Thanks to the legwork by National Zero reader Macbeth on Monday the worst fears over the absence of a prominent regular member of the community on this site have been confirmed with an extremely high degree of confidence: TexasVulcan passed away April 25 from a heart attack at the age of unknown, but by my estimate he was over 65. I know not his name, his appearance, or anything else about him other than that he was a Jewish Star Trek fan from the Houston area.

Such is the nature of a community where the vast majority of us are anonymous digital avatars rather than the more typically true representations of ourselves more common to Facebook, Twitter, and other circles. It’s that often zealously-guarded anonymity that gives Disqus users the license to voice their opinions more boldly and acerbically than folks whose real name and photo are attached to their posts, to argue harder and meaner against a hateful culture that encourages violent reprisal.

And yeah, that’s how I’ll assuage the nagging guilt about not being able to say more about TexasVulcan and his life, which was no doubt so much more than the funny shit he would post on this site. His presence and thoughtful, intelligent contributions to this community will be missed dearly. He cared deeply about the future of democracy in this once (and hopefully again in the future) great nation and may his soul rest warmly and confidently in the knowledge that he has friends continuing to speak up and heckle the absolute shit out of a fascist reich all day every day.

Valhalla is yours, Tex 🖖🏻.