This is just absolutely shocking.
Aaron Swartz was an inspiration. To know that a person you looked up to, someone from whom you learned so much through his writings and his projects, ended up finishing his life like that...
Speechless!
Aaron Swartz commits suicide
151–160 of 583 posts
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to use the analogy of type I diabetes, but now people are mixing it up with type II. I think that the way to beat the stigma is talk openly about it.
> I think that the way to beat the stigma is talk openly about it. Easier to say than to do. If you're depressed / bipolar / schizophrenic and talk about it openly it can make people very uncomfortable, which can result in their not wanting to be around you, which can result in further isolation for you, which can make your situation worse.
It can be. I've found that being very matter-of-fact about it works for me, but I have a reasonably social personality.
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#153A tragedy that this caring young man has taken his own life. My heart goes out to his family. This feels a bit inappropriate but at the moment I hope that some members of the US Attorney's Office are wracked by guilt.
They checked their conscience at the door a long time ago.
RIP Aaron, you were too soon for this world.
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#154It's easy to deride suicide but fact of the matter is that it is the final but a very powerful option we have at our disposal. Instead of saying that a particular person should not have committed suicide, our hope should be that if a suicide happens, it is well thought through and is not done in haste. If a particular person decides that decades of painful life is much worse than simply ending the existence, who are…
You made me think. The idea that I have the option to end it makes life more bearable. Give it your best go and reevaluate.
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't mean to seem rude, but please, seek help. This doesn't sound like a healthy way to think and feel.
He has a point, though. It's pretty conservative to say "get help" for every thought about suicide. I think there's a difference between thinking about doing it or, say, wondering what death is like or whether you'd have the stones to go through with it. Honestly, I wonder what death is like a lot. That being said , I tend to agree with you to be more conservative, but I've had similar thoughts as the guy you're repl…
I drive the conservative line because suicidal ideation is a symptom of depression and depression is a good predictor of suicide (and bloody unpleasant in itself).
People in a normal mood just don't think about suicide.
It's a reliable signal that something is wrong. And given how available help is, the smart thing to do is seek help.
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perfectly possible to think about it but never act. I don't think there's been a day in my life in which I haven't contemplated the ramifications of offing myself. Each and every time, I reach the same conclusion - it would be pointless. Null isn't a value, so I'd rather strive for happiness, even if my mood usually lurks around -1.
I don't mean to seem rude, but please, seek help. This doesn't sound like a healthy way to think and feel.
I value my freedom and clarity of mind far more than I do some subjective "happiness", induced by drugs or lengthy stays in facilities, as is the normal treatment for depressive disorders in the UK.
The system is not there to help, it's a kafkaesque self-sustaining bureaucracy.
I do agree that suicidal thoughts aren't altogether healthy, but I'd also argue that blithely wandering through life without the merest shred of existential doubt is equally unhealthy.
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because he was a brilliant and loved computer programmer who was facing 35 years in prison. Can you imagine the US Attorneys office treating you in the same manner they treat rapists because you wrote a downloader script? I'd say it's a very reasonable assumption. RIP Aaron
Nobody sane would kill himself - it's against the nature of all beings. Besides it's the easy way out.
Even if you're right, there are many things that can turn the sanest of people "insane" (or at least depressed). See post traumatic stress disorder or postpartum depression for starters.
I imagine if I were suddenly facing a potential 35 years in prison, I'd be at a pretty high risk of becoming depressed.
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah because it's saner to spend 35 years in a federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.
If you break a law you have to pay for this. Don't you have lawyers there to protect the innocent?
Even if you're innocent, and even if you ultimately win, a federal prosecution can utterly wreck your life.
I don't think anyone disputes that Aaron was probably not in the best of mental health to be facing this kind of thing in the first place, but even for a paragon of stability, a multi-year witchhunt and prosecution by the feds will push you to the limit. I know of a few people who have been in the eye AUSA doom (and some ongoing, like Harborside Health Center), and especially for an individual defendant vs. a group, it's very hard.
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#159Man this so sucks.
If you hit someone with enough felony counts sooner or later something can snap. This in response to those that claim the DOJ didn't have anything to do with Aaron killing himself.
For some people the mere fact of being suspected of a crime they didn't commit is enough to push them over the edge. When you're placed in a holding cell the police will remove your laces from your boots so you don't hang yourself, that's how heavy being imprisoned can weigh on some.
Aaron did something that he thought was right, that he truly believed in and that upset a large number of applecarts and that had far reaching implications, had the proverbial book thrown at him and then some. The prospect of significant amounts of jail time (35 years for downloading scientific papers, it shouldn't even be a crime) and/or a felony record must have weighed very heavy on him.
For a person that is of a very stable mental make-up that would already be extreme pressure.
For someone with a mental issue it may very well be all it takes.
Aaron was inspiring to me, I think that no copyrighted piece of paper is worth a human life and that the DOJ, even if they are not directly responsible at least indirectly carry some of the responsibility here for beating down someone who was fighting for an extremely good cause in a somewhat haphazard way. The letter of the law and the spirit of the law should both be taken into account.
I hope those that had a hand in Aarons' continued prosecution will sleep miserably for a long time to come. Likely it won't weigh on their consciousness at all.
Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
I mostly agree. But a potential 35 year prison sentence hanging over people for a white collar crime is sure to send a percentage of them over the edge. With a more realistic and efficient judicial system, people would be under a lot less unnecessary stress and there'd be fewer straws to break the proverbial camels' backs. Being threatened with 35 years in prison for what he did is indicative of a sick judicial syste…
I wouldn't even call it a 'white collar crime'. It was downloading some scientific papers, which the site didn't really care about. White collar crime is like Bernie Madoff.
True, I didn't realize white collar crime had a financial motivation. So, it was even less serious than that.