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To My Good Friend Keith Relkin

Smurf

Gold Meritorious SP
Thanks for the info Mary. Like I said before, Smurf PMed me in July and said he saw Keith in WeHo. I was happy to hear this so it just came as a huge shock to learn that he died in February. Since it was probably someone else, I'm just having a hard time putting eveything together. The shock will wear off though. I'm just expecting Keith to PM me on facebook or call me so we can catch up.

The person I spoke to last July was with his grandmother. I asked him if he was still in Scientology & he said he was offlines. I was amazed when I saw him because he was very fit & healthy.

I'm being told by others that I probably mistook a relative of Keith for him.

273738_100004007407043_1851899849_n.jpg
 

AnonyMary

Formerly Fooled - Finally Free
Thanks for the info Mary. Like I said before, Smurf PMed me in July and said he saw Keith in WeHo. I was happy to hear this so it just came as a huge shock to learn that he died in February. Since it was probably someone else, I'm just having a hard time putting eveything together. The shock will wear off though. I'm just expecting Keith to PM me on facebook or call me so we can catch up.

Do you kow if he had a funeral? Was there an obituary?

I'm going to quote a comment by a childhood friend which is posted on Keith's Facebook page. After re-reading this, it seems he was ill on and off with a 'recurring illness'.

Jeff Zucker posted to Keith Relkin
February 13 near Los Angeles, CA
2-12-2012

As you now know, Keith passed away on February 3. His death was a shock
to his family, friends, and the extended community. I met Keith in third grade at
Highlands School, White Plains, NY. We were classmates in Grade school, Jr. High ,and High School. He was our Class President, Valedictorian, and the guy every girl in school had a crush on.

In honor of Keith a Memorial was
held last Saturday, February 11th at The Los Angeles Church of Scientology, an awesome complex and a place where Keith was actively involved, and a vital community member.

The Sanctuary was full to capacity. His Sons George and Adam Spoke for him.
Kay Plasch gave a Eulogy that was very personal. They were good close friends, and
she shared about Keith’s modesty, sense of humor, and his incredible capacity for
insightfulness. We learned through many anecdotes, that Keith’s life was quite full. He was generous with his time, frequently ally to those in need. He was willing to be the one to point out injustice or inequality, and yet he found a way to do so with kindness and understanding. ( If you haven’y yet, read some of his published articles) He found the way to to live a life that was exemplary of being selfless, and without judgement.

Those of us from White Plains, and specifically our class, (1974) will remember Keith as usually being the smartest person in the room. It wasn’t always because of what he said that made this apparent, but often, because of what he did not say, thereby allowing someone else to gain the spot light.

I was re-acquainted with Keith when we had a High School Re-Union a few years ago.

In the lead up to that re-union, I reluctantly joined Facebook, and it was there he greeted me with wit, humor, advice, and some much needed sarcasm. We began a conversation that continued until very recently.

Keith never once mentioned that he was battling a recurring illness. His death was a complete shock to me as it was to all of us, even his closest friends. This was not supposed to happen. My point is that as shocking as his passing is, if he was battling a recurring medical problem, but never brought it up.

Through our conversations these last few years, I learned he was incredibly intuitive. He picked up on things I was dealing with in my life without my ever directly mentioning them. He had an uncanny way of offering insight or encouragement without being invasive. Keith divined my doubts and fears about my skills as a Father, and somehow infused me with confidence. He had a skill with language and words that is rare.

His sentences were short, swift and to the point. If words were footballs Keith was Joe Montana in the Superbowl. Right to the point.... or the heart!

In all his intellectual modesty, Kay shared about the day Keith realized that she was perhaps as well read, and just might be..... his intellectual counter-part. “A Ha...!” , he said with delight... I can use some 4 syllable words here! It began a long and spirited conversation between them. This was clearly understood by the Los Angeles audience. Laughter was mingled with tears, and heads were nodding affirmatively, as she spoke of Keith’s linguistic gifts, his intellectual capacity, and his desire to make this world a better place.

We heard of generosity, of mission, of quests, of travel, and most repeatedly heard of living a purposeful life.

This memorial ended with words and prayer by the Reverend Dan Brown.

We were told Keith left this world “free of debts. He owed us nothing.” His spirit was free to wander as it will. I cannot not claim to be versed in the practice, habits, or principals of Scientology, but I would like to share that the ending prayer was so rational, and light, and liberating, and sensible.... It embraced the idea that all is well. All is well with Keith, all is well with our memories, our hearts, and our spirits. We may all go on in this world, all of us better for having been touched by Keith.

I know that for the brief exchanges I had with Keith these last years, I am a better human being.

Heres Keith’s Wall post to me on December 30 last year......
Seems appropriate to share:

happy B'day Jeff.. hope this year brings the realization of some dreams.. don't forget to dream them. :) Keith

Program notes included this from Keith....

Generosity of Spirit

They are the tired
the weak
the fearful

Bring them to the light

They are the lost
the missing
the faded

Bring them to the light

They are the weary of life
and have forgotten
They are nearing the line
but still undecided

Bring them, cast them, lead them
to the light

We are the last of the living
We are the ones who can still give them
We are the awakened, the wise, the willing

And it is us, you, me...
Who must spill and flow and show them
to the light

Keith Relkin
April 2010

Keith I thank you for you light.

You shall be dearly missed.
___________________________

As you can surmise, this guy Jeff is probably into Scientology now. :bait:

Scientology...'oh so rational' :puke:
 

Smurf

Gold Meritorious SP
Thank you for posting that, Mary. Reading that brings me sadness & anger towards Keith, who was the epitome of denial and his "recurring illness". Those of us who knew Keith, and shared the same clinic - the AIDS Healthcare Foundation-Westside, knew what Keith's "recurring illness" was.

Sorry for going off on a tangent here, but I grew up in a turbulent period where you were judged as sick, perverted, and psychological absent, if you were gay, much less open about it. We have come a very long way in this country where it is OK to be "out & proud" and to be comfortable in our own skin.

Likewise, for us that a part of the global HIV community. There is no cure for AIDS, but there are beneficial drug cocktails out there that have helped those of us who are HIV+ that have not sero-converted to full-blown AIDS. FYI - to the uninformed, being HIV+ is not the same as having full-blown AIDS; it is the difference between having the flu vs. pneumonia.

I mentioned Keith's death to a nurse-friend of mine at the clinic & she was shocked. There was no record at the clinic that Keith has passed, and no one there knew that he had died.

It's because Keith renounced the clinic & standard medical HIV prevention 2 years ago to embark on what he believed, or was led to believe, were homeopathic cures for AIDS. I had an acquaintance years back, Christine Maggiore, who was very much in the headlines denouncing HIV research & the medications used to inhibit the spread of HIV.. she believed homeopathic & Oriental medicine could cure one of AIDS. Christine is HIV+, and she passed it to her children.

Thanks to Christine's denial & refusal to medically treat her daughter, she died at the age of 3 from AIDS-related pneumonia.

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/sep/24/local/me-eliza24

Keith posted on his Facebook that he was studying at the Emperor's College of Tradtional Oriental Medicine in Santa Monica. I suspect Keith was under the delusion that homeopathic medicine could help him better than the medical care provided him by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Scientology denies the mere existence of HIV & AIDS. Jenna Elfman made a global ass of herself years ago when she announced "AIDS is a state of mind, and not a disease." Sadly, most Scientologists agree with her, which is why Scientologists, over many years, with AIDS, cancer & other terminal illnesses have dropped like flies, because they denied themselves medical treatment which could have saved their lives. And to those of the New Age era, who believe that there are unproven cures for AIDS & cancer, the denial is even more formidable.

As an AIDS activist, one of the problems in reaching out to young people, is ignorance & denial. Many young people mistakenly AIDS is no longer a medical issue anymore. In some communities, especially in the Hispanic & Russian communities, it is an embarrassment & a token of dishonor to the family & best left buried under denial, which is why many of those that are HIV+ sero-convert to full blown AIDS, and die.

I have been HIV+ since 1995. I have been on preventative medication since then. I'm also "undetectable". It means I'm keeping myself as healthy as possible and it lowers my risk of HIV to others, but it doesn’t eliminate it.

I know, if Keith had been free from the bonds of Scientology that kept him captive, and he was not in denial of his "recurring illness" and the appropriate means of dealing with it, he would, no doubt, be alive today. Keith did not have to die.

Why can't Scientologists just be honest & say Kieth was HIV+ or he had, possibly died, from AIDS-related pneumonia or another opportunistic infection related to AIDS. Why exist under archaic rules & promote that HIV/AIDS is an embarrassment and shod not be talked about?

Thank you, Scientology, you're partly responsible for Keith's death. :angry:
 

Adam7986

Declared SP
This man's story is perhaps the most frustrating story I have heard yet.

It causes me sincere sadness and sorrow. The programming a person endures through Scientology has no bounds.

I personally find it offensive that a memorial for a gay man would be held anywhere on Scientology premises.

If I could only share with you some of the things I have heard in my years in Scientology about homosexuals. If you have read my story you know some of the things my father said to me.

What a miserable group of people Scientologists are.
 

alexm

Patron with Honors
Thank you very much for posting the eulogy and funeral information Mary. That means a heck of a lot to me. Now, I don't mean to come down on the fact that I am happy Keith received an official life cycle event, but his homosexuality, his fight and activism to make Scientology/Scientologists less homophobic, the creation of both Affinity International as well as Clear Rainbow, are missing from those words.

I have an idea of coming out to LA and doing something similar to how Karen, the ex-wife of Heber, did when her son Alexander passed away so tragically this year. I'd like to have a very informal service for Keith which mentions those important details which were missing from the Scientology funeral service. However, I am not family and feel that it might interfere with Keith's wishes.
 

alexm

Patron with Honors
Thank you for posting that, Mary. Reading that brings me sadness & anger towards Keith, who was the epitome of denial and his "recurring illness". Those of us who knew Keith, and shared the same clinic - the AIDS Healthcare Foundation-Westside, knew what Keith's "recurring illness" was.

Sorry for going off on a tangent here, but I grew up in a turbulent period where you were judged as sick, perverted, and psychological absent, if you were gay, much less open about it. We have come a very long way in this country where it is OK to be "out & proud" and to be comfortable in our own skin.

Likewise, for us that a part of the global HIV community. There is no cure for AIDS, but there are beneficial drug cocktails out there that have helped those of us who are HIV+ that have not sero-converted to full-blown AIDS. FYI - to the uninformed, being HIV+ is not the same as having full-blown AIDS; it is the difference between having the flu vs. pneumonia.

I mentioned Keith's death to a nurse-friend of mine at the clinic & she was shocked. There was no record at the clinic that Keith has passed, and no one there knew that he had died.

It's because Keith renounced the clinic & standard medical HIV prevention 2 years ago to embark on what he believed, or was led to believe, were homeopathic cures for AIDS. I had an acquaintance years back, Christine Maggiore, who was very much in the headlines denouncing HIV research & the medications used to inhibit the spread of HIV.. she believed homeopathic & Oriental medicine could cure one of AIDS. Christine is HIV+, and she passed it to her children.

Thanks to Christine's denial & refusal to medically treat her daughter, she died at the age of 3 from AIDS-related pneumonia.

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/sep/24/local/me-eliza24

Keith posted on his Facebook that he was studying at the Emperor's College of Tradtional Oriental Medicine in Santa Monica. I suspect Keith was under the delusion that homeopathic medicine could help him better than the medical care provided him by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Scientology denies the mere existence of HIV & AIDS. Jenna Elfman made a global ass of herself years ago when she announced "AIDS is a state of mind, and not a disease." Sadly, most Scientologists agree with her, which is why Scientologists, over many years, with AIDS, cancer & other terminal illnesses have dropped like flies, because they denied themselves medical treatment which could have saved their lives. And to those of the New Age era, who believe that there are unproven cures for AIDS & cancer, the denial is even more formidable.

As an AIDS activist, one of the problems in reaching out to young people, is ignorance & denial. Many young people mistakenly AIDS is no longer a medical issue anymore. In some communities, especially in the Hispanic & Russian communities, it is an embarrassment & a token of dishonor to the family & best left buried under denial, which is why many of those that are HIV+ sero-convert to full blown AIDS, and die.

I have been HIV+ since 1995. I have been on preventative medication since then. I'm also "undetectable". It means I'm keeping myself as healthy as possible and it lowers my risk of HIV to others, but it doesn’t eliminate it.

I know, if Keith had been free from the bonds of Scientology that kept him captive, and he was not in denial of his "recurring illness" and the appropriate means of dealing with it, he would, no doubt, be alive today. Keith did not have to die.

Why can't Scientologists just be honest & say Kieth was HIV+ or he had, possibly died, from AIDS-related pneumonia or another opportunistic infection related to AIDS. Why exist under archaic rules & promote that HIV/AIDS is an embarrassment and shod not be talked about?

Thank you, Scientology, you're partly responsible for Keith's death. :angry:


Very well said Smurf!

There is a ton of info about homeopathy. All homeopathic pills are are is taking a medical ingredient and diluting that ingredient at 30 to the power of 30 parts water or sugar. Needless to say, it doesn't work. Homeopathy has been scientifically tested and it's a failure. There is also the placebo effect which is strong in human psychology and that iswhy most people who swear by homeopathy, like my aunt, swear by it. They have made up their minds regardless of it being disproven. When it comes to serious illness, or even colds and flus, all a person is doing is simply ingesting sugar and/or water. There is nothing else in it.

There's tons of good science out there. HIV preventative medication, despite the side effects, does work and scientists are now testing preventative vaccines. That is still being tested though but there is hope. It's not in quackery.
 

Adam7986

Declared SP
Very well said Smurf!

There is a ton of info about homeopathy. All homeopathic pills are are is taking a medical ingredient and diluting that ingredient at 30 to the power of 30 parts water or sugar. Needless to say, it doesn't work. Homeopathy has been scientifically tested and it's a failure. There is also the placebo effect which is strong in human psychology and that iswhy most people who swear by homeopathy, like my aunt, swear by it. They have made up their minds regardless of it being disproven. When it comes to serious illness, or even colds and flus, all a person is doing is simply ingesting sugar and/or water. There is nothing else in it.

There's tons of good science out there. HIV preventative medication, despite the side effects, does work and scientists are now testing preventative vaccines. That is still being tested though but there is hope. It's not in quackery.


Pharmaceuticals today are to herbs of yesterday as houses are to mud huts.
 
Indeed he did....
I am shocked. I just learned of Keith's passing via this forum, now. I got Keith into Scientology, sorry my man. I believe that he had an earlier similar, family involvement so perhaps it's not all my fault. I was the first person to pay for the purif at the Seattle mission, 1979. I was 19. He was there in the sauna. I recruited him.

We were both tormented young men. Dianetics was going to make us straight. He joined staff as did I. We were tormented by our homophobic boss.. Gil Shrock. He hated fags. Made no secret about it. He told us to not bring any more fags in (we were div. 6 body routers).

Anyway, I went my way, joined the SO, which never actually happened (thank you Jesus for LSD), after giving the cult a whole bunch of money (a complicated story), 7 years of slave labor, 1986 I said goodbye.

I never looked back. No internet discovery for me, until I did. 2009? Face book. I thought .. what became of my friend Keith? There he was.

He had me talked back onto the bridge, except not quite. I looked for the first time. I googled Scientology. He dropped the ball as an FSM (an act of kindness). He was obviously waking up. He let me go. Thanks Keith. Hopefully your kids will wake up too.
 
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