What Has Tony Quigley Ever Contributed to the World?

The death of Lee Cant was a sad moment for many people.

READ MORE - Lee Cant - REST IN POWER - 1953-2026

Whether you agreed with Lee on every issue or not, there is no denying that he spent decades involving himself in causes he believed in. He fought battles, made enemies, made friends, and left an impression on those who knew him. The outpouring of tributes following his passing demonstrated that many people felt his life had value and meaning.

What shocked me was seeing the reaction from Tony Quigley.

Tony never met Lee in person. Yet rather than offering condolences, remaining silent, or simply moving on, he chose to post a dismissive and insulting comment in response to the news of Lee's death.

That raises a bigger question. What has Tony Quigley ever contributed to the world?

It is a fair question.

When somebody spends their time attacking others, mocking the dead, ridiculing people online, and inserting themselves into disputes that do not concern them, it is reasonable to ask what positive contribution they have made themselves.

The internet has created a strange phenomenon. There are people who build things and people who comment on those who build things. There are people who create communities and people who sit on the sidelines criticising those communities. There are people who take risks and people who throw stones from behind keyboards.

The critics often believe they are the important ones. Yet when we look back on a person's life, we rarely remember their sarcastic comments. We remember what they created. We remember who they helped. We remember the causes they fought for and the people they stood beside.

That is why Tony's comment struck me as particularly distasteful.

A man had died. His family, friends, and supporters were mourning. What purpose was served by adding cruelty to the moment? What was gained? Who was helped?

The answer appears to be nobody.

The older I get, the more I find myself thinking about legacy.

One day, every one of us will be gone. The arguments will end. The YouTube comments will stop. The endless online feuds will become forgotten footnotes.

What will remain is the answer to a simple question: Did we leave the world slightly better than we found it?

Lee Cant clearly left behind people who cared enough to mourn him. That alone tells us something.

As for Tony Quigley, only he can answer the question posed by the title of this article.

What has Tony Quigley ever contributed to the world? 

The answer is not found in what he says about others. It is found in what others say about him.

FURTHER READING:

Death Trolling: The Phenomenon of Mocking the Dead and the Bereaved.

"One Less Nutter"? What Tony Quigley's Comment Says About Him, Not Lee Cant.