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"But also, I must admit that I am a little disappointed in Aaron. I understand that depression is a serious disease that can fell any person, however strong. Bu
by s_dev 11y ago
"But also, I must admit that I am a little disappointed in Aaron. I understand that depression is a serious disease that can fell any person, however strong. But he chose the path of the activist long ago. And the path of the activist is to fight, for as long and as hard as it takes, to effect change. Aaron had powerful friends, a powerful support network, and a keen sense of moral cause that put him in the right. That's how he got that support network of powerful friends and fellow activists in the first place" -- J. Atwood
http://blog.codinghorror.com/the-end-of-ragequitting/ http://blog.codinghorror.com/the-end-of-ragequitting/
I always felt this Jeff Atwood blog post was a good run down of why everyone was so upset over Aaron's suicide. It was a stupidly tragic mistake and Aaron knew better.
- Eupolemos 11y agoThat is how depression sometimes goes. But stupid? Disappointing? These labels are not fit for fate of a severely depressed mind; logic sense ends and the risk of suicide is a roll of the dice, NOT a matter of commitment to who or what we love. All I see is the selfpity of those left behind transformed into cynicism. It is unbecoming. In my humble opinion.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- angersock 11y agoPeople who don't help don't get to be disappointed.
- angersock 11y agoYeah, sure, and Atwood has done what exactly to further our causes and rights? Seriously, that article is a bunch of self-indulgent bullshit and Atwood cashing in on the suffering and suicide of an otherwise decent person. EDIT: Thanks for the downvotes. Again, from the Atwood article: "Play other, better moves – and consider your long game." With the charges he was facing, there wasn't a long-term game. According to wikipedia, was looking at a total of 35 years in prison and $1M in fines. There is no long game there other than trying to invest in cigarettes and bars of soap and pocket radios. There are no better moves. "I say this not as a person who wishes to judge Aaron Swartz." Every time I read something like this, there's always an unstated "...but I totally am and will!". The whole thing is kinda victim-blamey.
- epistasis 11y agoI agree, what a terrible and childish thing for Atwood to write. Whenever he's strayed from restating others' programming aphorisms, I've found that I feel less for having read his essays.
- ionised 11y agoHe wouldn't have been engaging in much political activism sitting in a jail cell for 38 years. I can't feel disappointed in Aaron at all. I would probably do the same thing in his position. I'm disappointed in a society and a 'justice' system that pushes for this to happen.
- gmu3 11y agoThere's actually quite a precedent of engaging in political activism from jail.
- kmeves 11y agoabsolutely. in fact jail could have been a way to gain more attention, Gandhi?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- idlewords 11y agoHe would never have been sent to jail for 38 years.
- ionised 11y agoSo how many then? 5? 10? 20? How many less than the figure that was being thrown around as his possible sentence is he supposedly a disappointment to us all for avoiding? Oh, I forgot, he can be an activist from prison? Nothing to worry about then! How many on here would honestly do it for even 5 years? I wouldn't. I'd sooner kill myself out of spite.
- sanoli 11y agoI wouldnt kill myself because of 5 years out of the 40 or so that i probably have left.
- ShirsenduK 11y agoEasy to say for someone sitting at the sidelines.
- patcon 11y agoI might have sympathized with Atwood's comment before watching the doc, but the film goes into the misery Swartz felt even on the first day of working in the Conde Nast office. He literally barred himself in a bathroom stall and wept. For a unique character like Swartz, the disempowerment of the prison system must have literally seemed a living nightmare.
- at-fates-hands 11y agoSurely he knew prison would be a likely outcome of his actions? If he was not prepared to do jail time (like hundreds of other hackers and activists had done without a whimper), then perhaps he should have recalculated what he was doing. For someone so intelligent, it seems he didn't fully understand the implications of his own actions, which is puzzling on several different levels. While his suicide was a tragedy, it was completely avoidable.
- tptacek 11y agoSuicidal depression can be intractable, and we should be careful about assertions of how avoidable any given suicide is. This is a motherfucker of a group of diseases we're talking about.
- tptacek 11y agoYou're allowed to feel anger and disappointment over suicide. But for the most part, victims of suicide are succumbing to a disease; they aren't failing to live up to a standard.
- te_chris 11y agoThat this tone-deaf quote is the top post on an article about such a delicate subject says a lot about HN's community.
- pervycreeper 11y agoDepression clouds one's judgement. "Knowing better" means nothing in that context. The above quote is entirely lacking of empathy, and in understanding of human nature.
- nthcolumn 11y agoThe internet's own boy? Where was the internet when he needed them? "He's rich - he made reddit". He never said he was strong. He was an american who naively still believed in its ideals. Fk him right? I wonder how long you guys would last without your internet connection? "He was brilliant and weird, oh it was depression, he made a terrible mistake". Nothing to do with the overbearing jackbooted hypocrites intent on payback charging him with illegal wiretapping whilst all the while doing exactly that to him and other activists! It takes some cynicism to square that. Almost as cynical as that shill Atwood. Downvote me to Hell you bastards.