R.I.P.: Senator Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy is being memorialized and buried today. He has had a troubled yet remarkable life. He seems to have been a man of contradictions: born into incredible wealth and privilege yet a champion of the poor and powerless. A white man who used his white privilege to champion on behalf of people of color and civil rights. An irresponsible womanizer who actually killed a woman due to vehicular negligence yet an inveterate supporter of women and gay rights throughout his senate career. The baby of the family forced to become its patriarch after the untimely deaths of his older brothers.

But perhaps what he is, most importantly, is someone who cared about family, as this moving speech by his eldest son, Edward Kennedy Jr. clearly demonstrates.



Rest in peace Senator Kennedy.

[For a particularly introspective and respectful yet honest assessment of Senator Kennedy's life, see Tenured Radical's post here]