Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

gizmodo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 49 posts

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#21

Post by cgmg »

wyclif wrote: post #12
cgmg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Umm... did you read Bill's letter in its entirety? > I'd also like to address my family, if you can call them that. I despise everything they stand for and I truly hate them, in a non-emotional, dispassionate and what I believe is a healthy way. The world will be a better place when they're dead—one with less hatred and intolerance.

Why do you think he didn't read the letter in its entirety? Just because Zeller hated his parents doesn't mean his description of them is accurate. Don't forget, it's a suicide note. People use them to vent their grievances, real and perceived. It's very sad that he felt he had to take his own life. I wish he had reached out and gotten professional help for his depression.

I'm pretty sure that being kicked out of your home at 19 because you wouldn't attend church for seven hours is a legitimate grievance.

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#22

Post by wyclif »

cgmg wrote: post #21
wyclif wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think he didn't read the letter in its entirety? Just because Zeller hated his parents doesn't mean his description of them is accurate. Don't forget, it's a suicide note. People use them to vent their grievances, real and perceived. It's very sad that he felt he had to take his own life. I wish he had reached out and gotten professional help for his depression.

I'm pretty sure that being kicked out of your home at 19 because you wouldn't attend church for seven hours is a legitimate grievance.

It is if that's what happened. But you and I don't know that.

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#23

Post by cgmg »

wyclif wrote: post #15
gws wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your son is getting abused and you don’t realize it or don’t want to realize it you are beyond awful

Oh, FFS! I'm talking about his remarks about his parents, not the sexual abuse, which should be completely obvious from the context.

Failing to protect their child from sustained sexual abuse reflects heavily on the character of his parents.

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#24

Post by NiklasMort »

paloaltokid wrote: post #6

What a sad story. If you’re out there and you’re struggling, please know that help does exist. Professional counseling and therapy really can make a difference, you do have to find someone you can connect with. I wish Bill’s friends the best in dealing with losing him.

That is not true. Maybe if you have money, and a lot of it. Even then therapy is no ultimate solution, most likely they'll just recommend you to take drugs that numb you down. The world is a horrible place, humans are horrible beings, life mostly sucks for the big majority of people. If suicide was not forbidden by religion or society I am pretty sure lot of people would op out and that for good reasons.

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#26

Post by cgmg »

wyclif wrote: post #22
cgmg wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure that being kicked out of your home at 19 because you wouldn't attend church for seven hours is a legitimate grievance.

It is if that's what happened. But you and I don't know that.

What reason do you have to doubt his account? I'm honestly curious.

To quote: He does not have a history being dramatic, emotional, manipulative. He does not have a history of having crazy outbursts and attention seeking behaviors. He is a quiet reserved isolated type, and he wasn't in any trouble at all. He wasn't a drug addict, a criminal, a thief. He wasn't a psycho borderline nutjob who randomly does random things. There is no reason to assume his suicide is motivated by any other reason than the one he is telling us, and that reason is this: he cannot cope with what happened to him as a child any longer and so he made the choice to end his life.

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#27

Post by paloaltokid »

NiklasMort wrote: post #24
paloaltokid wrote: post #6

What a sad story. If you’re out there and you’re struggling, please know that help does exist. Professional counseling and therapy really can make a difference, you do have to find someone you can connect with. I wish Bill’s friends the best in dealing with losing him.

That is not true. Maybe if you have money, and a lot of it. Even then therapy is no ultimate solution, most likely they'll just recommend you to take drugs that numb you down. The world is a horrible place, humans are horrible beings, life mostly sucks for the big majority of people. If suicide was not forbidden by religion or society I am pretty sure lot of people would op out and that for good reasons.

I’m sorry to hear that that is your view of life. From my own experience of having money, I can say with some amount of certainty that it has no bearing on your happiness.

But it is possible to be happy, that much I know. The secret is that it takes work and an open-minded attitude. In my own experience, meditation is the only thing I’ve found that really works. Maybe you can give it a try and see if it works for you too.

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#28

Post by Kequc »

gws wrote: post #20
wyclif wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, FFS! I'm talking about his remarks about his parents, not the sexual abuse, which should be completely obvious from the context.

Sure, but it’s impossible not to damn his parents for what happened since they failed to protect him as a child which is exactly what parents are for, protect children until they can protect themselves. It’s pretty weird to see someone trying to spare a good word for them

I was allowed to walk to and from school by myself every day. Not only that I spent a great deal of time not under my parent's gaze. In fact most people are raised outside of this situation you are imagining.

You are calling basically everybody a bad parent and that isn't the case.

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#29

Post by gws »

Kequc wrote: post #28
gws wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but it’s impossible not to damn his parents for what happened since they failed to protect him as a child which is exactly what parents are for, protect children until they can protect themselves. It’s pretty weird to see someone trying to spare a good word for them

I was allowed to walk to and from school by myself every day. Not only that I spent a great deal of time not under my parent's gaze. In fact most people are raised outside of this situation you are imagining. You are calling basically everybody a bad parent and that isn't the case.

Not at all, I’m calling a bad parent anybody whose kid is getting abused repeatedly without the parent realizing it and intervening to stop it. Well, not a bad parent, a beyond awful parent.

Re: Last Words of Programmer Bill Zeller (2011)

#30

Post by virgilp »

Kequc wrote: post #28
gws wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but it’s impossible not to damn his parents for what happened since they failed to protect him as a child which is exactly what parents are for, protect children until they can protect themselves. It’s pretty weird to see someone trying to spare a good word for them

I was allowed to walk to and from school by myself every day. Not only that I spent a great deal of time not under my parent's gaze. In fact most people are raised outside of this situation you are imagining. You are calling basically everybody a bad parent and that isn't the case.

Letting your children walk to and from school is one thing (I did this, my children do this too). Not noticing radical mood swings (and likely mental disorders) of your child is another thing - one that, in all honesty, doesn't qualify you as "good parent", at all.
Post reply on HN