There is no denying that Linkin Park speaks to our generation. Whether you love them, hate them, or don’t care, you know who they are — and you know someone who has been touched by their music.

After learning of Chester Bennington’s death, I gave myself time to process, for I am one who loved Linkin Park at one time, but I have a love/hate relationship with their more recent releases. I posted this on Facebook, and I was speaking from the heart:

“I’ve had some time to process, but I still can’t really believe it. I remember the night my brother and I first saw the video for “One Step Closer,” back in the days when MTV2 was called M2 and actually played music videos. Linkin Park was different than everyone else out there, and Rick and I both loved them. Yeah, we weren’t head-over-heels for some of the later stuff, but Hybrid Theory will forever be one of my favorite albums, and Meteora, for me, was also a gem. I saw Linkin Park in 2003, after my dad made the careless offer “If you win tickets, I’ll take you.” Well, I won tickets, and we went to Atlanta to see Linkin Park with a few others, including Limp Bizkit and Metallica. Chester was a wonderful front man. He gave 110%, and since they were my favorite band at the time, it made me happy beyond words. I guess all of this rambling concludes in one sentence: I hate this day. #RIPChesterBennington”

However you feel about the cause of his death, it does not negate the loss his fans, friends, and family are experiencing. Please, do not leave any disrespectful comments on this post. I have already seen a few in other places and I find it extremely tasteless.

I leave you with this, one of my favorite Linkin Park songs, “My December.”