Re:Aaron Swartz was not a saint
by danso on Monday February 04, 2013 @10:45PM
(#5168890)
I almost upvoted this post reflexively based on the title alone, because I think debate is helpful and even as a huge admirer of Aaron's, I think extreme hagiography is never a good thing.
Unfortunately, the OP doesn't fit the bill, and sounds like it comes from one of the many annoyed people whose computers lack the ability to not click-through to a story they know they won't enjoy reading.
I was hoping the OP would be half as interesting as the bait title, but I almost stopped at this paragraph:
> I don’t think I ever met him (I might have, at an O’Reilly conference in San Jose years ago); I may or may not have ever corresponded with him many years ago, and I can’t be bothered to look through my email archives to check. I know I read a bunch of his words at one point, possibly on a mailing list or on his blog. But I had no personal connection with him, as far as I can remember.
OK...
> My personal view is that killing yourself and leaving your body to be found by your lover is a profoundly horrible, selfish, and unforgivable action, and one that deserves our disgust, not our compassion. I’ll reserve my compassion for the woman whom he presumably loved, but he knew would find his corpse...The Saint Aaron bandwagon so many people have piled onto nauseates me.
OK, I guess if people are going to calling Aaron a "saint", I guess that justifies judging his suicide like the Catholic Church would...?
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edit:
What really leaves a bad taste in my mouth is how the OP uses personal flaws (personal flaws that he admits he only knows from hearing about on the Internet) as the primary strike against Aaron being a worthwhile person to remember. If that were justified, then Steve Jobs should likewise be pissed on...not only did he break as many laws as Aaron (such as selling blue boxes), he was indisputably a more prickly person. Hell, if you really want to rank someone's worth by their personal foibles, MLK Jr. may be considered as despicable by the OP's standards.
Unfortunately, the OP doesn't fit the bill, and sounds like it comes from one of the many annoyed people whose computers lack the ability to not click-through to a story they know they won't enjoy reading.
I was hoping the OP would be half as interesting as the bait title, but I almost stopped at this paragraph:
> I don’t think I ever met him (I might have, at an O’Reilly conference in San Jose years ago); I may or may not have ever corresponded with him many years ago, and I can’t be bothered to look through my email archives to check. I know I read a bunch of his words at one point, possibly on a mailing list or on his blog. But I had no personal connection with him, as far as I can remember.
OK...
> My personal view is that killing yourself and leaving your body to be found by your lover is a profoundly horrible, selfish, and unforgivable action, and one that deserves our disgust, not our compassion. I’ll reserve my compassion for the woman whom he presumably loved, but he knew would find his corpse...The Saint Aaron bandwagon so many people have piled onto nauseates me.
OK, I guess if people are going to calling Aaron a "saint", I guess that justifies judging his suicide like the Catholic Church would...?
----
edit:
What really leaves a bad taste in my mouth is how the OP uses personal flaws (personal flaws that he admits he only knows from hearing about on the Internet) as the primary strike against Aaron being a worthwhile person to remember. If that were justified, then Steve Jobs should likewise be pissed on...not only did he break as many laws as Aaron (such as selling blue boxes), he was indisputably a more prickly person. Hell, if you really want to rank someone's worth by their personal foibles, MLK Jr. may be considered as despicable by the OP's standards.