Now, whole minutes go by when his mind does not dwell on the loss and what he might have done to save his “dear boy.” Raskin has also been consumed by a sense of mission. When I first spoke to Jamie Raskin, early in the year, it was nearly impossible for him to talk about his son without weeping. Please look after each other, the animals, and the global poor for me. Tommy had taken his own life and left behind a handwritten note for his parents and two sisters: “Please forgive me. On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Raskin found his son dead in bed. And his condition deepened during the long months of COVID. He was an antiwar activist, a believer in justice for human beings and animals alike, a hungry reader, an avid writer-a generous, decent young man who, as a statement from his family described him, possessed “a perfect heart, a perfect soul, a riotously outrageous and relentless sense of humor, and a dazzling radiant mind.” Tommy Raskin also suffered from depression. Tommy Raskin, by all accounts, was a brilliant, politically committed student, who had been attending Harvard Law School. Meanwhile, maniacs shouting deranged slogans and threats were storming down the hallways of Congress in search of enemies. At the Capitol, Raskin told me, he could still hear the sounds of the day before: the prayers of mourning, the clods of dirt shovelled onto the casket. This bloody assault, which threatened constitutional democracy and the nation’s democratically elected leaders, came just one day after the burial of Thomas Bloom Raskin, the congressman’s beloved twenty-five-year-old son. He was at the Capitol with his colleagues on January 6, 2021, to witness what should have been the routine certification of Joe Biden’s election as President. A Democratic member of the House, Raskin is fifty-nine and represents Maryland’s Eighth District. Others on Time’s list of “most influential people” for 2021 are distinctly more inspiring– Stacey Abrams, for example, who is leading the fight against voter suppression in the U.S., or the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who is languishing in a prison camp at the order of Vladimir Putin.Īnd yet one person of the year, an individual who embodies both the tragedy and resilience of our time, was missing: Jamie Raskin. I speak for no one except myself, but is this the moment to valorize a supposed man of science who cast early doubt on the COVID vaccines and told the world that “kids are essentially immune”? Might as well give the accolade to Eric Clapton. This year, the wealthiest individual in the world, Elon Musk, was Time’s choice for Person of the Year. seized Time’s cover and the annual laurel in Dumbo’s stead. Alas, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, rudely relegating the animated pachyderm to the inside pages of the magazine. In 1941, the editors tapped Dumbo, the Disney elephant, as Mammal of the Year. There have been a few odd choices along the way. This editorial gambit proved a winner on the newsstand, and a parade of Presidents, Prime Ministers, and other worthies followed. Governor Wes Moore Announces $6.Ninety-four years ago, the editors of Time magazine declared the transatlantic aviator and anti-Semite Charles Lindbergh their first-ever Man of the Year. Sarah Bloom Raskin was a governor of the Federal Reserve Board and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Department during President Obama’s administration. Before entering Congress in 2016, Raskin represented parts of Takoma Park and Silver Spring in the Maryland State Senate. Raskin’s statement did not list a cause of death, and said that funeral and memorial service arrangements will be released at a later date.Ĭongressman Raskin represents Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District, which includes much of Montgomery County. The family is grateful for the outpouring of support and love from neighbors, constituents, and friends but asks everyone to observe strict COVID-19 protocols during this time of grief.” “Tommy is survived by his beloved sisters Hannah and Tabitha, dozens of loving aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and grandparents Arlene Bloom and Lynn Raskin. We are devastated and demolished to be without him. He passionately loved his family, friends, and animals, and was devoted to the cause of the global poor. His brilliance and compassion knew no bounds. In a statement, Congressman Raskin wrote, “Tommy was pure magic. He was a second-year student at Harvard Law School.Īt Blair, Tommy lead a peer tutoring program and was the president of the Young Democrats Club, according to Silver Chips articles from the time. Tommy was 25.Īfter graduating from Montgomery Blair High School, Tommy attended and graduated from Amherst College. Congressman Jamie Raskin and Sarah Bloom Raskin announced the passing of their son, Thomas (Tommy) Bloom Raskin, this morning at their home in Takoma Park.
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