3 ms·

I met Graeber once or twice because we went to the same graduate program. He was a very modest person in some ways, almost shy sometimes, while of course quite

I met Graeber once or twice because we went to the same graduate program. He was a very modest person in some ways, almost shy sometimes, while of course quite politically unusual in some ways, and often irascible. I didn't agree with everything he had to say, and I thought that as he became more successful, his writing got sloppy sometimes. But he had a gigantic impact in the world unlike almost everyone else from academic anthropology, and I'm glad he got to do that. I was hoping from the headline that the OP would explain why he died so suddenly.

a_t48 3y ago
COVID, according to my fiancee
- pfdietz 3y ago
  COVID-induced pancreatitis, I believe.
  - evbogue 3y ago
    The Corona has taken so many of us for so much for so long now.
veggieWHITES 3y ago
Graeber died suddenly from necrotic pancreatitis on September 2, 2020, while on vacation with his wife and friends in Venice. Graeber died during the COVID-19 pandemic and instead of a funeral, his family organized an "Intergalactic Memorial Carnival" of livestreamed events that took place in October 2020. His wife, Nika, attributed the pancreatitis to COVID-19, pointing to his prior good health, strange symptoms they both had for months beforehand, and the connection scientists have found between COVID-19 and pancreatitis. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Graeber#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Graeber#Death
- thinkingemote 3y ago
  Did he speak about the pandemic much? I think the responses to the pandemic from anarchists are interesting. They seem to range the entire spectrum: from the anti government conspiracy theorist to the enthusiastic state coercion supporter. Maybe the academic theorists were more level headed? He seemed to be saying "lets see what good can come from it afterwards", but I'm curious if there's more he said. I did see a paper he wrote in 2020: https://davidgraeber.org/articles/the-museum-of-care-reimagining-the-world-after-pandemic/ https://davidgraeber.org/articles/the-museum-of-care-reimagi... "Imagine that the experience of lockdown and economic collapse actually allows us to see the world as it really is and we acknowledge that what’s referred to as “an economy” is simply the way we collectively keep each other alive, provision each other with the things we need and generally take care of one another. Say we also reject the notion of social control."
  - WJW 3y ago
    > Say we also reject the notion of social control. This is like writing a physics paper that starts with "assume humans could jump to the moon" or an international relations paper with "say we could all just get along". You can write anything you want if you start off with assumptions like that.
  - piloto_ciego 3y ago
    So, as a bit of an “anarcho-pragmatist” myself I found that the pandemic really challenged me in this regard. Ultimately, the conclusion I reached was that the ideal anarchist would mask up, stay home, and wash his or her f-ing hands, not because someone told them too, but because they had an ethical obligation to care for the weak and immunocompromised, but the state had no right to impose restrictions requiring this sort of thing or anything else. That’s tough I know, and practically presents challenges, but there’s a different between how things “are” and how they “ought” to be and the widespread terrible behavior during the pandemic was a result of poor education, selfishness, and bad manners. I tried to contextualize it with other “not necessarily illegal but rude” behavior. Basically, “look Randy, it’s not illegal to scream racial slurs here on this public sidewalk, and the state doesn’t have the right to stop you, but you’re being an asshole and you should shut up.” We should all aspire to do the right thing, but not everyone is going to. I imagine 10-20% of any group is filled with jackasses, so trying to build society around those people neglects the other 80-90%.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
ehecatl42 3y ago
I used to work in ITS looking after a few token Solaris boxen, and played a hand in inviting Stallman down to campus one year in the early-mid 2000s. I had pizza (appiza?) at Yorkside with RMS, and "Three Davey Gs" (my boss (Gewirtz), Graeber and Gelernter). Graeber was anything but shy that afternoon; he and Stallman were at each other's throats, embarrassingly so. I don't recall their having fundamental philosophical differences… it was just a clash of personalities, I guess. Being _by far_ the most junior person there, I felt incredibly uncomfortable.
- just_testing 3y ago
  That sounds like a great party story you have there! (at least, having seen RMS live once, I can imagine how "great" it went)

a_t48 3y ago

COVID, according to my fiancee

pfdietz 3y ago
COVID-induced pancreatitis, I believe.
- evbogue 3y ago
  The Corona has taken so many of us for so much for so long now.

veggieWHITES 3y ago

Graeber died suddenly from necrotic pancreatitis on September 2, 2020, while on vacation with his wife and friends in Venice. Graeber died during the COVID-19 pandemic and instead of a funeral, his family organized an "Intergalactic Memorial Carnival" of livestreamed events that took place in October 2020. His wife, Nika, attributed the pancreatitis to COVID-19, pointing to his prior good health, strange symptoms they both had for months beforehand, and the connection scientists have found between COVID-19 and pancreatitis. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Graeber#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Graeber#Death

thinkingemote 3y ago
Did he speak about the pandemic much? I think the responses to the pandemic from anarchists are interesting. They seem to range the entire spectrum: from the anti government conspiracy theorist to the enthusiastic state coercion supporter. Maybe the academic theorists were more level headed? He seemed to be saying "lets see what good can come from it afterwards", but I'm curious if there's more he said. I did see a paper he wrote in 2020: https://davidgraeber.org/articles/the-museum-of-care-reimagining-the-world-after-pandemic/ https://davidgraeber.org/articles/the-museum-of-care-reimagi... "Imagine that the experience of lockdown and economic collapse actually allows us to see the world as it really is and we acknowledge that what’s referred to as “an economy” is simply the way we collectively keep each other alive, provision each other with the things we need and generally take care of one another. Say we also reject the notion of social control."
- WJW 3y ago
  > Say we also reject the notion of social control. This is like writing a physics paper that starts with "assume humans could jump to the moon" or an international relations paper with "say we could all just get along". You can write anything you want if you start off with assumptions like that.
- piloto_ciego 3y ago
  So, as a bit of an “anarcho-pragmatist” myself I found that the pandemic really challenged me in this regard. Ultimately, the conclusion I reached was that the ideal anarchist would mask up, stay home, and wash his or her f-ing hands, not because someone told them too, but because they had an ethical obligation to care for the weak and immunocompromised, but the state had no right to impose restrictions requiring this sort of thing or anything else. That’s tough I know, and practically presents challenges, but there’s a different between how things “are” and how they “ought” to be and the widespread terrible behavior during the pandemic was a result of poor education, selfishness, and bad manners. I tried to contextualize it with other “not necessarily illegal but rude” behavior. Basically, “look Randy, it’s not illegal to scream racial slurs here on this public sidewalk, and the state doesn’t have the right to stop you, but you’re being an asshole and you should shut up.” We should all aspire to do the right thing, but not everyone is going to. I imagine 10-20% of any group is filled with jackasses, so trying to build society around those people neglects the other 80-90%.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

ehecatl42 3y ago

I used to work in ITS looking after a few token Solaris boxen, and played a hand in inviting Stallman down to campus one year in the early-mid 2000s. I had pizza (appiza?) at Yorkside with RMS, and "Three Davey Gs" (my boss (Gewirtz), Graeber and Gelernter). Graeber was anything but shy that afternoon; he and Stallman were at each other's throats, embarrassingly so. I don't recall their having fundamental philosophical differences… it was just a clash of personalities, I guess. Being _by far_ the most junior person there, I felt incredibly uncomfortable.

just_testing 3y ago
That sounds like a great party story you have there! (at least, having seen RMS live once, I can imagine how "great" it went)