Every now and then, our team receives an extremely moving letter from a fellow Manhunt member. These individuals are motivated to share their stories with us, and in some cases, they’re willing to elaborate on their experiences for a larger audience.
Recently, we received an e-mail from a member who lost his husband back in August. He wanted to thank all of the people who helped ease his mourning, particularly the folks he chatted with on Manhunt. Click through to read his story, and be sure to leave a friendly comment if you enjoyed it.
– Dewitt
To take a look at this very touching letter, follow the JUMP:
Dear Manhunt,
I lost my husband on August 11, 2010. He collapsed on our floor here at home, and I brought him back with mouth-to-mouth CPR. I had to put him on life support, then stop it three days later. We had fifteen years together, and he used to sit up ’til way hours in the night going through Manhunt, talking to people and meeting new ones. We were never apart.
Since his death, I have changed our profile to read I was in mourning but friends are welcome. I am a certified STD counselor, medically disabled veteran. What I am getting to is… I’ve received so many well wishes from strangers, friends, etc. through this site. It has been a joy to see that people really do care on your site, and not just about a hook-up.
I would like to thank your staff, who works so hard to create a place like this. It has reminded me that we still have people with hearts, and you must be given some credit for keeping them here. And people should be told how good of a job they are doing.
We have always been full paid members, and I am ashamed to say that I thought I would not want to keep my membership when Joe died. I will be changing my mind and keeping his memory alive by renewing my membership. I just think that the general public should know that they help ease my mourning. I am not sure how you can go about that, but I would be willing to join the health team. If nothing else, I want to thank you and your membership.
Wow … someone sign this man up. It’s tragic he lost his husband, but if there’s any solace to be taken, he knew he was loved till the last. THAT is saying something.
Very moving story, gay community needs to take care for each other. But manhunt the website needs to change its mindset. Besides the incredible censorship in this blog and mh, it also needs to open its mind on politics too. I posted on my profile a praise for log cabin republicans who stopped the dont ask dont tell successfully in court… besides being erased from my profile it was altered to show praise for democrats…
MH, gays have suffered exclusion in everywhere, we don’t need you to censor our thoughts!!!!!!
I DARE mh to keep this post open for everyone to see.
I think the nice guys on here outnumber the jerks by about ten-to-one. It took a lot of trust for this fellow to edit his profile revealing vulnerability. That’s a big step!
Warm regards to twotopslking!
uhm
I must say that I am amazed that it was the Republicans who successfully stopped DADT- temporarily at least, as the actual outcome has not yet been determined. I have never understood how any gay or lesbian person could in good conscience be a Republican, as that party has never had a good word for any of us, nor for policies relating to our rights. IF INDEED YOUR POST WAS REARRANGED, then SHAME ON YOU, MANHUNT!
Interesting that I grew up only a few miles from where these men lived. I went through similar things back in March ’05 when my spouse of 9 months (partner of 18 years) died from Pancreatic Cancer- gone in 3 weeks.
My heart breaks for you for the loss of your beloved Joe. You must be going through a terrible time. I can’t say I “enjoyed” reading this but still want you to know that many people care. Best to you in these hard times.
I think you both should be ashamed of yourselves for using this time to make a political statement. It is inappropriate.
Take your nasty dump somewhere else, Randy.
My Opinion- I agree as far as the feeling of loss goes. As for your comments above, relating to political views- if it’s expressed, it is open for being rebuffed and debated, no matter the original reason for the post. I am not so sure that I believe that the staff here would do the things the guy said- but if they did, there went our freedom of speech right down the tubes. That can’t be compromised just because the folks responsible for the blog don’t agree with what is said.
also interesting is the fact that the person who lost Joe has not mentioned which one was Joe in the pic.
I agree….this is not the appropriate time for political rants.
lol the gay community is literally it’s own worst enemy, so you need to basically shut the fuck up about this shit.
because it obviously matters.
freedom of speech also qualifies us to be able to criticize people for making political comments at inappropriate times. hth!
In replying to Randy’s criticism about the Republicans, I’d just like to point out that it was a Democrat who pussed out and signed off on DADT and it’s a Democrat who is dragging his feet on the issue and not making good on his promise to do away with it. Just saying…
Maybe the letter will serve as an example for MD posters to be a little nicer in their comments on model pics and a little more civil in their disagreements on discussion topics. Maybe, but given the anonymity of the internet, somehow I doubt it.
So sorry for your loss. Thank you both for being models our community should aspire to be like.
My sincere condolences on your loss. I am glad MANHUNT allowed you to change your profile to reflect your mourning.
I tried to change my profile to reflect the passing of my mother (my biggest supporter) and inform my good friends online, but the MANHUNT staff refused to allow the change stating that the site was not appropriate for such news. I’m glad to see the staff’s viewpoint has matured.
Again, to the gentleman who lost his partner Joe, my condolences. Please forgive the emotional and inappropriate comments that have been made here. These comments are akin to the crazy Rev Phelps protesting at the funerals of fallen soldiers due to whatever crazy notion they are upset with at the moment.
Your loss was felt by me and many others. Good luck and bless his memory and be brave that you are still here to help keep his memory alive.
thanks to all, and joe is the taller one. together for 15 yrs, 24/7 and gone in 3 days. what i really want to point out is late at nite as i cried, it was nice strangers who brought me out of my mourning to chat. i am a veteran and i have felt the pain of our fallen comrads, but i really was tryin to say thank you to those who chatted with me and kepted checking to help me. it is nice to see we have good people who care, thats what humanity is all about. i am not a special case, just like to give credit where its due.
thanks to all, and joe is the taller one. together for 15 yrs, 24/7 and gone in 3 days. what i really want to point out is late at nite as i cried, it was nice strangers who brought me out of my mourning to chat. i am a veteran and i have felt the pain of our fallen comrads, but i really was tryin to say thank you to those who chatted with me and kepted checking to help me. it is nice to see we have good people who care, thats what humanity is all about. i am not a special case, just like to give credit where its due.
thanks to all, and joe is the taller one. together for 15 yrs, 24/7 and gone in 3 days. what i really want to point out is late at nite as i cried, it was nice strangers who brought me out of my mourning to chat. i am a veteran and i have felt the pain of our fallen comrads, but i really was tryin to say thank you to those who chatted with me and kepted checking to help me. it is nice to see we have good people who care, thats what humanity is all about. i am not a special case, just like to give credit where its due.
Sorry for his loss , but only in tragedy are alot of people nicer to others. Like after 9/11, we was 1 country but it didn’t take long to regress back to our normal selves. Speaking of politics all this Repub vs. Dem is exactly what is wrong with this country. It’s party agenda first, and the people are somewhere at the bottom.
I would like to say that I send out my thoughts & prayers to you & your lost love one & commend you both for representing what a TRUE relationship is within the gay community. A lot of people usually think that all gay men do is hook up catch some sorta STD & pass it along to another but that is truely not the case, you guys represent that true love can be found & had no matter what & that’s what truely matters. Thank you for sharing your story & your heart!!!!
Hi there, I’m Tim from Manhunt. While it’s true we remove content from profiles that don’t relate to a member and what he’s looking for; it’s not our policy AT ALL to add or modify a member’s profile in any other way. Would you mind contacting our support team — support@manhunt.net (or you can contact me directly: timmy@manhunt.net) and I will make sure that we investigate this issue fully to clear up any confusion.
It’s not, nor has it ever been our policy to modify profiles in any other way than to keep everything within our site’s Terms of Service.
I promise we’ll get to the bottom of this; thanks for your post.
I’m so happy for Wills and Kate, at last. Diana’s ring on Kate’s hand (at first) made me feel immense sadness for a woman we so loved, but what a beautiful reminder we now have each time we see lovely Kate.
MyOpinion, I’m outraged that you compare me to a vile person like Rev Phelps. How dare you?! I pointed out that the gay community needs to take care of each other. While manhunt was a mere facilitator, the gay community is the one that comforted him. If mh wants to truly be helpful in the gay community as it is trying to portray with this story, maybe it needs to stop censoring the gays themselves.
we remove content from profiles that don’t relate to a member
Thanks, that phrase explains how mh works. So we shouldnt be involved in politics other than heaping praise to democrats? Should we be mindless sex machines talking about how we like it bareback to be acceptable on mh?
I can contact you, and i can send u pictures of the modified version (since the original i never expected to be treated like that). I can tell you it was two days before Nov 4 elections or two days after the verdict. I can tell you my sn, but how is that gonna help? You keep track of everything? Or is it just something bureaucrats do to save face?
Manhunt is a place for men to meet men; not a political forum – so “heaping phrase” to any party isn’t really what our site is about, which is why we try and make sure profiles are neutral.
And although it has its risks, barebacking is not an illegal activity, and thus we don’t prohibit members from practicing a consensual, legal sexual activity. We DO have plenty of resources via the Health button (at http://www.manhuntdaily.com/) to help educate our members to make the best and most educated choices for themselves and their partners. We have numerous organizations that field questions regarding risky sexual behavior that can be accessed by going to our online Health Center. These organizations can answer any questions you may have about sexual health issues.
Feel free to send your member information over as I previously stated so that we can look in to your issue; we’d be happy to look in to any information we have on our end that might clear things up.
Thanks.
wishing you happiness for the future *hugs*