Office of @RepRaskin announces his 25-year-old son Tommy has died.

[demmiblue]

Link to tweet

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Stunningly sad.

Maybe Omaha Steve can setup a DU/ActBlue account for donations....I cannot imagine what his parents are going through.


Was it COVID related?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. I doubt very much that the Raskins need the money,

though they might appreciate donations to a charity. So far all I've been able to find on Google regarding what happened to him is "undisclosed cause."

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. I was thinking more about a donation to whatever cause the Raskin' deem appropriate.

My heart goes out to them tonight...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. I'm sure that would be appropriate and appreciated.

Very sad, he was only 25.

[liberalhistorian]

8. Perhaps donations to a

global poverty organization, or something like Doctors Without Borders, in his honor since he was passionate about such causes, would be one way to honor him. His poor parents and family, what a terrible tragedy.

[elleng]

21. Jamie's my member of Congress.

We may hear from him, about 'donations,' later.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. ...

[malaise]

3. Too sad

[smirkymonkey]

6. God, how sad!

He was such a baby and seemed to have such a bright future ahead of him. My condolences to the entire Raskin family. They must be devastated. It sounds like this was not expected.

RIP, Tommy.

[moonscape]

37. Just saw both Raskins in separate interviews on

Ari I think it was - a couple of days ago? If it had been expected, don't see how those interviews would have happened, so agree.

[smirkymonkey]

39. First of all, he was very young.

Secondly, if it had been expected, I think they would have mentioned that his death had occurred after either a long or even a brief illness. The fact that they are not disclosing the cause of death makes me believe it was sudden and unexpected and that more information is needed before they share it with the public.

[DeminPennswoods]

48. That happened with

a friend's child who was about the same age, went to bed fine and never woke up.

[smirkymonkey]

49. It could have been a number of things, but they won't know until an autopsy.

Anything from a congenital heart defect to an accidental overdose to suicide.

We just won't know until the family decides that they ever want to share it with us, if they even do. It's just very sad, regardless of the cause. He was much too young to go.

[DeminPennswoods]

50. Of course, just pointing out that apparently healthy young people

do sometimes pass quite unexpectedly.

[onecaliberal]

9. Oh my... 😢😢

💔

[Hekate]

10. Heartbreaking!

[mcar]

11. Terrible

[SunSeeker]

12. OMG, how awful. What happened?

I would be irreparably devastated if I lost my son. His family must be going through such anguish...

[2naSalit]

13. ...

[BlancheSplanchnik]

14. 😔 🕯

🙏🏾

[cilla4progress]

15. Presumably COVID, yes?

This is devastating. I always listen when he comes on MSNBC. He is a great progressive from Maryland.

How tragic!!

[BigmanPigman]

19. If he was fine on Monday

could he have died of Covid so quickly, and he was only 25?

2020 SUCKS! Poor Jamie, I always listen when he is on MSNBC too.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. Probably not covid - all I could locate was "undisclosed cause."

[BigmanPigman]

29. Whenever I read that I usually

think it was suicide since people are not as likely to say the cause of death was suicide. I don't know why families usually do not report this as the cause. A terrible situation, none the less.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

35. Me too

[demmiblue]

16. Gah:

Link to tweet

[SleeplessinSoCal]

28. Hear! Hear!

Dumbfounded.

[Leghorn21]

17. Incomprehensible loss

[elleng]

18. CONGRESSMAN RASKIN ANNOUNCES LOSS OF SON TOMMY RASKIN. Edited

TAKOMA PARK, M.D. – With profound sorrow, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Sarah Bloom Raskin today announced the loss of their son Thomas (Tommy) Bloom Raskin, 25, who was a second-year student at Harvard Law School and a graduate of Amherst College.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10564164

[AnnaLee]

20. Is this the same Tommy Raskin?

https://libertarianinstitute.org/author/traskin/
About 2/3 of the way down the page is the credit under one of the writings that says:

"Tommy Raskin is pursuing a J.D. at Harvard Law School."

[LiberalArkie]

24. I believe that article is a publication of Amherst. Probably started when a student there.

[elleng]

25. Yes, from Amherst to Harvard Law.

Thanks for this. Deserves attention.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

22. We saw both parents on MSNBC with Ali Velshi just this week.

Cannot stomach how we lose the wonderful young people and get stuck on earth with the Trump sons.

[smirkymonkey]

40. Funny. I was thinking the same thing.

Why is it always the decent people who seem to leave this world early and the evil ones seem to live for fucking ever?

[Evolve Dammit]

23. Sincere sympathies to the Congressman and his family.

[cry baby]

27. ...

Such sorrow.

[MontanaMama]

30. ...

[blogslut]

31. This is crushing

What a terrible loss to them

[ANetliner]

32. Devastating Loss

My heart goes out to Congressman Jamie Raskin, Sarah Bloom Raskin and their family.

I can’t imagine anything more heartbreaking than losing a son or a daughter.

It is clear that Tommy Raskin was a young man of tremendous promise and considerable idealism. This loss is a devastating one for Tommy’s family and friends.

[niyad]

33. . . .

[BeyondGeography]

34. Unbearable loss

My whole heart goes out to the Raskins.

[iluvtennis]

36. My heart aches for them. It's against nature for a child to pass on before the parents. nt

[Lucinda]

38. ❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

[Rabrrrrrr]

41. Reads like a possible death by suicide, making it even more tragic if so. Sigh.

so much death this year.

[Demovictory9]

45. Yeah. Unfortunately. When obits avoid the cause...

Suicide or drug od

RIP

[BusyBeingBest]

42. Terrible. My heart goes out to them.

[MH1]

43. Terrible loss. Folks should stop with speculations of "suicide"

just because the cause of death is undisclosed.

There are a lot of ways a healthy young person can die suddenly, and suicide isn't the only one that parents might not want to disclose.

It's none of our business, and the assumption of suicide as the cause could be hurtful. Just accept that we don't know, and it is a tragedy no matter the cause.

[elleng]

44. Thanks. I agree.

[BobTheSubgenius]

46. That family must be in tatters. What a horrible, horrible turn of events.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

47. Second Year Harvard Law Student, Described as 'Pure Magic,' Dies at 25

Second Year Harvard Law Student, Described as ‘Pure Magic,’ Dies at 25

By Emmy M. Cho, Crimson Staff Writer
15 hours ago

Second year Harvard Law School student Thomas B. “Tommy” Raskin has died, his father, Rep. Jamin Ben “Jamie” Raskin ’83 (D-Md.), announced in a statement Thursday. ... “Tommy was pure magic. His brilliance and compassion knew no bounds. He passionately loved his family, friends, and animals, and was devoted to the cause of the global poor,” the statement reads. “We are devastated and demolished to be without him.” ... The family did not announce a cause of death.

Thomas Raskin, 25, graduated from Amherst College in 2017. He had been a teaching fellow in the undergraduate course General Education 1171: “Justice: Ethics in an Age of Pandemic and Racial Reckoning,” according to his LinkedIn profile.

“Tommy is survived by his beloved sisters Hannah and Tabitha, dozens of loving aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and grandparents Arlene Bloom and Lynn Raskin,” the official statement added. “The family is grateful for the outpouring of support and love from neighbors, constituents, and friends but asks everyone to observe strict COVID-19 protocols during this time of grief.”

Raskin’s father is serving his second term representing Maryland’s 8th congressional district and formerly taught constitutional law at American University. His mother, Sarah Bloom Raskin, is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary.

—Staff writer Emmy M. Cho can be reached at [e-mail].

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