Mr. Colgan was well known for his politics in Chico, most notably for organizing the Occupy Chico protest in the City Plaza. The Butte County Coroner’s Office confirmed today that Quentin Colgan, died Monday. Mr. Colgan ran for the Chico City Council in 2010 and was a blogger for NorCal Blogs until recently and commented many times on Post Scripts.
Colgan’s son found him not breathing Monday evening in his residence on The Esplanade, according to the Coroner’s Office. Investigators found no indication of foul play.
Oh, my God. That is awful. My heart goes out to Quentin’s friends and family. I don’t know what else to say right now.
OH my, so young. How sad for his son to find him.
God Bless his Soul and God Bless his family.
Quentin and I sparred with each other on many occasions and although we disagreed strongly I always knew that we shared a deep and abiding love for other people and for our country.
My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. In particular my best wishes and continued prayers remain for the wounded warrior nephew Quentin mentioned in his comments. His sacrifice for America and our freedom will never be forgotten and I know Quentin cared deeply for him and his circumstance.
I’m shocked and saddened by this news. RIP
Quentin and I fought over political issues. When we met, I found that I liked him very much as a man who stood his ground. I am so very sorry to hear of his passing. Chico has lost a great voice, no matter the side of an issue. God Bless you Quentin, and God Bless his family. You have everything to be proud of in Quentin. He never hid behind power and position, and more importantly, he had the guts to challenge it when it affected other people’s lives. RIP Quentin! I am going to miss our debate!
This is sad. He has been a fixture of local politics for a few years now. Quentin was a truly unique person, and he will be missed.
The best and most appropriate eulogy comes from Quentin Colgan himself when he was using taxpayer funds to produce the following at Butte College in 2010 —
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXMCeCpWsBs
That video makes one realize that words do matter.
It gives one pause.
It also gives real meaning to the very difficult task of loving and forgiving even those who oppose or would do harm to you and others. Here are a couple of my favorite gentle reminders:
HE sees…and none of us is worthy. Once again…R.I.P., Q.
I am content to let Quentin Colgan speak for himself and Jesus’ apostles to speak for themselves. You may recall that I argued that Quentin Colgan not be blocked from posting here. On several occasions. A request that went unheeded. Now he is dead and cannot post here. So it goes.
Wherever ol Quentin is I hope he finally got the straight scoop about all his theories and the answer to, “What would Jesus do?”
RIP Q
Pie I just realized my remarks might give the impression that I was speaking directly to you since it was you who posted the video. I wish to assure you personally, and all of our readers, I was not.
My remarks followed a moment of reflection and self-appraisal after I viewed the video…it reminded me that one day I too will be gone, yet, what I write here will live on.
I remember your support of Quentin and I appreciate and share your commitment to free speech. I also enjoyed reading the exchanges you had with him…I apologize if my words harmed or insulted you in any way.
No insult was taken nor even passed my mind. I was simply speaking my own mind. By the way, I have given up anonymity and I don’t care anymore. My name is David Walton and I live in Chico. Pie Guevara is an iconoclastic, heterodoxic creation of a part of my personality that I now have come to embrace.
I am not a Tea Party member, but I support their voices and endeavors. Quentin Colgan relentlessly and speciously attacked the Tea Party with false charges of violence, bigotry, and racism. We should remember him for what he was, a malevolent, foul mouthed lunatic who was consumed by hatred and ill will. I am content to let God sort Quentin Colgan out as He will be sorting my life out when I am dead.
Well said David (Pie). I hope you will continue to join us here. I’ve missed your strong voice.
That video was produced in my kitchen and I paid all costs associated with it. Wrong again, Pie! Since what you say is a lie, and you are speaking of my friend, who is now dead, why don’t you apologize, hm?
I’m told it’s not good to speak unkindly of the dead. If I can think of something I liked about him, I’ll be sure to say so.
R.I.P. Q.
Out of respect for a great hero and leader I propose that we put divisive politics aside and focusing on helping and healing our broken community.
I have known Quentin for over 20 years. Many people probably don’t know this, but he could work a head gate at the cattle markings with prescision and skill. He was a bit rough around the edges, not always tactful in the presentation of his words, and had a tendency to get caught up in the passion of his beliefs, but he had a heart of gold. We lived our lives as different as night and day, we were polar opposites but he was always steadfast in his friendship. He was a true friend and would literally drop everything to help someone in need. Those who put forth the effort to REALLY get to know him, knew he was kind, humble, caring and compassionate at the core. My life has been enriched by his presence and he will be greatly missed. Godspeed Quentin wherever you are!
After reading about Quentin’s death, I was filled with thoughts of what I know of him. Truth is, most of my memories of him are not all that good. Almost every memory I have of him are colored by the many times I read his comments and the many replies I have returned. That being said, never have I wished Q’ harm, and now that I learn he has passed from this world, I will refrain from attacking his character.
It is true that, other than Jack and Tina, I am not sure there are too many people who have been the target of Q’s vicious anger. Most of the comments left by Q on my blog were so vile that I was unable to edit them for posting. He was definitely a man who spoke his mind, regardless of who his mind was set against.
I met Q one twice in the short time I knew him. One time was at a Tea Party rally where he was fairly civil towards everyone. I quickly learned that the man who was known to leave fiery comments on right-wing blogs was quite different than the man one met on the street.
After I introduced myself to him, he commented about the way I stood as if my back was sore. I gave him a quick history of my back troubles, to which he offered the name of his chiropractor. He told me the man was great at helping him with his troubles. It was not something one would expect from an arch enemy. I am comfortable with admitting that I was as cordial and pleasant with him as he was with me. Like he was, I too am not nearly as toxic as the man behind the keyboard.
The next time I met Q’ was at a city council meeting where he expressed his opinion about the upcoming wood banning days the council was considering. It was a rare time we saw eye to eye, unfortunately the council saw things differently. We said our peace, but never spoke in person again.
In all our back and forth on politics and religion, we seldom saw the world through the same mindset. Like me, Q claimed to be a Christian, but most of the time when we debated theology, it was on subjects that we would not agree with.
The best way to describe what theological differences we had, would be to mention how we looked at sin, and what we considered God says is sin. To me, sin is something I do that God said not to do, regardless of how big or small that matter is. For who can truly achieve the equality of a perfect God? So anything that falls short of God’s perfection is sin, and that is how I see sin.
Quentin looked at sin in a different way than me. Q’ believed that when Christ came, that He changed what certain aspects of sin is. For Q, sin was something he could justify by claiming God changed his mind, and so that which the Bible said was evil, is now good and needs no forgiveness. Q’ made the mistake many liberal theologian make, they fail to understand that God is the same today, yesterday, and forever.
If I knew ahead of time that Quentin was going to die, then I would have tried to convince him of his error when it comes to how he believed God looked at sin. I would have told him that because God is the same today, yesterday and forever, that what God calls sin is also the same. I would remind him that Christ is God, and that when He became flesh to satisfy the requirement needed for payment of all sins from Adam until the end of times, He did not change what sin was, but how we gain forgiveness for the sins we commit.
That means that all the ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic Law have been fulfilled. Now, all we need to do is go through Christ to get forgiveness of our sins. However, the life and death of Christ did not change what sin is. Sin is what sin was before God came down to live amongst us.
That Q disagreed with me on what God says is sin, will not in and of itself keep him from eternal life with Christ, unless he lived a life of sin that he justified away by claiming God approved. That would mean he never asked for God to forgive him of his sin. If Q’ were a pastor that taught his theology of sin to others, then he would be in more peril.
Those who teach will be held to a higher standard than those who follow what the teachers tell them. The Lord’s half brother, James, tells us;
Quentin was not a teacher of theology, so his misunderstanding of the doctrine of sin should not be a hindrance to his ascension to heaven. There could be things that do, but I know not how he lived, and none of us can know where his mind was when he did died other than God. If he gave his sins to Christ, then one day I am assured to meet him in heaven.
It is that memory I will keep with me about Q’. As for our differences, they are neither here nor there so it is what it is. From hence forth I shall never mention our differences again.
God speed Quentin, and may the good Lord comfort your loved ones who must now deal with their loss.
Chuck Wolk (OV)
PS
CORRECTION: I have tried to post this several times to the ER website but they refuse me. Evidently a couple of fellows named Larry Zigler and Marne Bass have it in for me for posting the video and are making threatening remarks. Of course, as far as I am concerned, they can strut all they like. Such is the nature of a Ryan Olson run forum. I am not at all surprised.
Cherokee Jack is correct, it is not good to speak unkindly of the dead. Nevertheless, all I have done here is reflect on who Quentin Colgan was and how he presented himself in this forum in particular. If I have been unfair or incorrect, I am willing to be corrected by anyone who thinks they are up to the task.
Since the ER refuses to allow me to respond on their website, I have decided to respond here. Then I am done with it. If Post Scripts will allow, what follows is a personal communication to Marne Bass.
Dear Mr. Marne Bass, I stand corrected. I was under the false impression that the video was part of Mr. Colgan’s endeavors at Butte College. Far be it for me to not give credit where credit is due. Since the video was not produced at Butte College it may well not fall into the public domain. As such I will be happy to take it down upon your request, but I think this elegant piece of work from you and Mr. Colgan stands as a testament to the mind set of you and your friends and peers. In any case, I’ll be pulling it down sooner or later.
The late Quentin Colgan’s and Marne Bass’ remarkable video can be viewed here for now, it may not be up for long — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXMCeCpWsBs
May both Mr. Marne Bass and Mr. Quentin Colgan rest in peace, one in this world, and one in the next. I harbor no ill will towards either.
Tina, when Andrew Breitbart died a few months ago, you expressed justifiable outrage at ignorant liberals for tweeting hateful statements about him no less than a day later.
But when David writes hateful statements about Quentin Colgan in the wake of his death, it’s “well said?”
This is not right. I would expect you to apply the same standard of behavior to everyone in such a situation, regardless of what side of the aisle they are on.
I did not always agree with Quentin, but I was taught not to speak ill of the dead. He is not here to defend himself anymore and that is a tragedy no matter what you thought of the person in life.
Chris: “But when David writes hateful statements about Quentin Colgan in the wake of his death, it’s “well said?”…This is not right. I would expect you to apply the same standard of behavior to everyone in such a situation, regardless of what side of the aisle they are on.”
The comment I was responding to was not “hateful” by my reading:
Still a problem for you?
“Wherever ol Quentin is I hope he finally got the straight scoop about all his theories ….”
Good Lord. What a thing to say.
Excuse me Chris, but I have not written any hateful statements about Quentin Colgan in this thread, I have merely reflected on how he presented himself here and elsewhere and, in particular, have made a specific reference to how Quentin Colgan presented himself. That is not hate. I never hated Quentin Colgan and do not hate him now.
See the above: “If I have been unfair or incorrect, I am willing to be corrected by anyone who thinks they are up to the task.”
Since you, Chris, insisted on several occasions that Quentin Colgan not be allowed to post here (and I took the exact opposite position) perhaps you are up to take me to task on my supposed “hateful” speech.
At one time you actually suggested that Quentin Colgan seek professional (psychiatric) help after one of his more violence charged posts. Perhaps you care to explain why you felt that unsolicited advice necessary?
Tina, you had already replied to that comment. I thought you were replying to this comment from Pie:
“We should remember him for what he was, a malevolent, foul mouthed lunatic who was consumed by hatred and ill will.”
This comment appears right before you say “well said.”
What do you think of this type of comment?
“Wherever ol Quentin is I hope he finally got the straight scoop about all his theories ….” Good Lord. What a thing to say. signed Libby
Libby, that’s not a bad thing to say at all. I meant it in the kindest way possible and it is something I would wish for myself.
Wherever Quentin is, be it in Heaven, the next dimension, the great cosmic eternity, whatever you want to call it… I really hope he got the answers he sought in life.
He questioned the truth about 9-11, now I hope now he knows. He questioned the truth about Christians and Christ too, and about JFK, and about corporatists, and he had many theories, so I hope he got all his questions answered.
When I die, I hope it works like that for me. I want to know what really happened to all my socks I lost between the clothes hamper and the drier!!!! I want to know where I left all my pairs of glasses,that disappeared forever!!!! And just like Quentin I want to know what was the whole truth behind the JFK assassination? And if I may add, were there really UFO’s here all this time?
How about you Libby, isn’t there anything you want the answers too or do you think you know it all already?
Well said Pie, I’m glad you have been resurrected!!!
Gate… That was very well said and appropriate. I’m surprised that Q claimed he was a Christian, I really am. He tended to mock Christians and often times he took the side of Muslims, although I have to admit there were times when he was ready to take up arms against radical Muslims. So I just never knew for sure where he was coming from, only that he was extremely passionate about it. -Jack
Re Chris quoting me: “We should remember him for what he was, a malevolent, foul mouthed lunatic who was consumed by hatred and ill will.”
That was exactly how Quentin Colgan presented himself in this forum and other forums. His hatred and bile was consistently unrelenting and unapologetic. As noted above, you YOURSELF Chris once advised him to seek a mental health professional.
I only know Quentin Colgan from his posts here, his letters to the ER, his own blog, and other blogs which allowed his bizarre and vile rants to be published. I stand by that opinion of him. This is not hate speech nor an attack on his character, it is a valid observation. Moreover it is a valid observation that you once shared, at least in part.
I did not know Quentin Colgan outside of the posts he made here and elsewhere. For all I know he might have been a helluva nice guy to some people. He may have actually been civil at times.
I was always perfectly happy to let Colgan be Colgan but, evidently, high minded and reasonable people like you Chris thought otherwise. I don’t begrudge you or the good folks at Post Scripts that, I simply happen to disagree. I am neither high minded nor reasonable when it comes to free speech. In fact, I am nearly rabid about it. Almost “Colganesque”.
Now Quentin Colgan’s voice is silenced forever except for a few remnants left on the internet. Quentin Colgan died too young and that is very sad and unfortunate.
Dawnyel, I didn’t know that about Q, but for those of us who have worked a head gate, I can respect that. Thank you for sharing. If I had only known that earlier I would have asked him to help out with some vaccinations…lol
I never minded that Q was a bit rough around the edges and being passionate about his beliefs. Often times Tina would debate with him till her typing fingers were raw, so she didn’t mind his passion either, just as long as they were kept more or less civil.
I always figured Q had a good heart and that he really meant well. I told him more than once I thought he was a patriot and that loved his country as much as anyone, but he just had some quirky ideas that set him apart from us. He was quite entertaining at times and I truly admired his spirit. He was a very unique individual.
Dawnyel, you sound like a very nice person, well grounded and someone who probably made a very good friend for Quentin. I hope you will come back and see us sometime? -Jack
Out of respect for a great hero and leader I propose that we put divisive politics aside and focusing on helping and healing our broken community.
Rex, that was very nice of you to say that. We always stand ready to find that great middle ground where we can work together and heal all that is broken. That is our greatest wish in life. Partisan politics pales by comparison to working in unity for a better world.
Cherokee Jack, my Mom always told me, “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything” She said a lot of smart things in her life that were well worth practicing, …it’s a good thing I never believed that one! My idea is its better just to tell the truth and let the chips fall where…
Re: “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything.”
My Grandmother and mother both lived by and taught that rule too. It is a good rule. A rule I attempt to follow every now and then. But then when a consistently egregious and snotty neighbor or acquaintance would walk all over them one too many times, they would rip them a new and well deserved posterior orifice, Mother Style.
The classic line finish line was, “Your mother wears army boots.”
Contrast and compare that to the vile Quentin Colgan/Marne Bass video I posted a link to above.
Chris inquires about my opinion of these remarks by Pie:
Chris I won’t ever forget the first time I wrote a comment to Quentin’s blog. I was new at the game and didn’t know what to expect. He was extremely rude and unwelcoming in his reply and that and shocked me. He didn’t know me or anything about me and although he might not agree with me it was just very surprising that he would be so rude. I decided to risk anyway and attempt a reply and he never posted it. I thought well, I guess if you don’t agree with Quentin he’s not interested. I never posted to his blog again.
The description above fits not only the first experience I had with Quentin but every experience that followed. His comments to almost everything I posted were condescending, rude, sometimes crude, and filled with a lot of anger and hate. In the early going I asked him more than once what he was so angry about. He never replied. I made many attempts to be civil and to open up a conversation with him. He was not open to that preferring to hit and run. I invited him to share with us what he knew because I thought he must have information from his perspective that would be useful or interesting to our readers. I think he may have attempted that once but then went right back to being obnoxious.
Now I’m sure Quentin has a version from his perspective that would sound a lot different from mine. I’m not sure it wouldn’t be just as hate filled as his comments were. I have to say, it would be very difficult to hear his name and not recall the anger and personal attacks, the rudeness and the crude language. At the same time, I sensed the person his friends describe somewhere. I always attempt to see the person we were meant to be; the one God created. All of us have defenses and protections that we show to the world and I try to look behind that to discover who someone is. My own conclusion is that he was a troubled man and for whatever reason, unreachable on this level to those he could not control. Of course, I could be wrong.
Still a problem?
Jack what you said about Q was very nice and not at all inappropriate. I almost said something just like it but then I remembered what a curmudgeon (that is going easy) he was, at least on here. He only gave people on here one side of him and that is all we had to run with.
I am relieved to find out he had a better side to him and real friends.
I now wholeheartedly believe Libby is a hardcore communist. She thinks the party is the answer to all questions, she thinks of Q the same way. She got all pissy about what you said because you insulted her godless religion. You had the audacity to suggest she and Q didn’t already have all the answers. That and she is bat $hit crazy.
I bet Q is laughing like hell. Look at all the fuss he has made just by being dead. I find it funny as well. If we didn’t care we wouldn’t have said anything.
OK, I suppose we simply have differing ideas of what constitutes appropriate comments about someone the day after they die. No use arguing about it.
Tina was quite mild, Pie somewhat more vociferous, in their assertions that Q, off in the great beyond, has now been shown the error of his ways by some “conservative” uber-being.
Come on … is that arrogant, or what? And I like to think Q is having one last chortle, before he moves on.
Tina was quite mild, Pie somewhat more vociferous, in their assertions that Q, off in the great beyond, has now been shown the error of his ways by some “conservative” uber-being.
I missed those comments. Can you lead me to where either party intimated any sort of heavenly judgment by any kind of celestial conservative?
As long as Im sending this, I said in an earlier post that Id speak up if I could remember anything I liked about Q. I always enjoyed how he usually ended any thread or debate between him and me. When he couldnt respond logically (almost always) he liked to call me a liar, a coward, an idiot, an REMF, and a few other pet names, most of which would get bleeped in this forum. In other words, he always left me chuckling.
Libby: “…in their assertions that Q, off in the great beyond, has now been shown the error of his ways by some “conservative” uber-being.”
I don’t believe I (or Pie) said anything about Q being shown the error of his ways. You might be thinking of jack but even he explained that his remarks had to do with a greater understanding in general that anyone might have.
However, I do see that this is how YOU think. You are wont to sick the goddess on us at the drop of a hat. Your favorite feminist progressive uber-being is presented as a know it all dictator who would force Q to eat his organic peas forthwith, da**it.
You are arrogance Libby. Anyone is that thinks people need a dictator to make decisions for the collective us.
I am not quite sure why I ever bother to respond to Libby, but I will anyway. I have never suggested that Quentin Colgan “be shown the errors of his ways” by any natural or supernatural being. In fact I have argued on more than one occasion in these pages that Quentin be allowed to be Quentin abundantly and freely. The more the better. I loved the man, may he rest in peace.
My post of the video is a downloaded copy of one Quentin Colgan had taken down from YouTube after my first mention of it on these pages. It is pure, unadulterated Quentin Colgan and an excellent and appropriate eulogy. Take it or leave it.
What the heck is your problem with that?
I can only go by what he told me in a few comments. However, as I said in my comment, he and I disagreed on things of Theology. Yet his claim to be a Christian has already come up for scrutiny by the Almighty. He will know where Q’ stood.
As the Scriptures tell us,
So if Q’ truly did follow and do as Christ said, then he will be fine. However, if not, then he will be most assuredly disappointed.
I have my opinion, but it is not for me to say any longer. When Q’ walked with us, it was OK for me to question his beliefs, and even declare he was wrong when it was proved that he was wrong in that which he claimed Jesus taught. After all, we are told to hold each other accountable, and any and all Christians have a duty to measure those who claim to be of Christ while they walk amongst us in the World.
However, now is not the time to declare that which none of us know for sure. As I said, God has already measured him, and he either had Christ stand in as his propitiatory, or not. For the ungodly will not stand in the judgment, Nor will sinners stand in the congregation of the righteous. Psalm 1:5
So some will ask, who are the ungodly and who are the righteous?
Well the ungodly are those who are not blessed by God. They do not delight in God’s Word, and they do not bear fruit by the Holy Spirit. They are the chaff which is with the grain until the wind blows. The day the wind blows is when they meet God. However, their works will not be judged because they have no works. So instead of judgement, Christ will tell them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” It is then that the ungodly will go where the fire is never quenched and the worm never dies.
Where as the righteous are covered by the blood of Christ. So there will be a blessing for them from God. The righteous will stand before God in the day of judgment. The good works they performed will be judged and the good works that bared fruit will be rewarded in heaven. They will receive a blessing from the Holy Spirit.
Now, not all who are saved will even have works that survive because their works were laid up in hay and stubble. So their works will burn up as the grass of a field, yet they themselves will survive like the field under the grass survived a fire. They just will have no rewards in heaven other than fellowship with God and eternal life. Which in and of itself is more than any number can quantify in this life.
The path Q’ took, is only known by God today. The rest of us will know his fate when we meet ours. As Christ said, let the dead bury the dead. What we should be doing is caring for those who are alive yet still lost. Like a thief in the night, our time will come, (In Q’s situation, his came at night, alone with no one there to know where his heart was) Only our Father in heaven knows the time of our own personal judgement.
Are you all ready to meet your Maker? If not then I suggest you get right with God now. Christ is calling you, so beware because your time is short.
No doubt Chico’s premier weekly screed, the Chico News and Review and their silly cronies will be cherry picking comments from this thread and trying to make something of it. That upcoming issue may be a keeper.
Too bad the Chico Beat died along with Tom Gascoyne.
Thanks Gate…I found your ministering refreshing and very helpful. It was well done, very well done.
You can join “Occupy Everything”, a celebration of Quentin Colgan’s life July 29th at the ARC Pavilion, 2020 Park Avenue here in Chico.
http://www.facebook.com/events/249069971878693/
REMF. How sweet!
I knew Quentin for a short time. He was fun, outspoken, and his own beliefs. I thought he was amazing person and I am so sorry his life has been cut short as I know he had a lot more to say. My love and condolences to his family. Rest in Peace Quentin I will surely miss you!
Tina: “I don’t believe I (or Pie) said anything about Q being shown the error of his ways.”
Tina: “Wherever ol Quentin is I hope he finally got the straight scoop about all his theories ….”
That wasn’t you?
I said that Libby… me, Jack.
Evidently getting “the straight scoop about all his theories” is code for “learning the errors of his ways”. And monkeys may fly out of Libby’s butt.
Oh, dear … My “attention to detail” is not what it was. I’m gonna make that eye appointment too.
Libby, it’s okay, its just part of getting older. This is the voice of experience speaking…I feel my age more every day, but I’m still healthy and thankful for that!