Earlier quoted context omitted.
"...beliefs which we share." When I look at the most ubiquitous photo of Mr. Schwartz ( this one: http://memex.naughtons.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Aaron_... ), and I see that smile... I sincerely do feel that "sharing beliefs" is an understatement. I know that smile. That is my smile. I make it often. And perhaps many others do too. It's when I know I have no other business being exactly where I am except for th…
tldr;
1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
31–40 of 90 posts
Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#32As an MIT undergraduate, I will be there
Have you considered disenrolling? Based on what has come out that this entire case has been pushed by MIT officials and JSTOR was opposed to it, affiliation with MIT right now, even as a student, looks to me like affiliation with the Nazi youth. Financial support of MIT through tuition looks like support of what is a terrorist organization.
Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#33How about boycotting MIT - the institution.
Personally, I am now doing so. I will no longer cooperate with or work with individuals who maintain affiliation with this fascist organization. MIT should be shut down and its assets sold.
Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#34As an MIT undergraduate, I will be there
Have you considered disenrolling? Based on what has come out that this entire case has been pushed by MIT officials and JSTOR was opposed to it, affiliation with MIT right now, even as a student, looks to me like affiliation with the Nazi youth. Financial support of MIT through tuition looks like support of what is a terrorist organization.
> affiliation with MIT right now, even as a student,
looks to me like affiliation with the Nazi youth
Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#35Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you considered disenrolling? Based on what has come out that this entire case has been pushed by MIT officials and JSTOR was opposed to it, affiliation with MIT right now, even as a student, looks to me like affiliation with the Nazi youth. Financial support of MIT through tuition looks like support of what is a terrorist organization.
> affiliation with MIT right now, even as a student, looks to me like affiliation with the Nazi youth Take a break. Hyperbole and strange exaggerations won't solve anything.
There is no hyperbole here. People who voluntarily affiliated with the Nazis suffered a permanent black mark on their reputations, even when they were not aware of what was going on at the time. Those who, after the extent of their evil actions were known, continued to choose to be affiliated with them, were considered exceptionally vile.
Those retaining voluntary affiliation with MIT after these events are vile. I choose, as a matter of personal morality, going forward to have nothing but disgust towards them and will not cooperate or affiliate with them anymore than I would with Neo-Nazi Skinheads. Those who had affiliation with MIT in the past, such as graduated students, provided they disavow all connection or affiliation with this organization might be redeemed, just as Nazi youth who have since disavowed their affiliation have become tolerable. The affiliation though will always be a black mark on someone's record regardless of whether they knew the details of the evil committed by their organization.
Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally, I am now doing so. I will no longer cooperate with or work with individuals who maintain affiliation with this fascist organization. MIT should be shut down and its assets sold.
Jesus give it a rest you are not helping
Support killers if you want. I choose not to.
Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#38I also wish I could be there!!! I almost had the impulse to book a flight and go down there to join the protest! Thank you for organizing this!!
Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#39I've been taking all of this in trying to both formulate a reasonably valid mental framework to understand and, yes, be able to personally judge or form an opinion about this entire story. Not an easy task when you don't have direct knowledge of the facts and the people involved and, to make matters worst, morons add noise to the wire.
To say that this is a catastrophe at many levels is an understatement. This should not have happened.
While I did not personally know Aaron I have lost at least one good friend to the pressures and stresses of running a business and colliding with the legal system. I've seen it happen right in front of my eyes.
These things are not worth a person's life.
Of course, we have a natural "who done it?" attitude and now want to find someone to blame for his untimely death. At some level you do have to blame him. No, not for downloading files but rather for making the decision to end his life. Nobody but him made that decision. I have suffered enough in business to actually understand how a person can get there, how, before you know it, mental stress and anguish walks you right up to the edge of that precipice. And, once there, only an external force can keep you from jumping off. In my case this "non-mascable interrupt" were my kids. I know they saved my life, even though they had no clue they were doing so. I can't even guess as to why this young and brilliant man did not have someone to pull him away from the edge.
And so, as much as one can blame Aaron for taking his own life, it also took external forces to cause him to walk to the edge of the precipice. Sadly, it seems, these forces originated with actions taken by MIT and were amplified by the DOJ. I find myself strangely contemplating the idea that, perhaps, just perhaps, pro-gun extremists who believe the government is out to get us might know something that we don't. But I digress.
Who done it? Well, MIT and DOJ. At least that's how I read it. I also think JSTOR is at fault, even though they seem to be washing their hands. Negligence through inaction.
Can anything make this right? Well, not really. You can't replace a life. Yet, the part of me that always wants both sides of an equation to balance has been searching for something that might at least make this horrible event make some sense.
I love MIT, but I get the horrible feeling that they fucked up in a big way. Admittedly I have formed this opinion without direct access to the facts. I have to concede at least that to be fair. Still, one idea keeps circling around in my head and I just had to come here and put it out there:
JSTOR can no-longer exist. MIT, needs to acquire JSTOR, release all content to the public domain and disband the organization. MIT, shouldn't even have direct control of this data. perhaps it should be handed over to Wikipedia for dissemination (along with the requisite financial support).
If it is true that MIT initiated this and they, along with JSTOR, could have made tons of noise to pull back the DOJ, they really need to engage in deep introspection in order to make sure this never happens again. And they need to make JSTOR ancient history. If, despite their substantial financials, this acquisition is beyond their capabilities industry giants such as Apple and Google need to intervene. One of the best ways I can think of honoring Aaron's memory is for this data to be free for anyone, anywhere, to access.
RIP
Re: 1/13 noon at MIT: Protest wrongful prosecution of Aaron Swartz
#40Long live the legend,