Gemmel & Tim: The Tragic Case of Ed Buck | A True Crime Documentary – Video

By Best Documentary 8 minutes Ago 1 Min Read

This documentary explores the lives and untimely deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, two Black gay men whose stories ended tragically in the shadow of West Hollywood political figure Ed Buck. Friends and loved ones reflect on their lives, revealing the haunting truths behind these deaths.

Director: MICHIEL THOMAS

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Video “Gemmel & Tim: The Ed Buck Tragedy | True Crime Documentary” was uploaded on 10/12/2025 to Youtube Channel Best Documentary

Tags: documentary LGBTQ+ True crime

Best Documentary 3 November 2026

30 Comments

@KATKattalestv says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Gemmel's Friends 😻

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@ziyahthefiya says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Excellent documentary.

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@igorarturo-k9d says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Beautiful souls,rest in peace

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@CalypsoVenusian says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Ed Buck being a Democrat is very telling

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@ruthhaywood3473 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

I say live and let live. I love gay men. They make the best friends. I miss my best friend. He passed from cancer. Thanks 4 telling this story

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@stevendrake9591 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

This is powerful. Through tragedy people found their voices. Even when other's inaction attempted to silence them, they refused to be silent. The lesson is it doesn't take a lot of money or a lot a people, it just takes a few voices.

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@Hobbitma says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Heartbreaking 💔

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@ampgorky says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Thank you for this documentary; prayers up and lots of love to everyone touched by this for the rest of eternity, especially the family and friends.

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@ampgorky says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

I really love Jerome, you don’t see many people as brave as him, and I love all the friends as well. What great friends

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@jjstar1000 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Democrats are demons

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@tomorasmall296 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

There are lots more Ed Bucks out there.

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@deelow835 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Amazing

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@wilsixone says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

I'm a gay man from just outside NYC my whole life. I'm now in my early 60s, been *out my entire adult life. I am white. In the 80s and 90s, by the sound of it, Crystal wasn't as prevelant here. But, we got it out in Fire Island. I had my share of experiences with Tina at the wheel. Just a comment on this really well put together documentary on the gay/Crystal community. I heard several references to different things that sounded victim-ey. Don't let yourselves get wrapped up in who's at fault. You got to do everything in your power to make sure YOU are the only power in the end. If you want to employ cohorts, fine. Don't blame other people. This dude Ed Buck is a punk. He can suggest, but in the end, it's your deal. You can say no and find another way to make money if selling your body doesn't work. Leave the skin color out of stuff, it's BEHAVIOR .

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@wilsixone says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Gay black man, gay black man, gay black man!! Jesus! You do realize if Ed Buck got off on white bodybuilders, that's who would have died in Buck's apartment, right?? Please, cut it TF out with the skin color. It's behavioral 100% There's no "having another opinion" about it. You're not going to get anywhere playing first, the black victim card, then the gay victim card. The DOUBLE VICTIM yahoo! Just take responsibility. It's not EASY, nothing worth anything is.

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@MaxzombieBrooks says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

It’s so disgusting how they protected that predator and failed all those young men.

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@BetterThanDrinking says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Ooh yay! This is my neighborhood. Boys town is the best town to party safely, and un-safely. Please take care‼️🫶🏽

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@BetterThanDrinking says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Yup. As a queer woman, I had to 1:03:52 do seks work in order to avoid being homeless , living in Los Angeles. Long time ago… but it’s hard out here and sometimes you have to do what you have to do to survive. Please be safe 💙

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@cantstoptheflow says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

I’m glad justice was served! I was just like everyone in this documentary being controlled by powerful men to do deplorable things and go against my moral fibers for monetary gain. I never had a drug habit or did drugs, but I was addicted to the feeling of being wanted and sought out. Not realizing all along it was the total opposite. Those men didn’t respect me and didn’t care if I lived or died! RIP IN PEACE TO ALL THE VICTIMS AND I HOPE THE LIVING VICTIMS FIND SOME HEALTHY COMFORT IN THE WORLD AND ARE HEALING FROM THESE TRAUMAS LIKE I DID!

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@Kim-mz8co says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Thank you for this excellent documentary. I'm sorry it needed to be made. I'm 70. I knew Ed Buck as a fellow activist in Arizona. I've attended meetings he attended. I was serving my Master's degree internship with at State of Arizona Block Grants Administration office in Phoenix when Governor Mecham was demanding the names of LGBT people serving in State Offices and it was Ed Buck who led the demand for his re-call and eventual removal. I served as Arizona's first openly LGBT member of the AZ delegation to the Democratic National Convention in 1984 and helped set up the State's first anonymous testing and counseling site in 1985. Ed Buck and I along with many others were active in Democratic and LGBT activism.

It's so odd to watch this documentary with so many connections. I lived in West Hollywood for a short time in the 90s so I'm familiar with all the locations and many of the people. I didn't know Gemmel and Tim. I was already living in SE Asia when these horrible events happened or I would have been out there in front of Ed Buck's apartment building and shouting down corrupt politicians with you; who knows how many other casualties or close calls there were. My best wishes go out to all of Gemmel and Tim's friends, family members and supporters who continued to stand up for them and share their love. It's rare that justice finds its way into the LGBTQIA+ and especially the Black and Brown communities. Thank you for all you have accomplished.

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@jenniferyule8786 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Sick of this community of people made out to be as fragile as children, when in reality gay men and women can be as corrupt and violent and untrustworthy as the rest of the population and do not need special treatment. The battles were fort before the 2000s and now they all want to believe EVERYONE is against them in some form. News: no one is, no one even thinks about it anymore. In fact its so common you all must hate NOT being unique anymore.

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@BuddhatheRockstar says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Very very moving. What an amazing group of friends and family. They never quit and saved so many lives. There was a brief film shot of the basket court. In the back of that court in Black was MAMBA. Is this Kobe's Foundation…

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@YHWH-s3h says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

creepy ass Demoncrat.

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@ChillVanille says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

I didn’t realize how uncaring and hands off the justice system was in this case. It’s disgusting.

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@rnberry9043 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

To the disrespectful and their domesticated,

You’re operating under the impression that, somehow, amidst the solidarity of the Black community, this is about your opinion. It is not. This documentary is not about meth, nor is it about victimhood. It is about accountability and acknowledgment.

There is a persistent assumption—often made by gays—that Black people are inherently homophobic. Yet in this beautifully cut and produced documentary, it was a Black homosexual man, a man of character, tenacity, courage, and love, who led a campaign against injustices occurring within LGBTQIA communities. A Black, openly homosexual man led, and others within the Black community followed. Something gays frequently claim would never happen has, in fact, happened.

The narrative that the Black community is homophobic is a lie—one routinely deployed by individuals such as yourself to isolate and exploit potential Black victims. I will not indulge contemporary euphemisms like “gaslighting.” Let us call this what it is: classical and operant conditioning.

Meth is merely a tool. By artificially elevating dopamine to simulate feelings of worth and pleasure, it replaces the oxytocin necessary for bonding and love. This neurochemical imbalance desensitizes the body’s biophysiological response to oxytocin, diminishing its capacity for attachment. This is why Tim’s friend admitted he could not sustain relationships, despite wanting one. He was stripped of the capacity to love, rendering him vulnerable—enslaved to white gay fetishizations and fantasies.

You proceed under the assumption that we are either unintelligent or lack the education and cognitive capacity to recognize what you have instituted. That is precisely why Ed Buck required federal prosecution rather than action from the West Hollywood District Attorney’s office.

LGBTQIA communities function as nexus points—hubs—of criminality. Historically, organized crime exploited gay communities for racketeering in exchange for “safe spaces.” Cowardly yet ambitious, this arrangement explains why communal gay centers consistently exist within specific socioeconomic tiers: middle-upper and lower-upper-class neighborhoods. And yet, as anyone who has spent time there can attest, few work less than the white gay man.

So where did Ed Buck’s money originate? I was unaware that Social Security benefits were so generous. Or was it the life insurance policies taken out on the missing that funded the lavish lifestyles and extended vacations? Buck concealed his wealth through offshore accounts and multiple shell LLCs. These methods have been employed since the 1920s.

Looking further back, the iconography adopted by LGBTQIA movements traces its lineage to 1930s Berlin. Does Ernst Röhm come to mind? The Third Reich possessed an aesthetic flair that remains unmistakable within the leather scene. The eagle—used by Rome, by Nazism, and earlier civilizations—originates even further back, to Iran, the land of the Aryans. White supremacy is not incidental; it is foundational to the structure upon which the LGBTQIA identity was built.

For clarity: I am a FOUNDATIONAL Black American. I honor Nat Turner. I listen to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. I prefer Black men. I refer to Malcolm X by his true name, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. And I acknowledge Stonewall as a calculated farce—a strategic maneuver designed to tether itself to the civil rights movement while simultaneously infiltrating and influencing culture through positions of power, including record executives—Jewish and gay.

Am I wrong? Coincidences, I’m sure. And no, stating documented truths is not antisemitism. Saying West Hollywood is where gays congregate, or that the majority of American basketball players are Black American, is not racism. It is factual acknowledgment.

Accountability is not hatred. And yet the gay community remains governed by entitled, demonic, mundane, pedestrian gay fascists. Only within this community could someone like Ed Buck evade prosecution for multiple deaths occurring in his home—necessitating federal intervention despite PLENTIFUL evidence.

What I admire about Black Americans is their ability to rise from the darkest moments and shine with unmatched brilliance. The reverberations of their triumph unsettle timid egos, manifesting as hatred and envy. They may not consciously remember their power, but it is felt worldwide—shared among them, whether straight, bisexual, or homosexual.

They are a people who overcame division to honor those murdered by a white gay domestic terrorist—one whose actions were met with silence from LGBTQIA leadership. Black people overcame. They answered hate with love. Love was the motivation; strategy was the genius.

You may control local governments. You may even exert influence at the state level. But there are always ways to circumvent power.

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@amberholland5561 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

What a sick and twisted man. These poor men were taken advantage of and used. So sad that no one questioned it. Sickening.

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@ChazSmithProductions says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

I knew Ed Buck in the 80s – He was NEVER a Republican.

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@DavidMiller-u4s1c says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

Silverlake okie prayers.🎉

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@eliasia9772 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

So this is what I have to say about this situation regarding John Duran purposely neglecting to move on holding Ed Buck accountable for his behavior first I want to address John durand's response after Jerome spoke at a hearing and referred to John Durant as a perp which I will have to agree with that and stating that Ed Buck had John Duran in his pocket he responded by saying very sarcastically and with the smile on his face and then going on and saying okay from the big purp thank you very much and then give him a wave that was very sarcastic display of contempt. You know I always look at things and I noticed things that other people don't notice and I don't know if I have this right but it seemed from what I was understanding that John Duran started off with all of this by suggesting that if any Witnesses came forward and were transparent about their experiences with Ed buck whether it was using crystal meth smoking it using it intravenously selling it buying it whatever that it could be taken as if they were incriminating themselves and they could wind up getting arrested put on the flip side of that the police officers in his City have been to Ed bucks home multiple times now here a second time someone died in his apartment in both times at the scene that was drug paraphernalia Etc but no type of action threat of action consideration of action had never been suggested or made towards Ed buck the person home now 2 black men have died in his apartment so for me of course I think Xbox should get arrested for the depths of those men but I believe John Duran and that city and state ought to be liable for not doing anything especially when they threaten possible Witnesses that if they were to say anything about some of the things that they experience with him involving the use of drugs or anything in that matter regarding ed bucks apartment and the things that occurred there that they could get arrested. I believe it's misuse of power and it is wrong and I think those people shouldn't have only been going to get Ed buck arrested but I believe John Duran and the city and state or whoever should be accountable for the threats that they made prior to possible Witnesses coming out and being transparent about their experiences with Ed buck
And lastly I want to say this I know a lot of people are not going to like this but this is a straight up truth and fact I've had experiences and I've done things myself there are some things I just will not do I don't care how much money I get I don't care what you offer I don't care what the possible benefits I may think I may get from doing certain things I draw the line I don't always draw the line I see a lot of people especially these days a lot of young people their attitude is I got to get that paper I got to get that paper I got to get that paper and it is more to it then an individual being preyed upon as far as I'm concerned it goes both ways and I'm definitely not advocating for that sack of shit Ed buck because he should definitely be exactly where he is probably should have been there far before these things ever happen he's a public figure he knows right from wrong he knows exactly what he's doing and he knows what consequences are he may have believed that he would never experience the consequences but he knows what they are we all know what they are drug addiction is very very difficult thing once you get into it and you you've been doing it for a while but if Jamal started off and allowed Ed buck to introduce him to drugs that's on Jamal he was the one who was willing to do what he did for whatever reason he did it whether it's for the money or whatever it is sometimes we have to suffer we have to just suffer for things that we don't have going and doing whatever you are capable of doing for a dollar it's the wrong road to take especially when you already know the consequences not only that you also know that you're disrespecting yourself you're allowing another person to disrespect you but you also know if you're doing drugs at any point you could get into some type of trouble from using them from purchasing them and not only that if you're escorting you know there could be consequences from that but just like Ed buck disregard it the things that he could face as a result of the things he was doing and most likely had been doing for a very long time Jamal did the same thing drugs affect you you can do some and you can do some more but there's a Time when you know that you're not feeling well your mind's not right you feel sick your body is not feeling right sometimes it's hard not to go back because of the addiction but to continue with it because of money and giving someone or allowing someone to have you for money I don't think in the long run nothing good comes out of it this is sad and I'm not saying this about this situation but it is it has been said if you live by the sword you die by the sword so with that I would say this and this is not about Timothy Dean because he was certainly old enough wise enough to know better and I'm pretty sure he probably accept total responsibility for the part that he played but Jamal played a part in his own death as well and that's just pure fact I'd rather live in a shelter suffer go through whatever it is I have to go through then allow someone to accompany me by offering me money to totally destroy myself I don't care how much money they would offer me I know how to turn things down I know how to say you know what this is enough I can't do this at the rate that I'm doing it at least I could tell myself I can't do it at this rate that person is going to have to be without me as frequently as they would like to be with me we make a decision on things like that and our decisions are the things that cause us more harm than we initially believe Could Happen although we know all these things are always possible when we do certain things I do things myself I'm not perfect but what Jamal did I would never do it's overkill for me too much not worth it I can do a lot on my own in fact I know that it would be safer for me to do more things on my own rather than be around Ed buck and I believe Jamal knew that too but he chose the money over his well-being in the beginning and whatever else it was that he chose. Now his addiction and the way he felt before he died from some of the the passages that were in his journals that's not his fault because I'm pretty sure he had no idea that drugs were going to take him where they took him and I don't mean that I just mean the state that it put him in once he got to that point all else was easy he became a clear victim and pray of Ed buck and Ed buck knew that he's always known that with every person that he deals with that's why he uses the strategy and the methods that he uses and that's why he continued to do it but let's remember one thing he's a drug addict as well so he doesn't care about too much his own self whether it's all due to the drugs I don't know but I know that drugs can do that to you that you don't have too much concern about what's really going on in reality or about other people needs and concerns and emotions I'm very sorry for both of these deaths of our black men but let's not put the responsibility or fault on these things have been happen because we were black maybe Ed buck thought a black man was good prey for reasons that are not accurate as if we are foolish and dumb and less than rather than a willingness to do or go beyond limits for cash and it's black men we don't and we shouldn't fall under any of those categories we're put and assumed to be in those categories and if that is the way people think and want to treat us there's nothing we can do about how another person feels about us but we can absolutely and do have the power to be above those things it's just a matter of wear your morals are and what do you really care about in life I care more about me and my God then I do of anything that any man can give me or offer me but I'm not perfect because I've done things thinking it'll be okay nothing's going to happen but also knowing that there was a possibility but still going ahead to take the chance and sometimes nothing happened but sometimes they were consequences but the consequences were always there it was just a matter of when and if I was going to suffer them and some things are just not worth it it's better to take the long road or climb the mountain sometimes.

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@eliasia9772 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

So this is what I have to say about this situation regarding John Duran purposely neglecting to move on holding Ed Buck accountable for his behavior first I want to address John durand's response after Jerome spoke at a hearing and referred to John Durant as a perp which I will have to agree with that and stating that Ed Buck had John Duran in his pocket he responded by saying very sarcastically and with the smile on his face and then going on and saying okay from the big purp thank you very much and then give him a wave that was very sarcastic display of contempt. You know I always look at things and I noticed things that other people don't notice and I don't know if I have this right but it seemed from what I was understanding that John Duran started off with all of this by suggesting that if any Witnesses came forward and were transparent about their experiences with Ed buck whether it was using crystal meth smoking it using it intravenously selling it buying it whatever that it could be taken as if they were incriminating themselves and they could wind up getting arrested put on the flip side of that the police officers in his City have been to Ed bucks home multiple times now here a second time someone died in his apartment in both times at the scene that was drug paraphernalia Etc but no type of action threat of action consideration of action had never been suggested or made towards Ed buck the person home now 2 black men have died in his apartment so for me of course I think Xbox should get arrested for the depths of those men but I believe John Duran and that city and state ought to be liable for not doing anything especially when they threaten possible Witnesses that if they were to say anything about some of the things that they experience with him involving the use of drugs or anything in that matter regarding ed bucks apartment and the things that occurred there that they could get arrested. I believe it's misuse of power and it is wrong and I think those people shouldn't have only been going to get Ed buck arrested but I believe John Duran and the city and state or whoever should be accountable for the threats that they made prior to possible Witnesses coming out and being transparent about their experiences with Ed buck
And lastly I want to say this I know a lot of people are not going to like this but this is a straight up truth and fact I've had experiences and I've done things myself there are some things I just will not do I don't care how much money I get I don't care what you offer I don't care what the possible benefits I may think I may get from doing certain things I draw the line I don't always draw the line I see a lot of people especially these days a lot of young people their attitude is I got to get that paper I got to get that paper I got to get that paper and it is more to it then an individual being preyed upon as far as I'm concerned it goes both ways and I'm definitely not advocating for that sack of shit Ed buck because he should definitely be exactly where he is probably should have been there far before these things ever happen he's a public figure he knows right from wrong he knows exactly what he's doing and he knows what consequences are he may have believed that he would never experience the consequences but he knows what they are we all know what they are drug addiction is very very difficult thing once you get into it and you you've been doing it for a while but if Jamal started off and allowed Ed buck to introduce him to drugs that's on Jamal he was the one who was willing to do what he did for whatever reason he did it whether it's for the money or whatever it is sometimes we have to suffer we have to just suffer for things that we don't have going and doing whatever you are capable of doing for a dollar it's the wrong road to take especially when you already know the consequences not only that you also know that you're disrespecting yourself you're allowing another person to disrespect you but you also know if you're doing drugs at any point you could get into some type of trouble from using them from purchasing them and not only that if you're escorting you know there could be consequences from that but just like Ed buck disregard it the things that he could face as a result of the things he was doing and most likely had been doing for a very long time Jamal did the same thing drugs affect you you can do some and you can do some more but there's a Time when you know that you're not feeling well your mind's not right you feel sick your body is not feeling right sometimes it's hard not to go back because of the addiction but to continue with it because of money and giving someone or allowing someone to have you for money I don't think in the long run nothing good comes out of it this is sad and I'm not saying this about this situation but it is it has been said if you live by the sword you die by the sword so with that I would say this and this is not about Timothy Dean because he was certainly old enough wise enough to know better and I'm pretty sure he probably accept total responsibility for the part that he played but Jamal played a part in his own death as well and that's just pure fact I'd rather live in a shelter suffer go through whatever it is I have to go through then allow someone to accompany me by offering me money to totally destroy myself I don't care how much money they would offer me I know how to turn things down I know how to say you know what this is enough I can't do this at the rate that I'm doing it at least I could tell myself I can't do it at this rate that person is going to have to be without me as frequently as they would like to be with me we make a decision on things like that and our decisions are the things that cause us more harm than we initially believe Could Happen although we know all these things are always possible when we do certain things I do things myself I'm not perfect but what Jamal did I would never do it's overkill for me too much not worth it I can do a lot on my own in fact I know that it would be safer for me to do more things on my own rather than be around Ed buck and I believe Jamal knew that too but he chose the money over his well-being in the beginning and whatever else it was that he chose. Now his addiction and the way he felt before he died from some of the the passages that were in his journals that's not his fault because I'm pretty sure he had no idea that drugs were going to take him where they took him and I don't mean that I just mean the state that it put him in once he got to that point all else was easy he became a clear victim and pray of Ed buck and Ed buck knew that he's always known that with every person that he deals with that's why he uses the strategy and the methods that he uses and that's why he continued to do it but let's remember one thing he's a drug addict as well so he doesn't care about too much his own self whether it's all due to the drugs I don't know but I know that drugs can do that to you that you don't have too much concern about what's really going on in reality or about other people needs and concerns and emotions I'm very sorry for both of these deaths of our black men but let's not put the responsibility or fault on these things have been happen because we were black maybe Ed buck thought a black man was good prey for reasons that are not accurate as if we are foolish and dumb and less than rather than a willingness to do or go beyond limits for cash and it's black men we don't and we shouldn't fall under any of those categories we're put and assumed to be in those categories and if that is the way people think and want to treat us there's nothing we can do about how another person feels about us but we can absolutely and do have the power to be above those things it's just a matter of wear your morals are and what do you really care about in life I care more about me and my God then I do of anything that any man can give me or offer me but I'm not perfect because I've done things thinking it'll be okay nothing's going to happen but also knowing that there was a possibility but still going ahead to take the chance and sometimes nothing happened but sometimes they were consequences but the consequences were always there it was just a matter of when and if I was going to suffer them and some things are just not worth it it's better to take the long road or climb the mountain sometimes.

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@imnosheep13 says:

3 November 2026 at 23:59

To all the close friends, chosen family, partners and actual family, .. i just wana say that in my thoughts n prayers im extending my arms out like huuge spaghetti noodles long enough to fit around all of you… you all are amazing people and you should all stand proud of yourselves for coming together with a committed and devoted spirit to keep marching forward right into the face of adversity, and for never losing the faith even when youd been knocked down by these local officials, This film was a great in how it shows the world WHO these young men REALLY were and the Love they spread in their time here with us… i just pray that with bucks sentencing and your full circle journey of tremendous persistence and conviction, that you guys are able to do some real healing and stay connected with eachother bonded by your losses….🙏🏽👏🏽💪🏽

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