Here—at this final hour, in this quiet place—Getbig.com has come to bid farewell to one of its brightest hopes—extinguished now, and gone from us forever. For Getbig.com is where he worked and where he struggled and fought—his home of homes, where his heart was, and where his people are—and it is, therefore, most fitting that we meet once again—at Getbig.com—to share these last moments with him.
For Getbig.com has ever been gracious to those who have loved her, have fought for her and have defended her honor even to the death. It is not in the memory of man that this beleaguered, unfortunate, but nonetheless proud community has found a braver, more gallant young champion than this Getbigger who lies before us—unconquered still.
I say the word again, as he would want me to: Getbigger, who was a master, was most meticulous in his use of words. Nobody knew better than he the power words have over minds of men.
Strawman had stopped being a keyboard warrior years ago. It had become too small, too puny, too weak a word for him. Strawman was bigger than that. Strawman had become an Getbigger, and he wanted—so desperately—that we, that all his people, would become Getbiggers, too.
There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Getbig community, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our turbulent times.
Many will ask what Getbig finds to honor in this stormy, controversial and bold young captain—and we will smile. Many will say turn away—away from this man; for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter and an enemy of the boards—and we will smile. They will say that he is of hate—a fanatic, a racist—who can only bring evil to the cause for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them:
Did you ever talk to Brother Strawman? Did you ever touch him or have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did, you would know him. And if you knew him, you would know why we must honor him: Strawman was our manhood, our living, getbig manhood!
This was his meaning to his people. And, in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves. Last year, from San Jose, he wrote these words to a friend: My journey, he says, is almost ended, and I have a much broader scope than when I started out, which I believe will add new life and dimension to our struggle for freedom and honor and dignity in the realm of getbig.com.
I am writing these things so that you will know for a fact the tremendous sympathy and support we have among the boards for our human rights struggle. The main thing is that we keep a united front wherein our most valuable time and energy will not be wasted fighting each other.
However we may have differed with him—or with each other about him and his value as a man—let his going from us serve only to bring us together, now.
Consigning these mortal remains to earth, the common mother of all, secure in the knowledge that what we place in the ground is no more now a man—but a seed—which, after the winter of our discontent, will come forth again to meet us.
And we will know him then for what he was and is—a prince—our own getbig shining prince!—who didn't hesitate to die, because he loved us so.
