This is a translation of an article you wrote Bruce Perens (former Debian project leader, creator of Busybox and Open Source definition along with Eric Raymond) a week ago on his blog.
I didn't meet Aaron Swartz. But I would like to talk about what led him to create, and end his life.
Aaron Swartz was reportedly a brilliant young man who was dedicated to your digital freedom. He raised the ire of the US government by making public and (legally) available, many of the judicial processes of the US courts. The US government is not allowed to apply copyright to its products, therefore the processes are yours. But the government put them behind a paywall * called PACER. Swartz was one of the first to pay to get data from PACER, in bulk, and then make it public. The FBI investigated him and concluded that there was nothing to prosecute.
It is remarkable how similar his actions were to what I did. Ten years ago I "released" maps produced by the US Census that were in the public domain but were only distributed on CDs that cost $ 10. I paid the money and put them on my website. If anyone thought of prosecuting me it didn't happen, and some anonymous Census techs kindly sent me free updates for years after I put them online. Now, the Census distributes that data on its own website, without me having to.
2 years ago, Swartz apparently physically penetrated a system of the online distributor of scientific journals JSTOR, with the intention of putting the contents of the newspapers online. This led to the lawsuit by JSTOR and MIT (which owned the physical properties) and their arrest and lawsuit. JSTOR then asked the government to drop the charges but MIT did not. Swartz's justification 'was that research papers were publicly funded, authors were not paid, and that those papers should be public property.
What no one online seems to accept is that Swartz's action - regardless of his good intentions - was a crime, and he certainly should have paid a penalty for it. That is not the way we worry about successfully forming - the peaceful political process is better. Obviously, Swartz 'effort was intended to be one of "civil disobedience" to clarify a cause. However, the 30 years requested by the prosecution were excessive. Rapists are given less time. Excessive time is a way that the federal government uses to coerce criminals to reach an agreement between parties so that the government avoids the cost of a trial.
10 years ago, I also tried (unsuccessfully) to do civil disobedience on behalf of a similar cause. It was a demonstration against the DMCA, in which I tried to break the DMCA on the scene by simply putting a DVD that I bought in Europe on a DVD player in a free zone that would allow me to play it in the US - to this day it is still a crime under US law. That led to me being fired from HP a month after the company convinced me not to do the rally.
Like Swartz, I care about these things. And I think I know what led him to end his life.
I don't think it was because of the lawsuit itself. It was the fact that he was working on behalf of a population that for the most part did not care about their digital rights and did nothing to maintain their own digital freedom. So they didn't care what Swartz did for them, and what trouble he got into because of it, until he died. Did you know his name before?
The degree of stupidity of the general public regarding digital freedom issues is frustrating for evangelists like Swartz and myself. Sure, half of the members left Instagram in one month. But those millions of people never thought, until then, that posting their data with Instagram was a bad idea. And of course Facebook is the same - I use it as an advertising channel because many of you choose to be in that system, and not a piece of my personal life is going to be there - putting that in the hands of a corporation goes beyond how stupid. And the vast acceptance of Apple products despite your total lack of control over them is more of the same. It is difficult to be an evangelist on behalf of the rights of such idiotic people.
Suicide is not the way to deal with this, and the depression Swartz had that led to it had to be treated. I love my wife, my son and life in general, and I am not going there. But I can see who drove it.
* paywall: System in which only those who have a paid subscription can access the contents of a website
Source: http://perens.com/blog/2013/01/16/1/
UPDATE: Thanks for the msx link. This article (and the blog bluehackers in general) is about depression in computer scientists http://bluehackers.org/2012/11/29/i-have-depression-an-open-letter-by-paul-fenwick.
I think this guy crossed the line between advising and insulting, I don't like being called stupid for using facebook or whatever I use
Not exactly for using Facebook, but for posting your life on it. And it makes sense, since Facebook works like a great network of "espionage", only that the data instead of taking it from you, you give it yourself.
Be careful, they have photos of my cat and me, what will be from God
The other day I was looking for a piece of information in a conversation on the facebut chat, a conversation from two months ago, and you know what? Everything was there. Every word spoken by 400 million people is registered, but as we always talk about cats, what does it matter!
then let's do something about it don't you think? campaigns against facebook and things like that
A spelling detail: where it says "And the vast acceptance of Apple products" should go "And the vast acceptance of Apple products."
The guy is cocky, like most of those who know a lot, but he is very right, most of us are idiots who put a lot of our lives in the hands of the corporations that run us like little pieces of Legos. It's sad but that's the way it is, we open a facebook because most of them do.
Unfortunately this will always continue to be the case. The vast majority of people are not interested in digital freedom.
regards
Well no ehh, "vast" was well written -> http://www.wordreference.com/definicion/vasto
uh, look at you. I learned something new.
Thank you
Great article. From movie.
I do not regard Swartz's cause as a lost cause. But the truth is that a large part of this western society, the main consumer of 'digital', is not mature enough to use the technological resources available to it.
An example of this are the repeated 'awareness' campaigns that have been taking place in each country to prevent abuse of social networks.
On the other hand, alternatives such as the diaspora project continue to emerge, where the degree of interference of large corporations in personal life is zero.
Strongly agree.
Good article and what it says about fcbk very successful that is why you have to try not to use it even if it costs if the images, thoughts and others, it is better to share them with your friends in person, if to say happy birthday it is better to do it in person and yes one call cannot be enough! Now for digital rights I consider myself fortunate because Chile has a net neutrality law with which in this small country you can enforce your digital rights already protected by a state law, I leave you a link http://www.neutralidadsi.org/, nothing to say as they say the article is from a movie, greetings Ariki
He bored me with legalism.
What a regrettable loss for the world of free software, we will remember everything I fought for!
Well, my humble opinion is, first of all, that what Bruce Perens says about Facebook is real. I have a Facebook account and yes, it is true that many users border on the idiotic for the simple fact of putting every detail of their life .. With each "Like" we are giving one more piece of information to the FBI, or God knows who .
On Aaron's death, they will excuse me but: I see it as a total and complete act of cowardice. Take your own life for what? What did you want to prove? Because in the end, if he wanted to see some kind of reaction, it was difficult for him 3 meters underground.
Maybe it's me, but I don't understand that kind of fight, like for example the hunger strike or anything that foolishly attempts against your life. It's worth dying in the middle of a fight, but Suicide? Please, I consider it the most cowardly act a man can perform.
I agree with you, suicide is not the solution to our problems and less if it was a person who fought so hard for the ideals of digital freedom, I don't know and somehow I would not want to be wrong in what I am going to say but ... it should have It has been some other external problem to what he was doing, (CLARIFY: I dare to say without knowing and excuse me) but it may be possible, in every bucket the young man will be reminded that he fights for the ideals of a free digital age, it is worth mentioning the fight that Richard Stallman has led for a long time and so he has not resorted to the act of ending his life.
It is not as you say, you have no idea the quilombo that was put together, if you watch the TV there you will see that it is everywhere, in fact they are talking very loudly about the "Aaron Law", a law that seeks to stop abuse of the American government against its citizens.
If the law passes, it will be a game-changer that will benefit us all.
I was not lucky enough to meet him personally but I have been following his activism for a while through DemandProgress and other organizations in which he was involved.
Obviously you do not know him but this kid was brilliant and had all the fun, his death is a tremendous loss.
“On Aaron's death, they will excuse me but: I see it as a total and complete act of cowardice. Take your own life for what? What did you want to prove? Because in the end, if he wanted to see some kind of reaction, it was difficult for him 3 meters underground. »
I agree with you but we can say that we do not suffer from depression.
Go to Demand Progress or the Aaron Swartz Memorial site and among other testimonies you will read that of his girlfriend who says that a strong situation was coming but nothing like that.
Among other things, what counts is in the DEEP DEPRESSION that Aaron fell into, either because he was overwhelmed by the situation, because he realized that he was facing the rest of his days in jail (I see it difficult, I would have been a media tsunami) for a cause that nobody cared about or even seems to understand or have a notion of how important it is -and why he took a risk-, because his personality was prone to such a disease or any other reason.
Depression is not a joke, it is a shitty disease - like so many others - only that for those who do not suffer from it, it is asymptomatic. Those of us who do not know what it is to suffer from depression think that beyond the occasional bump -laburo, fighting with your girlfriend, X-, we wash our faces and go out to face life as we do every day. But depression is a screwed-up thing that throws you into a deepening well and isolates you and alienates you from the world where everything loses magnitude and importance.
I leave you an interesting link:
http://bluehackers.org/2012/11/29/i-have-depression-an-open-letter-by-paul-fenwick
added to the post about bluehackers
Exactly, I share the idea that he could be very depressed, and you should be in his shoes, but that is not a reason to commit suicide, at least not with the story they are telling me. I mean, it wasn't that I was between a rock and a hard place, I had options, even requesting asylum in another country ... I don't know. I only highlight suicide as an act of cowardice because I consider that before reaching that point, all the possible options you may have can be exhausted and I do not think that was the case with Aaron.
In addition, from an act of cowardice, it is also a selfish act to leave behind girlfriend, mother, father, puppy, kitten ... and everything that feels and suffers for us ... I say.
This is how a healthy guy sees things.
Seriously, you do not know how bad depression is, it is total reluctance, absolute sadness, the unshakable futility that things do not allow change, ... when someone is depressed only perceives the negative aspects of life and is unable to do that click and say FUCK OFF, LUCHARLA !.
Depression is a downward spiral that sucks you in and doesn't let you live. It is like the colloquially called "black holes" that are so called because they have such a strong force of gravity that they absorb even the light that travels near them. That is depression, total darkness.
And within that sad and painful feeling, one loses notion of affections, family, friends and what they will suffer with their own death.
Depression is terrible and you have to look at the decision you made trying to be inside your head.
Only we know how we feel and trying to see what others think only shows us the most superficial side, the decisions are based on the experiences and circumstances of one's life, when saying that he is a coward they are comparing him with his own ideals And as I said, only you know how it feels
Aaron did not commit suicide for a cause or to prove anything. A person with depression lives a life of almost permanent anguish. But this is due to the same pathology that afflicts him. And suicide is a recurring way to get rid of this anguish.
People close to me suffer from depression, they are medicated for that disease (because it is a disease, like stress), and I know that it is common to think about that exit, they have told me themselves.
Unfortunately, the mind is something very complex, and without knowing in depth all the problems that a person can have and how it affects him emotionally, one cannot express an opinion to treat him as a coward.
The pressure he had against the JSTOR case may have been one of the ingredients that triggered the decision to take his own life, but that is not why it is cowardly.
Regarding Perens's article, while it sounds superb, he is absolutely right. Because three cucumbers people care about their digital freedom. As long as they can watch porn and gossip on Facebook, they are happy. But they become cows, cattle from the big corporations.
The involuntary ignorance of the majority of computer equipment users, added to the great media / marketing load to continue creating this consumption and dependence (because it becomes an addiction in a moment, or no one has a friend who lives attached to the phone by posting on facebutt !!!) make them only concentrate on consuming those resources, and they will never want to learn in depth about computing. They are cows ...
That, in my humble use of logic, I think is the point where Perens seems superb. But it is the repressed anger, because people do not want to learn, they only want rabble and breasts ...
"But they become cows, cattle from large corporations."
Has the mass public ever stopped being so? (where I unfortunately include my closest relatives, despite my constant preaching ..
'Is the point where Perens seems superb. But it is the repressed anger, because people do not want to learn, »
EXACT, that is exactly what Perens' article conveys.
"He just wants [...] breasts ..."
Well, uh ... me too 😛
😉
Great answer.
It depends on the Elav circumstance. In my case if I could get a job. I think I would make the same decision as Aaron. That is better than begging.
Suicide is a way of escaping the pressures that one experiences in life. There comes a time when the body is a cage and weighs. For some, it is hard to be under pressure for 10 years.
I think Aaron had a lot to offer to free software, that hurts me more.
I would have liked to learn everything he learned from a young age to help the free software community.
it is worth dying in the middle of a fight ... maybe he wanted to die in what he considered his combat ... each one is responsible for his life and his thoughts even if they do not make sense to us peace and respect
good article but committing suicide was not a solution only effort and unnecessary personal lack, which could have changed the world if he had not given up.
»Who could have changed the world if he had not given up»
It gives me goose bumps to read that sentence, it is totally true, if I had been able to overcome the hell that this kid was obviously going through it would surely have generated an important change in digital life: '(
But as a well-known hacker who suffers from depression tells us:
«I have depression.
This isn't the sort of sadness that sticks around for a week and then goes away. It's not the sort of thing that even has a good reason, although there might have been one originally. It's the sort of thing that can stick with you for months or even years, is a recognized illness, and is one of the worst possible states a human can experience.
I know this news will surprise some of you. To many people reading this letter, I'm the guy who's always happy. I'm the guy who's always having a good time, and getting out there and doing incredible things. However for the last few months, I haven't been having a good time. »
Aaron was like that, always good vibes, optimistic ... and inside having a bad time again.
Poor Aaron.
Look at the truth is that this event is regrettable ... Both because of Aaron's death and because of the stupid and cowardly way he chose ...
Regarding Facebook, yes, using it is not idiotic, giving your personal life as a gift if it is. And whoever I want to piss me off, it's the truth, it's the same as telling a total stranger something (hypothetically speaking) like the details of your sexual life with your partner.
And give him "coward", WHAT PART DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT THE SKINNY WAS DEPRESSED?
Anyone have a fucking idea what the clinical picture of depression is? NO, EVIDENTLY NOT.
STOP TALKING TO THE ORDER, INFORM YOURSELF.
http://bluehackers.org/2012/11/29/i-have-depression-an-open-letter-by-paul-fenwick
In fact, if I know the clinical picture, you don't know it but I had to take care of a person with deep depression for 5 years, I know very well what it is.
I still see suicide as a cowardly way out of things, no matter how depressed.
Obviously you intellectualize the clinical picture but you don't have the remotest idea of what it feels like.
You should not talk about what you do not know, there are many mediocre out there with the label of "opinionologists" in the tofren.
I'm not going to discuss something like this with you, much less here. I have my opinions on suicide and on depression, I have already had a lot of contact with that, more than I want to remember ... do not want to advocate what is correct or tell others that they talk to fart without your knowing why They say because you fall into the same thing that you accuse others of.
Calling someone who committed suicide a coward, and therefore is no longer there to answer you, is a coward.
It´s Conspiracy
They killed him
The truth is that hanging is not a good choice for suicide (unless you want to punish yourself for some reason). CO poisoning is much better.
I think more work needs to be done to make people aware of their rights, so that they are not idiots who are not interested in their digital freedom. You can even use Facebook for that. People are not idiots, simply out of interest they are not informed or educated.
not "for lack of interest"?