ritual.

Ive seen my share of killers buried and this “you guys are heartless on Twitter only” shit isnt true. Ive seen holymen disrespect the life and death of a cousin before returning him to the Earth and turned his funeral into a condemnation.