Monday, January 14, 2013

Thank You Aaron

It has been been just over two days since I read about the death of Aaron Swartz. If you don't know who he is/was, then you might know his work: RSS, XML, Creative Commons, Reddit, etc. You might still not know what these names and acronyms mean. That's OK. Let me put it in other words. If you use the Internet, then you have enjoy the fruits of Aaron's work. And like him, there are many other who have made our lives on the Net an outside of it a little bit better. The sad part of it is that people like Aaron are misunderstood. And on top of that, they are prosecuted just because they push boundaries. Boundaries that powerful narrow-minded people don't want you to cross or even move.


I never met Aaron, I have not even read anything he ever wrote. But after realizing all the work he did, I wish I had the opportunity to get to know him at least through his written words and say 'Thank You'. It looks like he suffered from depression, at least that is what I have read from people who knew him. I don't know if that contributed to take his own life, but I've heard it might be the case in people with severe depression. In Aaron's case I think we - the public - will never know for sure.

In any case, I also take this as a wake up call. I think we all should. We all have to look around and try really hard to pay attention to our close ones in case they are experiencing the same thing Aaron had. I could never forgive myself if someone close to me takes his/her life and I have not even noticed it and done anything about it. I believe it happened to someone I knew, and at that time I didn't know anything about it. I was way too young to be aware of it, and nobody care to explain it to me either. Where I am from depression was(is?) seen as a tabu: nobody had it and if you knew of someone who had it you just neglected the fact and avoided that person.

I hope his parents and everybody else who loved him can find some kind of comfort and peace someday. I am sure Aaron will be remember dearly by them and all of us who appreciate all the good work he did. And just in case you want to know a little bit more about him and his work, I encourage you to read the following pieces. They will be the best place to start to get to know him and the impact he left on the authors. RIP Aaron Swartz.

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1 comment:

  1. José TrujilloJanuary 14, 2013 at 8:15 PM

    Comprendamos que una persona con depresión no es alguien de quien debamos apartarnos. Todo lo contrario. Nos necesita y debemos estar ahí para ayudarle, siempre.

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