4 hours ago
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Red Sky Rojas: May you Rest in Peace 6/17/80 to 11/22/06
Just got back from a hard funeral service. Red Sky played basketball for me at Peninsula Union. His name served him well. He was a Warrior in Blood and Spirit. He was a member of the Yurok tribe. I went to school with his father Frank, who is a member of the Operating Engineers local 3. His mother Sherry played softball with my wife. Red Sky was a friend of my son Jacob. I also coached his brother and sister, Delmar and Stormy. Redsky was a delight to coach and gave the game everything he had. Short in stature, he made up with a big heart. Now the sadder part. Even though he had a personality that was witty and strong, he fell victim of drugs. His death was from an overdose while "puffin" an aerosol can. This just should not happen. It is so sad that drug addiction can take the lives of ones so young. I hope there comes a day when technology finds some kind of cure to help addicts overcome their affliction. Until then, pray for your children and their friends. It's the least we can do.
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50 comments:
Oh yeah Redsky was such a great guy! How many people did he turn on to heroin and crack cocaine?? Normally I wouldn't speak ill of the dead but ........ if you live by the sword you will die by the sword. Redsky didn't catch his addication on a toilet seat, he had to work at it.
An aerosol can? yikes, how do you ever start huffing aerosol cans? That is really horrible, im sorry for your loss.
I only know what I have read here.
Was he a victim of drugs?
Was he also a person who harms others? I hope not.
Why is it that there is such a strong tendency to refer to dead people as noble when they have been anything but noble?
And if he was truly noble, are other posters willing to share their experiences to underscore his nobility.
The lesson here is to not do drugs. Over 200 people showed up at Redsky's memorial to celebrate who he once was, not what he became after drugs took over. Nothing noble about drugs.
It is interesting how people are referred to after they die. Redsky was not noble. But he's not the only one. I read the obituary of a guy I knew to be a meth cooker, meth deller, wife beating bully who never had a legitimate job. In the obituary he was put up as saintly. He did die before 40.
I don't know who Redsky once was, but I do know what he was for the past five years or so. 7:51 is right, there is nothing noble about drugs (illegal drugs).
Whats done is done. Its not about Redsky anymore. Its about those he left behind.
There ya go again shane. Your first comment makes perfect sense and then with the second you leap off the deep end. Let's look at the definition of drug..."any chemical that changes body chemistry". That means nearly everything is a drug. You have to face the fact that many drugs that save lives can also kill. Heck, too much water or oxygen can kill. Body chemistry is a delicate balance.
Many people use drugs because life has gotten so painful for them that they need an escape...for some its drugs, for others its food, games, internet, tv, etc.
One reason Indians have such a huge problem with drugs is because they no longer have their culture or land thanks to our white ancestors.
So maybe shane, you could show compassion for people who are using drugs. Yes, discipline them but do it in love. Or are you projecting your weakness and fears on them? Are you hurting them because in some sense you are desperately trying to eScApE from your own pain?
just did some research on Straight Edge and am not surprised by the elitism and judgementalism of that little cult. Tell me, who are the founders of this little cult. Oh and Shane, I go into it more on Freds blog in regards to the Straight Edge Cult.
What about Advil ?
Any chemical can be abused. It is not the object but the intent that causes the problem.
I heard Richard Marks is addicted to twinkies and BBQ.
Who the hell is Nick Bravo, and what ties does he have to our community?
Who is Nick Bravo??? Are you stupid? Do you live under a rock?
Nick Bravo is many things...investigative journalist, mystic, teacher, businessman, adventurer, political commentator, actor, blogger, film-maker, punisher of the ignorant and wicked, Anons immortal enemy, spiritual being in a human body, I could go on but I suggest you read his blog nickbravo.blogspot.com
Especially check out his fascinating initiation and transformation into Bravo de Christos, commonly reffered to as "The Excellent Christ".
Silly me, I forgot to add spiritual warrior, writer, shaman, and professional driver to his resume.
But what ties does he have to our community? P.S. You forgot to add weirdo to the list.
Anon 9:08, its natural for lower evolved beings like you to fear what you don't understand. But hey, you've learned to use toilet paper correctly so there's hope for you yet.
I'll match wits with you anytime.
By the way, you STILL haven't answered my question . . . What ties does Nick Bravo have to our community?
9:13. Sweet child. In your egoistic rage you have forgotten your place.
9:15. Bravo De Christos came to the people of Arcata in 2000 and attended HSU. In 2004 he ran for Arcata city council in a bid to clean up Arcata. During that time he and Councilwoman Groves had a love affair. She was to be his Mary Magdelene, unfortunately Mayor Ornelas turned her to the darkside and she committed great treachery and blasphemy against Bravo De Christos. In 2005 he journeyed back to the midwest to battle evil there and reconnect with the Great Ones. It is prophesized that Bravo De Christos shall soon return to free us from the socialist democrat tyranny of those such as Cobb and others who have chosen darkness and ignorance over light and truth.
Thank you for answering my question. Nick Bravo is truly forgettable, as are you.
9:35. All are forgettable. in 1000 years few alive now will be remembered. in 3000 even fewer. Ultimately in 10,000 years no one will be remembered. You Anon of all beings should know this, in fact you cast your own words upon the waters of anonymity.
Prestige, monuments, and rememberance are traps of the ego. People live and die for their useless legacies. Just look at Cobb, Clinton, Bush, and so many other beings.
What's really fun is the fact that upon death the personality, brain, flesh, ego, and all that stuff dies. The only thing that lives on is your soul consciousness. What's sad is that so few know who they are spiritually. The soul is what matters. In a million years your soul will have had thousands of lives with various egos, personalities, etc all vying for prestige and rememberance...so very sad.
How deep, and how sad.
Sometimes its a blessing. Would you want to be the soul known for the individual that was Hitler? Kevin Hoover? Ghengis Khan? etc...
Nick, what gives you such benevolent understanding of spirituality? I am an agnostic, because fundamentally spirituality is beyond the grasp of the human mind.
As for egoism, thats really all I get from you. No offense, I dont know you personally. But why run for city council? Why denigrate people on the boards while holding yourself above others as enlightened?
Oh, and if you believe in Christ I am interested to hear your opinion on Dionysus (sp?).
Anon 10:34. You're right. I am still human and subject to ego.
the word "christ" simply means "Annointed One". Dionysus was annointed. I've always felt a kinship with him and other tricksters. In native American myth the coyote is the trickster and often finds his own ego under as much attack as other peoples ego's.
I did want to change things when I ran for council but was at that time unaware of the strength of my ego.
Yes, but Dionysus was a myth, a legend. The similarities in the stories of Dionysus with the god-like abilities of Christ are disturbing, and dionysus was a god worshipped thousands of years before Christ...
Anyways, so you just like a good story? You like enlightened characters bringing knowledge to the people? To me its just a story no diffrent from say Batman. Hey, Batman exhibits christ-like qualities. So what do you mean by trickster, and how can you feel kinship with a fictional character in any other sense that you can feel kinship to batman?
Both Dionysus and Jesus Christ existed. Read Euripedes to discover what happens to those who doubt Dionysus oh dear Pentheus.
Shane said...
"I don't know who Redsky once was, but I do know what he was for the past five years or so. 7:51 is right, there is nothing noble about drugs (illegal drugs)."
And the legal ones? There's really nothing noble about those ones either.
12:39 AM
SHANE, with all due respect, when a guy like me at the age of over 40 gets the astonishing news that he has been living, unknowingly, with three, count 'em, three mental illnesses, it is a genuine relief to discover than some of the legal drugs you appear to dislike can effectively treat ones' ills.
When the legal drugs, which I choose to call "medications", mitigate the effects of damaging disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, etc, etc, I should think that progressive young people like you would be happy.
Life for me now is far less a trial and a torture than it was for my first 40 years. BE HAPPY FOR ME. I certainly wish YOU a happy life.
Nick Bravo said: "One reason Indians have such a huge problem with drugs is because they no longer have their culture or land thanks to our white ancestors."
If the Indians had won the war for control of the continent, things would no doubt have been much better for them in terms of cultural continuity.
Things would have gone hard for us, however, considering the typical treatment of the prisoners of Indian captors across the continent.
Let's not demonize our ancestors. They were faced with many hard realities, among them, the memory of Indian tribes waging war against their own ancestors further east along the frontier.
More kids than you think do this! Redsky I know used inhalants a lot because they don't test for inhalants when you take drug tests. When you are addicted to crack or heroin and you face going to jail if you get high again, you feel desperate to get high anyway possible. Kids can go buy "poppers" at adult stores or "smoke shops". Drug addiction is nothing funny and its not something to look down upon a person for because the addiction they fall into is a real disease that is almost impossible to stop. All your kids are just one "popper" away from what happened to Redsky and usually the "good" kids like inhalants because they think they aren't as bad as illegal drugs. Hopefully this will educate some of the other ignorant people who left comments. check out the link below for more info on inhalants:
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs07/708/
Here is a link to a MySpace site dedicated to remembering Redsky:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=134668967&MyToken=f3b54779-dc82-44e7-9daa-5b5abf21f692
here is a shorter link to Redsky's MySpace site:
http://www.myspace.com/134668967
Shane said...
Hi 11:11pm - I support the use of prescriptions for their intended purposes. I take medicine when I'm sick. That wasn't my point. Perhaps I should have been more specific, but I figured people would get what I was trying to say.
12:03 PM
>> It's OK, Shane. You did a good job clarifying things for me.
Someone wrote: "Hopefully this will educate some of the other ignorant people..."
American humorist Will Rogers said Everybody is ignorant, just about different things.
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs07/
Took me all the way to "ROBERT D. POPPER."
It doesn't answer my question, though.
What, in 2006, is a "popper?"
25 years ago, they were Amyl Nitrate, if memory serves. I thought they were outlawed a long time ago.
Does anybody know?
no, "poppers" are perfectly legal. they are little canisters filled with nitrate or some kinda pressurized gas. u can either buy them at adult novelty stores as "poppers" and the kit even comes with a special mouthpiece to make sure u inhale it all. They can also be found in some grocery stores, used for making fluffy whipped cream. they are not illegal as far as I know, cuz you can go get it anywhere. lots of kids think they are safe since they are in stores.
Theyre also known as whippets, and every child knows theyre dangerous. You use a balloon, and rebreath the gas multiple times, till you nearly pass out. Ive done them a few times, and theyre not addictive unless you consider suddenly standing up and getting a head rush addictive. But theyre not idiot proof unfortunatly.
Poppers were actually suspected for a time in the early 1980's as a cause of AIDS.
To all you people that speak ill of red you no nothing you are incompitant, iggnorant morrons you no nothing of what he has bean through, and the atrosities he has suffered, he was starting to get his life together and become that loving careing person he usedn to be before drugs, but the grasp was to strong and his only weapon was the love for his son but he was denide to see him so he lost hope. The longing for our brother Delmore was also to great for any of you to comprehend, they were joined together by spirit and he was torn away, so that longing never left us contiueing to fester and grow untill it consumed him. He was a noble person but when drugs took ahold of him they transformed him in to a mr. hyde but if you trully knew him you could see the real Red within this new creation longing to be released, he ahs risked his life to save others and has placed his life below the safty of others, but one day he tried his hards to save a drounding child he did everything he could to save him a preformed CPR for hours and never gave up that pore child died in his hands he could not do anything, and this stayed with him forever, so before you starts to evean think ill of my brother remeber you no nothing you have not sean what he has suffered for these are just some of the few thing. So now I am glad he is finnially reunited with our ancestors and our brother and can finnialy close that gap with in his heart and does not haft to listan to people like you, judgeing him and acting as if you know him so if you have something bad to say about my brother come find me and say it to my face
Sunny Rojas
cell#1-707-845-3680
Home#1-530-625-9386
P.s I will admit that his choices were the wrong ones and that he should not of let his will become so weak and become a comman person, I have learned from my borthers mistakes and will stay a strong pround native man, and will not let my self be intaxicated with the filth that was brought to our land, in hopes of destroying our people from the inside
To all you ignorant simple minded cowards who judged Redsky on this page and the other ones who disrespected him by carrying on with your imaginary alter egos pretending to have a battle of wits but in reality you've probably never had the balls to stand up to anyone face to face in your life so you hide behind your computer in the security of your home, try me... Redsky was noble, Redsky was a man of integrity, he was a loyal friend and a loving father to his child. If someone turns to drugs that is there own choice, you cannot hold Redsky accountable for anyone elses drug use but his own. And did he harm people? Unfortunately there are alot of people in this world and on this page that need a good ass beating, some people just have it coming, the tongue is sharper then the sword and you reap what you sew, you made your bed now lay in it, accept responsibility for your own actions and stop being weak and putting the blame on others. A coward dies a thousand deaths and a soldier dies but once and the last thing Redsky was was a coward, he had elephant balls and i guaruntee whoever wrote anything negative on this page about him would be too scared to say it to his face because he wouldve knocked you the fuck out...and if I heard you I would've done the same and about a hundred other people I know would as well because Redsky was loved and he was loved because of his good qualities, none of you are saints but I promise you he was more of a man had more heart and lived a fuller life than any of you that called him out his name...My name is Devin Castaneda and if anyone has anything else fucked up to say about my friend Redsky then you can look me up, I'm not hard to find and I will personally fuck you up. Show some respect for the deceased... Rest In Peace Redsky and Delmar and my condolences to his family...Long live Redsky Rojas, a brave heart and a warriors spirit...
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