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People would rather blame something with a face (blaming the suicide on his lawyer, blaming videogame developers or the NRA for mass shootings, etc.) before adm

People would rather blame something with a face (blaming the suicide on his lawyer, blaming videogame developers or the NRA for mass shootings, etc.) before admitting that the answer may lie in some science book that was too boring or dull for them to pick up and read. I'm glad this article actually addresses the problem directly: mental illness

jordanb 14y ago
Yes. Completely agree. As another example, take Mohamed Bouazizi. He was clearly a very sick man, to light himself on fire like he did. But the sensationalist press decided to focus---not on his mental illness, which was the only thing to blame for his death---but instead on scapegoating the Tunisian government who rightfully confiscated a few pieces of his property. EDIT: I'm afraid people aren't understanding the tone of this comment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fNvi6xG-5Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fNvi6xG-5Y
- BrokenPipe 14y ago
  I completely disagree. What Aaron did was fully moral but partially/potentially illegal (see trespassing maybe). In my mind, nothing more than a month of social work is the justified response to his act. I'm sure most people would agree. However this is not what happened. He faced up to 35 years in prison, he faced being financially ruined by the case and he faced the option to unwillingly 'force' the people who love him (friends and family) to also face financial issues to help him fight this case. This would cause problem in any reasonable person. Why are you both you and the parent suggesting that it is crazy to kill yourself ? It is not crazy. Suicide sometimes is the best way out. I would rather face death than 35 years in prison. I also understand why someone wouldn't plaid guilty when they are not guilty, in particular if that still means I have to do up to 6 months in jail. I heard many times people saying I rather die free than live as a prisoner.
- Buzaga 14y ago
  There doesn't seem to be a lot of content linking Mohamed Bouazizi to mental illnesses... are you affirming that he was clearly very sick because he lit himself on fire? Isn't this cultural bias? In this light, Quanc Duc(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc), the monk of the famous "lit myself on fire in protest" picture must had to be a clinical mental anything, too, no?
mtrimpe 14y ago
I feel that it has been widely acknowledged that Aaron had problems irrespectively of the trial. The anger you see is about the trial having him pushed over the edge, which is almost certainly true if at least to a certain degree. We'll never know whether Aaron would've taken his life without the trial as well, but now we will never get to find out.
- BrokenPipe 14y ago
  His dream was to improve and help this shitty world. Aaron had depression regardless of the trial, granted. I think it's quite natural to be depressed given the state of things. Suicide is another thing altogether, I'm depressed at times but I've never thought of suicide but as I said in other comments in the same situation I would probably be at risk. And rightly so. In jail I'm not going to help anybody and with my (and perhaps my beloved ones) life financially ruined with a criminal record doesn't really allow anyone to continue any quest to improve things. His death maybe helped more than him going to jail and everyone forgetting about him. I wonder if this was his plan.
  - gus_massa 14y ago
    The problem is that a person can only die once. It's a big new. It appears in the main newspapers. Everyone comments about it. But in a few weeks it will be not a new new and it will be replaced by another new (a plane crash, a hurricane, a terrorist attack, or even something unimportant like a football match). Another possible plan could have been: Go to trial and proclaim innocence. Get a guilty verdict and proclaim innocence. Go to the appeal court and proclaim innocence. Go to the supreme court a.p.i.. Start a hunger strike a.p.i.. Get a reduction of the sentence a.p.i.. Offer to create free software for charity institutions a.p.i.. Get the disallowed by the penitentiary system a.p.i.. Try to start a vocational school in jail to help rehabilitate the inmates a.p.i.. Also denied a.p.i.. Get out on parole a.p.i.. Give as many conferences about the case a.p.i.. In each of these steps there is a new to publish and get coverage in the media and explain that the laws were unjust. And each time explain his position about the restrictions of some information. It's like a PR campaign. Some messages only are understood after a lot of repetitions. I understand that it's easier to say "just go to jail and start a pr campaign" that really doing it. It was a difficult situation and I don't want to judge him. But I don't think that suicide was obviously the best alternative. And as I say in another comment: Some people did important things after incarceration or unjust persecution: Nelson Mandela: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela Galileo Galilei: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei
OGinparadise 14y ago
There is such a thing as contributing to it. No one doubts that Aaron took his own life and that he had a history of depression. However, add the draconian charges and ....
tgrzinic 14y ago
I agree, there is another similar article on Mashable: http://mashable.com/2013/01/15/aaron-swartz-tech-world-depression/ http://mashable.com/2013/01/15/aaron-swartz-tech-world-depre... Aaron could manage the trial if only he was regularly going to some sort of psychotherapy and was taking medicaments. The trial only facilitated his inner problems. Also he was primarily a hacker, and his biggest accomplishment is not JSTOR but RSS specification and web.py. RIP Aaron

jordanb 14y ago

Yes. Completely agree. As another example, take Mohamed Bouazizi. He was clearly a very sick man, to light himself on fire like he did. But the sensationalist press decided to focus---not on his mental illness, which was the only thing to blame for his death---but instead on scapegoating the Tunisian government who rightfully confiscated a few pieces of his property. EDIT: I'm afraid people aren't understanding the tone of this comment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fNvi6xG-5Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fNvi6xG-5Y

BrokenPipe 14y ago
I completely disagree. What Aaron did was fully moral but partially/potentially illegal (see trespassing maybe). In my mind, nothing more than a month of social work is the justified response to his act. I'm sure most people would agree. However this is not what happened. He faced up to 35 years in prison, he faced being financially ruined by the case and he faced the option to unwillingly 'force' the people who love him (friends and family) to also face financial issues to help him fight this case. This would cause problem in any reasonable person. Why are you both you and the parent suggesting that it is crazy to kill yourself ? It is not crazy. Suicide sometimes is the best way out. I would rather face death than 35 years in prison. I also understand why someone wouldn't plaid guilty when they are not guilty, in particular if that still means I have to do up to 6 months in jail. I heard many times people saying I rather die free than live as a prisoner.
Buzaga 14y ago
There doesn't seem to be a lot of content linking Mohamed Bouazizi to mental illnesses... are you affirming that he was clearly very sick because he lit himself on fire? Isn't this cultural bias? In this light, Quanc Duc(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc), the monk of the famous "lit myself on fire in protest" picture must had to be a clinical mental anything, too, no?

mtrimpe 14y ago

I feel that it has been widely acknowledged that Aaron had problems irrespectively of the trial. The anger you see is about the trial having him pushed over the edge, which is almost certainly true if at least to a certain degree. We'll never know whether Aaron would've taken his life without the trial as well, but now we will never get to find out.

BrokenPipe 14y ago
His dream was to improve and help this shitty world. Aaron had depression regardless of the trial, granted. I think it's quite natural to be depressed given the state of things. Suicide is another thing altogether, I'm depressed at times but I've never thought of suicide but as I said in other comments in the same situation I would probably be at risk. And rightly so. In jail I'm not going to help anybody and with my (and perhaps my beloved ones) life financially ruined with a criminal record doesn't really allow anyone to continue any quest to improve things. His death maybe helped more than him going to jail and everyone forgetting about him. I wonder if this was his plan.
- gus_massa 14y ago
  The problem is that a person can only die once. It's a big new. It appears in the main newspapers. Everyone comments about it. But in a few weeks it will be not a new new and it will be replaced by another new (a plane crash, a hurricane, a terrorist attack, or even something unimportant like a football match). Another possible plan could have been: Go to trial and proclaim innocence. Get a guilty verdict and proclaim innocence. Go to the appeal court and proclaim innocence. Go to the supreme court a.p.i.. Start a hunger strike a.p.i.. Get a reduction of the sentence a.p.i.. Offer to create free software for charity institutions a.p.i.. Get the disallowed by the penitentiary system a.p.i.. Try to start a vocational school in jail to help rehabilitate the inmates a.p.i.. Also denied a.p.i.. Get out on parole a.p.i.. Give as many conferences about the case a.p.i.. In each of these steps there is a new to publish and get coverage in the media and explain that the laws were unjust. And each time explain his position about the restrictions of some information. It's like a PR campaign. Some messages only are understood after a lot of repetitions. I understand that it's easier to say "just go to jail and start a pr campaign" that really doing it. It was a difficult situation and I don't want to judge him. But I don't think that suicide was obviously the best alternative. And as I say in another comment: Some people did important things after incarceration or unjust persecution: Nelson Mandela: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela Galileo Galilei: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

OGinparadise 14y ago

There is such a thing as contributing to it. No one doubts that Aaron took his own life and that he had a history of depression. However, add the draconian charges and ....

tgrzinic 14y ago

I agree, there is another similar article on Mashable: http://mashable.com/2013/01/15/aaron-swartz-tech-world-depression/ http://mashable.com/2013/01/15/aaron-swartz-tech-world-depre... Aaron could manage the trial if only he was regularly going to some sort of psychotherapy and was taking medicaments. The trial only facilitated his inner problems. Also he was primarily a hacker, and his biggest accomplishment is not JSTOR but RSS specification and web.py. RIP Aaron