Re:Aaron Swartz was not a saint
by danso on Monday February 04, 2013 @11:26PM
(#5169060)
OK, I'll bite and engage a point from what's otherwise a trollish post...Let's skip the well-tread debate over the role of his depression in his suicide or if he was "man enough" to be considered a "real" activist...
The OP argues that Aaron's subterfuge makes him a poor candidate for respect:
> Swartz’s many apologists are, if effect, arguing that his actions should be completely excused because he was morally in the right. I’ve seen the more fevered comparing his actions to Martin Luther King. This is a nearly obscene comparison. King repeatedly risked his life for the civil rights of his people, proudly stood as the leader of his movement, and took responsibility for his actions. Swartz surreptitiously downloaded a bunch of data from a closet, tried to hide his face when he slipped away with the loot, and wasn’t willing to pay any penalty.
IIRC, MLK Jr chose civil disobedience because he wanted to draw public attention to the evils of segregation. Aaron obviously wanted to draw attention to his cause, but I think it's also likely that he cared as much if not more about the actual prize -- the knowledge acquired from JSTOR -- than he did about getting caught to prove a moral point.
What if he did walk into MIT, announce his name and cause, and just started brazenly freeing JSTOR until he got arrested? I suspect his detractors would still use this as an example of what a showboat he was. But what if Aaron's priority was getting the knowledge out to the world, with making a moral stand just an ad-hoc objective?
Combine this with the fact that the FBI stalked him after the PACER incident, which was decidedly both noble and legal...then it's no wonder that Aaron felt he had to be secretive. Whether or not you approve of his tragic strategy to liberate JSTOR, I find it a bit much to label him a coward, as the OP implies.
Most people would've been content with the successful showdown over PACER while secretly shitting themselves that the FBI put forth the resources to build a criminal case against them. Aaron was reportedly freaked out about it. And yet after that brush with the law, he still cared more about freeing knowledge than being safe.
Stupid? Probably, especially in hindsight. But cowardly? Perhaps, but it's at least a little less cowardly than a contrarian-wannabe pissing on the grave of someone they've never met.
The OP argues that Aaron's subterfuge makes him a poor candidate for respect:
> Swartz’s many apologists are, if effect, arguing that his actions should be completely excused because he was morally in the right. I’ve seen the more fevered comparing his actions to Martin Luther King. This is a nearly obscene comparison. King repeatedly risked his life for the civil rights of his people, proudly stood as the leader of his movement, and took responsibility for his actions. Swartz surreptitiously downloaded a bunch of data from a closet, tried to hide his face when he slipped away with the loot, and wasn’t willing to pay any penalty.
IIRC, MLK Jr chose civil disobedience because he wanted to draw public attention to the evils of segregation. Aaron obviously wanted to draw attention to his cause, but I think it's also likely that he cared as much if not more about the actual prize -- the knowledge acquired from JSTOR -- than he did about getting caught to prove a moral point.
What if he did walk into MIT, announce his name and cause, and just started brazenly freeing JSTOR until he got arrested? I suspect his detractors would still use this as an example of what a showboat he was. But what if Aaron's priority was getting the knowledge out to the world, with making a moral stand just an ad-hoc objective?
Combine this with the fact that the FBI stalked him after the PACER incident, which was decidedly both noble and legal...then it's no wonder that Aaron felt he had to be secretive. Whether or not you approve of his tragic strategy to liberate JSTOR, I find it a bit much to label him a coward, as the OP implies.
Most people would've been content with the successful showdown over PACER while secretly shitting themselves that the FBI put forth the resources to build a criminal case against them. Aaron was reportedly freaked out about it. And yet after that brush with the law, he still cared more about freeing knowledge than being safe.
Stupid? Probably, especially in hindsight. But cowardly? Perhaps, but it's at least a little less cowardly than a contrarian-wannabe pissing on the grave of someone they've never met.