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>> And in the meantime there has been very little commentary over the major (not only, but major) cause of this (untreated depression), presumably because that
by dchichkov 14y ago
>> And in the meantime there has been very little commentary over the major (not only, but major) cause of this (untreated depression), presumably because that doesn't play into the agenda. Likewise there is little discussion on ways to amend CFAA to make it better-aligned with what we intuitively feel would be appropriate (because in the hacktivist mold the only good change would be to repeal CFAA entirely). Feel free to say I'm seeing it wrong, but I don't think I am.
Actually it has been discussed. As per his father:
"""
Bob Swartz also dismissed the notion that his son had a depressive personality.
"He had never been diagnosed as having depression; he was never on medication for having depression," Swartz said.
Aaron Swartz's mother had been hospitalized in December 2011 after having a bowel obstruction and going into septic shock, Bob Swartz said. She spent several weeks in a coma, four months in intensive care, and two more months in the hospital.
"So the notion, the narrative that people are going to say -- is that he’s somebody who just has depression -- is just wrong. You’d be depressed too if you were under a 13-count federal indictment and you go see your mother, who’s in a coma."
- Volpe 14y agoSeems odd to argue he didn't suffer from depression (despite his fathers words). Do people who aren't suffering from depression commit suicide? I'd always thought that (attempted) suicide was like the smoking gun for diagnosing depression?
- lilsunnybee 14y agoGiven the right circumstances, almost anyone can be made to want and try to commit suicide. Intense, prolonged isolation and other types of torture can cause that, but that does not mean anyone subject to such things has a depressive disorder requiring treatment. Sometimes the situation is the only problem.
- Volpe 14y agoI would challenge that... Julian Assange has faced a lot more isolation, much larger potential charges... And still lives...
- mpyne 14y agoNot to mention a certain Private First Class currently undergoing court-martial at Ft. Meade, MD...
- dromidas 14y agoJulian Assange also already has the martyr thing going. He seems to feel like being persecuted as publicly as he is is just adding to his cause. He may be right, who knows. Point is that Aaron wasn't a martyr until after his death. Assange is different.
- mpyne 14y agoI never said it wasn't discussed, I said there has been very little discussion. And either way, Bob Swartz is not exactly a disinterested party here. I've lost a child to SIDS. I can guarantee you as a fellow parent who has lost a child that being able to point a finger at some person or persons who are responsible feels much better. You lose a child to something like SIDS or depression and you feel helpless, just utterly helpless. What else do you expect him to say, "oh yeah, he seemed real withdrawn last time we talked but I guess I just didn't notice"? But looking from the outside, are we really supposed to conclude that someone who killed themself based on a 6 month prison sentence had nothing else going on inside? Do other men never have their parents die or become seriously ill?
- lilsunnybee 14y agoBeing charged with a felony is a life sentence in the US. You're forever part of an underclass of 'convicted felons', and your opportunities in life are greatly diminished.
- mpyne 14y agoI've worked with a 'felon'. Hacker News was co-founded by a 'felon' convicted under CFAA. The first one convicted, in fact, so if anything aaronsw had the advantage of having it proven before he did what he did that it could possibly result in felony charges. If that's really something he didn't want to have as a possibility, if he would really be so ashamed to be convicted of a "bullshit felony" then it makes you wonder why he went about his business the way that he did. If the law is as stupid as Aaron thought it was then he'd be able to wear the felon tag as a badge of pride.