Thank you for sharing this, Norm 🩶 I also didn’t know Bo but have grieved him like I did and it’s been very strange and scary and hard. It’s so important to know we aren’t alone and have people who love us, and I don’t think that can ever be repeated too many times. So, thank you for being here and sharing your thoughts and for being vocal 🩶 It’s never too much.
Norman. If you wrote every essay on your own struggles or experiences id happily subscribe just the same. Thank you for writing this. Remember this community exists to support you too.
For the last few days before you posted this, I had been thinking about how much I missed anti matter, despite how much I respected you stopping an unsustainable project. It is very bitter sweet to have you return to the work this way. But I so appreciate that you use your gifts for language and analysis to reach out to the world, to our community, this way.
I want you to be able to write honestly and to be able to create things without having to commoditize them.
Thank you for coming back. I really missed your posts and cherished your thoughts. I don’t know how to put this without coming off like a jerk but I was listening to interview with the author of the book “the anxious generation “ he claims that the use of social media amplifies mental issue problems with the user. He cited a specific example that was really eye opening;
“Justin Rosenstein, the Facebook engineer who helped build the "Like" button, has expressed regret and concern regarding the addictive, unintended negative consequences of his creation, often describing the feature as "bright dings of pseudo-pleasure" is the medium still the message? Glad to see you back. Even though I said that already.
You cannot write too much about this. Your tender openness and willingness to be vulnerable as a musician, a writer and a human matter so much to me, and I think for many people. Hardcore and post-whatever music is so much about the humanity and community. What good is music if it doesn't increase human interaction. It is a sangha and the one that has mattered most for me. I didn't know Bo either but felt the crushing weight of this tragedy. Please keep sharing. You never know who needs to hear exactly what you are saying.
I hope you bring back anti-matter and write whatever you want on any schedule.
Norman, I subscribed to anti-matter around the time you were winding down, I believe. I can’t remember exactly what moved me so much to want to continue reading more- but this article, an outpouring of love and the pain of loss, brought me to tears upon reading you’re detailed sections on mental health. Especially the sharing of your own pain and struggles. You wrote so delicately, telling the story of my own life. Music in general, but hardcore especially, has provided me with an outlet, laughter, fun, reflection, and most importantly a home that is familiar. We soothe ourselves through music, and even songs we’ve loved since kids can evolve and bring even more meaning in our hardest times.
Thank you for gathering the strength to write, and being a voice to countless others in the community who struggle. You have made an impact so deeply in this person, and you deserve to know that your hardships aren’t in vain. I wish you contentment and continued creative outlets.
Absolutely beautiful, and heartbreaking. Thank you so much for choosing to not only write this, to but share it. This is such an important conversation and it is always reassuring to know that none of us are alone in this.🩶
I share your sentiment in a new kind of grievance to a stranger. I’m glad you wrote this and it was nice hearing you put your feelings down for us to take in and think about.
“Some people see writing as a practice of solitude, but I have always been more enthusiastic about the idea that once the writing becomes the written, I have engaged in a social act. It's the reader who gives life to the written, and that point of exchange still feels like the reason why | do it. Writing has always made me feel less alone. It's the way I choose to feel connection with the world.”
I sent this too soon so I’m editing to add what I was writing when i hit send: thank you. Thank you so much for vocalizing something I’ve had a lot of trouble expressing as somebody ironically in a similar predicament, albeit in a far different lane. This hits the spot in a way you, ostensibly a stranger, would never have known when writing this.
I was as shocked and blindsided as anyone else. I'm a fan of Hardlore and Harm's Way, and Bo's genuine passion for the music was a big part of it. And almost immediately after I got over the initial shock, my next thought was "what would Norman have to say?" You're really good at being thoughtful about this art form - not wholly cerebral, but not purely celebratory either. Please take care of yourself, and thank you for your words. I hope you find a way to share them again, but it's certainly not more important than your well-being.
I had a paid subscription to Anti-Matter because I cared about reading/supporting your voice, regardless of what you were speaking on. And that's still what I care about! Thanks for sharing this incredibly vulnerable and equally important post with us. I hope the positive comments section has validated your decision to write and publish this. Also hope your in-person community is supporting you appropriately.
Thank you for writing this. You aren’t sharing too much. You are sharing what it’s like to be human.
Thank you for sharing this, Norm 🩶 I also didn’t know Bo but have grieved him like I did and it’s been very strange and scary and hard. It’s so important to know we aren’t alone and have people who love us, and I don’t think that can ever be repeated too many times. So, thank you for being here and sharing your thoughts and for being vocal 🩶 It’s never too much.
Norman. If you wrote every essay on your own struggles or experiences id happily subscribe just the same. Thank you for writing this. Remember this community exists to support you too.
For the last few days before you posted this, I had been thinking about how much I missed anti matter, despite how much I respected you stopping an unsustainable project. It is very bitter sweet to have you return to the work this way. But I so appreciate that you use your gifts for language and analysis to reach out to the world, to our community, this way.
I want you to be able to write honestly and to be able to create things without having to commoditize them.
Sending my deepest appreciation and care.
Thank you for coming back. I really missed your posts and cherished your thoughts. I don’t know how to put this without coming off like a jerk but I was listening to interview with the author of the book “the anxious generation “ he claims that the use of social media amplifies mental issue problems with the user. He cited a specific example that was really eye opening;
“Justin Rosenstein, the Facebook engineer who helped build the "Like" button, has expressed regret and concern regarding the addictive, unintended negative consequences of his creation, often describing the feature as "bright dings of pseudo-pleasure" is the medium still the message? Glad to see you back. Even though I said that already.
Norm,
You cannot write too much about this. Your tender openness and willingness to be vulnerable as a musician, a writer and a human matter so much to me, and I think for many people. Hardcore and post-whatever music is so much about the humanity and community. What good is music if it doesn't increase human interaction. It is a sangha and the one that has mattered most for me. I didn't know Bo either but felt the crushing weight of this tragedy. Please keep sharing. You never know who needs to hear exactly what you are saying.
I hope you bring back anti-matter and write whatever you want on any schedule.
Love,
Kate
Norman, I subscribed to anti-matter around the time you were winding down, I believe. I can’t remember exactly what moved me so much to want to continue reading more- but this article, an outpouring of love and the pain of loss, brought me to tears upon reading you’re detailed sections on mental health. Especially the sharing of your own pain and struggles. You wrote so delicately, telling the story of my own life. Music in general, but hardcore especially, has provided me with an outlet, laughter, fun, reflection, and most importantly a home that is familiar. We soothe ourselves through music, and even songs we’ve loved since kids can evolve and bring even more meaning in our hardest times.
Thank you for gathering the strength to write, and being a voice to countless others in the community who struggle. You have made an impact so deeply in this person, and you deserve to know that your hardships aren’t in vain. I wish you contentment and continued creative outlets.
With great appreciation, JoAnn M.
Thank you for writing this. You've articulated some thoughts I've been struggling to put into words over the last few days.
You are a treasure, Norm. Thank you for this, for sharing yourself, for honoring Bo. It’s never “too much.”
Absolutely beautiful, and heartbreaking. Thank you so much for choosing to not only write this, to but share it. This is such an important conversation and it is always reassuring to know that none of us are alone in this.🩶
I share your sentiment in a new kind of grievance to a stranger. I’m glad you wrote this and it was nice hearing you put your feelings down for us to take in and think about.
grieving someone you hardly knew can feel so strange and invalid yet horrible all the same. I’m grateful you put words to it.
“Some people see writing as a practice of solitude, but I have always been more enthusiastic about the idea that once the writing becomes the written, I have engaged in a social act. It's the reader who gives life to the written, and that point of exchange still feels like the reason why | do it. Writing has always made me feel less alone. It's the way I choose to feel connection with the world.”
I sent this too soon so I’m editing to add what I was writing when i hit send: thank you. Thank you so much for vocalizing something I’ve had a lot of trouble expressing as somebody ironically in a similar predicament, albeit in a far different lane. This hits the spot in a way you, ostensibly a stranger, would never have known when writing this.
Thank you.
I was as shocked and blindsided as anyone else. I'm a fan of Hardlore and Harm's Way, and Bo's genuine passion for the music was a big part of it. And almost immediately after I got over the initial shock, my next thought was "what would Norman have to say?" You're really good at being thoughtful about this art form - not wholly cerebral, but not purely celebratory either. Please take care of yourself, and thank you for your words. I hope you find a way to share them again, but it's certainly not more important than your well-being.
A moving piece. Thank you for doing it.
I had a paid subscription to Anti-Matter because I cared about reading/supporting your voice, regardless of what you were speaking on. And that's still what I care about! Thanks for sharing this incredibly vulnerable and equally important post with us. I hope the positive comments section has validated your decision to write and publish this. Also hope your in-person community is supporting you appropriately.