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If true.. >One childhood friend recalled a time when Sherman committed insurance fraud. He described driving on a highway with Sherman when they were 16. Sudde

If true.. >One childhood friend recalled a time when Sherman committed insurance fraud. He described driving on a highway with Sherman when they were 16. Suddenly, Sherman told his friend to "buckle up." He slammed on the brakes and caused an accident. Later, the friend says, Sherman would collect thousands of dollars from insurance companies for the self-inflicted injuries. Fuck the dude.

crazypyro 14y ago
I don't think its really okay to post "Fuck the dude." in a story about his suicide and failed tech startup. The guy was 16 at the time. It even says he had a rough childhood. Are you really going to post "Fuck the dude" when you know nothing of the situation or what actually happened? Clearly, he was immature at the time, but I don't think judging a person by what they did at 16 years of age is very appropriate.
- jacquesm 14y ago
  It could have easily killed a number of innocent others. A rough childhood is not an excuse, if you're old enough to have a driving license then you're old enough to think through the consequences of slamming on your brakes at highway speeds.
  - Udo 14y ago
    In any case, we're talking about something he did when he was 16. Sure, it's in the story because it definitely fits with the overall "bad decisions" theme, but I'm sure most people did stupid stuff at that age.
    - jacquesm 14y ago
      I'm pretty sure most people did not do reckless stuff endangering people going about their daily business by purposefully creating a car accident. There is stupid and there is malicious, this is way beyond stupid. After all, he did tell his friend to buckle up which indicates he was aware of the risk, did he tell the people in the car behind him to buckle up as well?
      - Udo 14y ago
        > There is stupid and there is malicious, this is way beyond stupid. No argument there. But I think it's not inconceivable that people who behaved like utter assholes in their youth can still turn out OK in adulthood - especially when "troubled" teenagers are involved who come from screwed-up backgrounds. I believe there are still opportunities to turn your life around at that point, and if that's the case something you did when you were 16 shouldn't really matter by the time you turn 40. We were all different people a few years ago.
    - epochwolf 14y ago
      Purposefully causing an accident is an order of magnitude or two beyond "stupid stuff" that can be excused by youth. It is despicable and criminal and suggests the person needed immediate intervention (medical or judicial) that they never got. This is not something you laugh off, this is equal to firing a gun in a crowded room.
      - Udo 14y ago
        Listen, I don't disagree with that. But at the same time I invite you to consider that some people at that age are dangerously stupid, and yet they are not condemned to stay that way. In this case, we're judging someone who is middle aged based on something they did at 16. Was it criminally insane? Yes. Was it the same person who we're talking about now? Probably not. You talked about judicial intervention, so think about the fact that most countries have special provisions for young offenders. Often records of things committed at that age are later expunged. I know I'm taking a lot of flak for this unpopular opinion, and it may well be because I disagreed with a minor celebrity, but I really believe that the judicial system is doing something right here (for a change). Judging adults on something they did two lives ago is not helpful.
aashaykumar92 14y ago
One action does not define a person. It was wrong of him, yes. Being young (only 16 years old) and in debt probably took a huge emotional toll on him, though...don't you think? Again, what he did, IF true, wasn't right by any means but be a bit more understanding given the context. At least he went and made a respectable name for himself after. In the world we live in today, there are far worse stories that come from poor financial situations like this, namely crime. I repeat: one action does not define a person. And for Jody, if we are assuming the article to be true, he seemed to be a pretty damn good person.
- ahoyhere 14y ago
  Serious question: Why does one action not define a person? I know that's the usual party line, but why? Most of us have ethical boundaries, such as "Don't intentionally risk our friends' lives" and "Don't fuck people up for money." If you cross that boundary, even once -- or worse yet, those aren't boundaries for you at all -- that says a lot about you as a person. A 16-year-old knows that it's wrong to commit insurance fraud. They also know it's wrong to purposefully cause a car accident. It's quite telling, really.
kloncks 14y ago
Steve Jobs ripped Woz off when they were younger. Many people do awful things in the past. Young people (Jody was 16 here?) can be stupid & foolish. Hard to attribute that to the rest of his life with such a simple, "fuck the dude."
- sneak 14y ago
  Steve Jobs, too, was a documented and notorious asshole.
  - teeja 14y ago
    I felt the same way when (as a ][-user) I got to the bookstore and had a look inside those thick volumes called "Inside Macintosh" or whatever. And the same way when it took me two weeks to figure out how to set a Mac serial-port for MIDI baud-rates because that was hidden behind the wall. He was walled-garden from the git-go.
- johnpowell 14y ago
  He risked the life of someone else. And the Jobs/Woz comparison is dumb.
adhd 14y ago
The original story was told by his best friend at Jody's memorial, in a lighthearted way. And it happened when he was a teenager. I'm a little shocked that the writer used this as evidence of fraud. Of course, the same friend told a story about Jody giving boxes and boxes of clothing to homeless people during Christmas. Yet this tale didn't make the cut.
- epochwolf 14y ago
  > I'm a little shocked that the writer used this as evidence of fraud. I think it's evidence that he needed help long before he committed suicide.
- chollida1 14y ago
  > I'm a little shocked that the writer used this as evidence of fraud. To be fair to the writer, that event was fraud by any definition of the word.
- ahoyhere 14y ago
  "Remember that time our friend committed insurance fraud and endangered our lives and the lives of innocent strangers, deliberately injuring himself and possibly other people for the money? WHAT A LAUGH!" I don't get it. How can you tell that story in a lighthearted way? It's reckless endangerment at best.

crazypyro 14y ago

I don't think its really okay to post "Fuck the dude." in a story about his suicide and failed tech startup. The guy was 16 at the time. It even says he had a rough childhood. Are you really going to post "Fuck the dude" when you know nothing of the situation or what actually happened? Clearly, he was immature at the time, but I don't think judging a person by what they did at 16 years of age is very appropriate.

jacquesm 14y ago
It could have easily killed a number of innocent others. A rough childhood is not an excuse, if you're old enough to have a driving license then you're old enough to think through the consequences of slamming on your brakes at highway speeds.
- Udo 14y ago
  In any case, we're talking about something he did when he was 16. Sure, it's in the story because it definitely fits with the overall "bad decisions" theme, but I'm sure most people did stupid stuff at that age.
  - jacquesm 14y ago
    I'm pretty sure most people did not do reckless stuff endangering people going about their daily business by purposefully creating a car accident. There is stupid and there is malicious, this is way beyond stupid. After all, he did tell his friend to buckle up which indicates he was aware of the risk, did he tell the people in the car behind him to buckle up as well?
    - Udo 14y ago
      > There is stupid and there is malicious, this is way beyond stupid. No argument there. But I think it's not inconceivable that people who behaved like utter assholes in their youth can still turn out OK in adulthood - especially when "troubled" teenagers are involved who come from screwed-up backgrounds. I believe there are still opportunities to turn your life around at that point, and if that's the case something you did when you were 16 shouldn't really matter by the time you turn 40. We were all different people a few years ago.
  - epochwolf 14y ago
    Purposefully causing an accident is an order of magnitude or two beyond "stupid stuff" that can be excused by youth. It is despicable and criminal and suggests the person needed immediate intervention (medical or judicial) that they never got. This is not something you laugh off, this is equal to firing a gun in a crowded room.
    - Udo 14y ago
      Listen, I don't disagree with that. But at the same time I invite you to consider that some people at that age are dangerously stupid, and yet they are not condemned to stay that way. In this case, we're judging someone who is middle aged based on something they did at 16. Was it criminally insane? Yes. Was it the same person who we're talking about now? Probably not. You talked about judicial intervention, so think about the fact that most countries have special provisions for young offenders. Often records of things committed at that age are later expunged. I know I'm taking a lot of flak for this unpopular opinion, and it may well be because I disagreed with a minor celebrity, but I really believe that the judicial system is doing something right here (for a change). Judging adults on something they did two lives ago is not helpful.

aashaykumar92 14y ago

One action does not define a person. It was wrong of him, yes. Being young (only 16 years old) and in debt probably took a huge emotional toll on him, though...don't you think? Again, what he did, IF true, wasn't right by any means but be a bit more understanding given the context. At least he went and made a respectable name for himself after. In the world we live in today, there are far worse stories that come from poor financial situations like this, namely crime. I repeat: one action does not define a person. And for Jody, if we are assuming the article to be true, he seemed to be a pretty damn good person.

ahoyhere 14y ago
Serious question: Why does one action not define a person? I know that's the usual party line, but why? Most of us have ethical boundaries, such as "Don't intentionally risk our friends' lives" and "Don't fuck people up for money." If you cross that boundary, even once -- or worse yet, those aren't boundaries for you at all -- that says a lot about you as a person. A 16-year-old knows that it's wrong to commit insurance fraud. They also know it's wrong to purposefully cause a car accident. It's quite telling, really.

kloncks 14y ago

Steve Jobs ripped Woz off when they were younger. Many people do awful things in the past. Young people (Jody was 16 here?) can be stupid & foolish. Hard to attribute that to the rest of his life with such a simple, "fuck the dude."

sneak 14y ago
Steve Jobs, too, was a documented and notorious asshole.
- teeja 14y ago
  I felt the same way when (as a ][-user) I got to the bookstore and had a look inside those thick volumes called "Inside Macintosh" or whatever. And the same way when it took me two weeks to figure out how to set a Mac serial-port for MIDI baud-rates because that was hidden behind the wall. He was walled-garden from the git-go.
johnpowell 14y ago
He risked the life of someone else. And the Jobs/Woz comparison is dumb.

adhd 14y ago

The original story was told by his best friend at Jody's memorial, in a lighthearted way. And it happened when he was a teenager. I'm a little shocked that the writer used this as evidence of fraud. Of course, the same friend told a story about Jody giving boxes and boxes of clothing to homeless people during Christmas. Yet this tale didn't make the cut.

epochwolf 14y ago
> I'm a little shocked that the writer used this as evidence of fraud. I think it's evidence that he needed help long before he committed suicide.
chollida1 14y ago
> I'm a little shocked that the writer used this as evidence of fraud. To be fair to the writer, that event was fraud by any definition of the word.
ahoyhere 14y ago
"Remember that time our friend committed insurance fraud and endangered our lives and the lives of innocent strangers, deliberately injuring himself and possibly other people for the money? WHAT A LAUGH!" I don't get it. How can you tell that story in a lighthearted way? It's reckless endangerment at best.